In Lake Erie, the northern pike occupies, on the grand fish scale of things, a not-so-special place.
The elongated, fast, toothy eating machine is in general neither widely loved nor widely hated. In fact, as far as a sportfish goes, which it most definitely is, it is rather neglected.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/pike-huron-michigan-ontario-superior-erie-seiche/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Eric Freedman, Great Lakes Echo
The U.S. Coast Guard wants to retire its oldest cutter on the Great Lakes, the 57-year-old cutter Buckthorn.
But don’t hold your breath waiting for the replacement of the Sault Ste.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/oldest-coast-guard-cutter-great-lakes/
By Hannah L. Harrison, University of Guelph, The Conversation
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
For three generations, the Minor family — today brothers Carson and Landon and their father Paul — have been up before first light to board their fishing tug and make their way to their fishing grounds on Lake Erie.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/family-owned-fishing-businesses-displaced-waterfront-developments-great-lakes/
NOTE: The report will formally be presented in English at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 10. A French session will follow at 3:30 p.m. For more details about how you can watch or ask questions, click here.
Public concern about climate change is escalating in the Great Lakes region, according to a new report issued by a binational group that manages and protects the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/public-concern-climate-change-runoff-chemicals-ijc/
If you read the International Joint Commission’s 2020 Triennial Assessment of Progress Report or
watched the webinar where the IJC announced and discussed the findings, you might be curious about some of the other reports and documents referenced.
For the 2020 triennial report, go to the IJC’s website.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/index-international-joint-commission-2020-triennial-assessment-of-progress-report/
The watersheds that feed the Western Basin of Lake Erie are home to thousands of crop and livestock farms. Those farmers use underground systems to manage rainwater, including many located where a massive swamp once made up the Ohio landscape.
All those farms face challenges managing fertilizers and water in their fields with drainage systems.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/field-tiles-drainage-systems-pose-problems-lake-erie/
LASALLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A fire Friday destroyed an enormous building loaded with hundreds of boats stored for the winter in southeastern Michigan, sending smoke for miles along Lake Erie.
Neighbors and boat owners rushed to get as close as possible to Toledo Beach Marina. Aerial video showed clouds of black smoke and a building overwhelmed by flames.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-hundreds-boats-likely-destroyed-michigan-marina-fire/
For most people, the new year is still a month away. For hydrologists and climate scientists, the new year has already started. The water year begins in November, to account for when water enters a system and begins accumulating.
Data from the last water year indicated record-breaking levels in the Great Lakes, and this year looks to be much of the same.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/high-water-levels-water-year-wdet-watch-party/
A familiar view for many who live and play around the Great Lakes graces the current cover of National Geographic – a stormy sunset over Lake Michigan, seen from the sandy beaches of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
The feature story of the magazine’s December 2020 issue puts a spotlight on the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/saving-great-lakes-national-geographic-december-issue-struggles/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/great-lakes-stressed-climate-change-worse/
Anglers as a group are generally nice people – polite, kind, generous and peaceful. But throw out a couple high-end, super-sweet fishing machines and stacks of cash, and they’ll brawl hard. For six weeks.
The 10th Annual B’Laster Fall Brawl began at 12:01 a.m Oct. 16 and runs through 8:00 a.m.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/fall-brawl-sheffield-lake-fishing-derby/
Dave Spangler, a ceaseless advocate for Lake Erie, died Oct. 21, at 74. He spent the last few decades working to make Lake Erie the best body of water he could.
Spangler appeared in Great Lakes Now’s “Unlocking the Lakes” episode to share about how COVID-19 has been affecting tourism and the recreational fishing industry.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/dave-spangler-lake-erie-advocate/
While the roller coaster case garnered national attention with its on-again, off-again Rights of Nature legal battle, Toledo residents are stuck paying legal fees for Drewes Farms Partnerships in its fight against the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, popularly referred to as LEBOR.
Owners of the Wood County crop farm filed a challenge to LEBOR the morning after its landslide February 2019 passage by Toledo voters.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/legal-fees-toledo-residents-lebor-drewes-farms/
All that remained of the schooner was a bit of its hull – a tightly-packed row of wooden planks stretching 40 feet across the bottom of Lake Huron. Sunbeams easily penetrated the 20 feet of clear lake water above the wreck.
The site appeared lifeless.
There were no schools of emerald shiners, black-striped minnows or yellow perch in sight.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/shipwreck-ecosystem-fish-great-lakes-species/
Lake Erie’s Western Basin didn’t do well on its first big test: a report card produced by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
The report card gave it a mediocre score, an overall C+, based on a various factors regarding the lake’s condition. The watershed surrounding western Lake Erie scored a C.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/western-lake-erie-mediocre-score-report-card/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
If the Detroit River and western Lake Erie were patients undergoing their annual exam, a doctor would probably say, “I have good news and bad news about their health.”
The good news is that there are signs of improving ecosystem health including the return of creatures like bald eagles, peregrine falcons, osprey, lake sturgeon, lake whitefish and beaver.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/state-of-the-strait-2020-detroit-river-western-lake-erie/
By Jane Johnston, Circle of Blue
ALMA — Murray Borrello, wearing khakis and a loose-fitting brown button-up, walked down a backroad during the summer of 2019 listening to the sounds of the woods. Water from the Pine River flowed slowly beneath him as he looked out over a bridge.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/michigan-county-cafos-agriculture-water-pollution/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Wisconsin Public Service Commission extends utility shutoff moratorium, ruling that could undo Lake Erie wind farm project stands, and PolyMet copper-nickel mine gets critical legal win in Minnesota.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/great-lakes-energy-mining-utility-line-5-lake-erie/
The Toledo Zoo’s popular lake sturgeon stocking event won’t happen this year, though a pause in the program – thanks to the international COVID-19 pandemic – won’t hurt the project.
“In a nutshell, our partners out of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alpena, Michigan, and Genoa, Wisconsin, are the ones who collect the eggs,” explained Kent Bekker, director of conservation at the zoo.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/sturgeon-stocking-covid-19-release-program/
For the second time in two years Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center appears to have forced the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s hand in seeking solutions to Lake Erie’s ongoing nutrients pollution problem.
In U.S Northern District of Ohio Court hearings on July 17 and July 30, ELPC attorneys sought a summary judgement requiring the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/total-maximum-daily-load-court-case-ohio-epa-nutrients-lake-erie/
In her first regional appearance after taking office in January 2019, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made it clear that Michigan would take a leadership role on Great Lakes issues.
“Michigan has to lead on Great Lakes issues,” Whitmer told Great Lakes Now after speaking to fellow Great Lakes governors and Canadian premiers and the broader Great Lakes community in Milwaukee.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/michigan-state-great-lakes-drinking-water-quality/
Lake Ontario broke a record this July for hottest surface water temperature ever recorded on the lake since 1995.
Lake Ontario isn’t alone. All five of the Great Lakes’ surface water temperatures are still above their 1995-2020 averages as of Aug. 21, according to NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/great-lakes-water-temperatures-high/
As Ohio farmers in Lake Erie’s Western Basin watershed face declining crop prices, increased media scrutiny and the looming threat of stricter regulations on the industry’s use and release of nutrients which cause algal blooms in the lake and its tributaries, they are in a constant battle to reduce their footprint on the lake and to stay in business.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/cost-conservation-agriculture-lake-erie/
By John Funk, Energy News Network, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
A bipartisan coalition of 32 state lawmakers from Northeast Ohio has interceded on behalf of the Lake Erie Energy Development Company’s 20.7-megawatt demonstration offshore wind project, now before state regulators.
In a strongly worded letter to Sam Randazzo, chair of the Ohio Power Siting Board, the lawmakers objected to the board’s ruling in May granting a permit — if LEEDCo agreed to shut down the wind farm’s six turbines from dusk to dawn eight months out of the year, Mar.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/ohio-lawmakers-offshore-wind-ruling-revisited/
With two segments in the latest episode of the Great Lakes Now monthly program, producer David Ruck is bringing audiences insight about two major issues in the Great Lakes region: how pollution from farmland impacts water quality and what financial cost current high water levels are having for communities around the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/water-great-lakes-now-producer/
Scientists believe a dry spring in Lake Erie’s western basin watershed will help keep the annual harmful algal bloom in check this summer and early autumn.
The bloom’s biomass is expected to rank 4.5 on a scale of 10 in terms of severity, according to Rick Stumpf, oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/toxic-algae-2020-harmful-algal-bloom-forecast-lake-erie/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Lake Erie’s annual blob of pea-green algae is expected to be smaller this summer than a year ago following a relatively dry spring, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect significant improvement toward reducing the nutrient pollution that causes it, scientists said Thursday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/ap-2020-lake-erie-algal-bloom-forecast/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: 713-mile Rover Pipeline at center of legal dispute between Ohio EPA and Ohio Supreme Court; Hi-Crush Inc., frac sand company filing for bankruptcy after reporting negative revenue, defaulting on loans; and Indiana regulators reject utility rate increase request.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/great-lakes-energy-ohio-pipeline-wisconsin-fracking-indiana-regulators/
Angel Welke and her husband Paul own and operate Island Airways, the committed aviation service provider for Beaver Island. As such, the Welkes run the air ambulance that serves the island, which is located in the northern part of Lake Michigan and is home to about 600 year-round residents. When the island had a possible COVID-19 patient earlier this year, it was Paul Welke piloting the air ambulance.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/great-lakes-islanders-adapt-covid-19/
The overall condition of the Great Lakes has been assessed as “fair and unchanging” in the 2019 State of the Great Lakes joint report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental and Climate Change Canada, published on June 3.
The lakes were assessed on nine indicators of ecosystem health as part of the 2012 Great Lakes Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/state-great-lakes-stable-rollbacks-protection/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/great-lakes-learning-lakes-no-boat/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/great-lakes-learning-cruises/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/great-lakes-learning-water-levels-currents-boating-speed-limits/
A $126 million, 20.7-megawatt wind turbine project on Lake Erie has the go-ahead from state regulators after years of halting progress.
If construction is completed, the six-turbine Icebreaker Wind farm in Lake Erie, 8 miles northwest of Cleveland, would be the first offshore freshwater site in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/lake-erie-wind-farm-icebreaker-board-conditions/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/great-lakes-learning-best-of-the-5/
This week: Freshwater Future Applauds New Ohio Bills to Protect Water Safety and Affordability + Covid-19 Stimulus Package Should Support Green Water Infrastructure + 3D Mapping of Plastic Pollution in Lake Erie + Sewage Could Help Track Coronavirus + Lake Michigan/Huron Breaks Water Level Record Four Months Running
Partnering with advocates from across the region, Freshwater Future has been working to ensure water at residents’ taps is free from lead and is affordable. This week, an Ohio bill was introduced to move those issues forward. Ohio Representative Erica Crawley introduced legislation that will prevent water shut offs and require development of water affordability programs by utilities.
Covid-19 Stimulus Package Should Support Green Water InfrastructureAs the Covid-19 stimulus package includes funds for green water infrastructure, Philadelphia demonstrates leverage of these investments to support family health and community economy is possible. Emerging from old traditions, the stimulus package should support decentralized practices. Freshwater Future believes to move from the Covid-19 crisis more equitably, we need future stimulus packages to include investments in our urban and rural water infrastructure. 3D Mapping of Plastic Pollution in Lake ErieSome plastic floats and some sinks. According to a recent study by students at Rochester Institute of Technology that looked at how plastic moves, it’s estimated that there is 380 tons of plastic at the bottom of Lake Erie. An expansion of the study to Lake Ontario will consider how plastics move from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario over Niagara Falls. Sewage Could Help Track CoronavirusToledo is participating in a research project to determine if sewage can help track the coronavirus. Studies show that because of how the virus moves through the human body, it can be found in wastewater. The analysis of weekly samples from water treatment plants will hopefully give insight on where and when the next outbreak occurs to better prepare the community. Lake Michigan and Huron Break Water Level Record Four Months RunningLakes Michigan and Huron (considered one connected lake) set a new water level record for the fourth month in a row and is currently three feet higher than the average long-term level. The Army Corps of Engineers says the lake keeps getting deeper. |
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/uncategorized/freshwater-weekly-may-18-2020-2/
After nearly two months of reduced access, various levels of restrictions and outright closures, thousands of national, state, provincial and municipal parks, boating ramps, wildlife areas and other outdoor recreation areas are making their return from COVID-19.
Officials are hoping the move will help push life closer to normal for millions of people.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/coronavirus-covid-19-great-lakes-outdoor-recreation-reopening/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/great-lakes-learning-younger-learners-2/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/great-lakes-learning-younger-learners/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Most people know river otters from zoos or YouTube videos as endearing playful creatures that can put a smile on anyone’s face.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/river-otters-western-lake-erie/
The contested case of the Icebreaker Wind Farm has implications for renewable energy in the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-lake-erie-wind-farm/
Warmer waters, heavier storms and nutrient pollution are a triple threat to Great Lakes cities' drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-climate-change-drinking-water-quality/
Lake Erie fishing charters reel from stay at home orders, and lake freighters idle due to industry shutdowns.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-fishing-freighters-great-lakes-industries/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-toxic-algae-harmful-algal-blooms/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-population-dynamics-invasive-species/
Great Lakes Now is sharing work from our partners in a project on what climate change means for Great Lakes cities. Here is the initial piece in the series.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-climate-change-great-lakes-cities/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Chicagoans furious after smokestack demolition releases dust in Little Village, toxic coal ash to remain on Michigan shorelines indefinitely as coal plants close, Minnesota and Wisconsin natural gas plant opting away from water withdrawal for cooling purposes, Ohio consumer advocate pushing to divert energy efficiency funds to COVID-19 relief payments, and Enbridge’s project to replace part of its Line 5 pipeline under the St.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-energy-line-5-coal-ash-demolition-water-withdrawals/
Wayne Brusate started a commercial diving company in the two-car garage of his home in Marysville, Michigan.
Ten years later, his business was contracted to maintain all the water intake systems at Detroit Edison’s power generating facilities in southeastern Michigan. Power generating plants require a massive volume of water to operate, Brusate said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/blasting-zebra-mussels-invasive-species/
Residents and locals aren't happy with the number of non-residents coming to town to fish without adhering to social distancing measures.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-complaints-anglers-out-of-towners/
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio fishery has been charged with wildlife violations after investigators observed abuse and waste of game fish, officials said.
Investigators from the state Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife recorded employees from Szuch Fishery Inc. intentionally injure a rare trophy-size fish after it was removed from a commercial fishing net in western Lake Erie on March 31, the Dayton Daily News reported Sunday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-ohio-fishery-charged-abusing-wasting-game-fish/
