This article is part of a collaboration between The Char-Koosta News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television. Our partnership brings readers stories about issues of, research about and solutions to the invasive mussel problem – a challenge that’s shared by communities around Flathead Lake, its nearby waters and the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/cost-quagga-zebra-mussel-infestation/
This article is part of a collaboration between The Char-Koosta News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television. Our partnership brings readers stories about issues of, research about and solutions to the invasive mussel problem – a challenge that’s shared by communities around Flathead Lake, its nearby waters and the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/invasive-mussels-aquarium-moss-balls-montana/
This article is part of a collaboration between The Char-Koosta News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television. Our partnership brings readers stories about issues of, research about and solutions to the invasive mussel problem – a challenge that’s shared by communities around Flathead Lake, its nearby waters and the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/invasive-mussels-aquarium-moss-balls-montana/
As the official newspaper of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation, the Char-Koosta News has frequent coverage of environmental issues in western Montana especially in tribal lands and waters.
One of those issues is invasive mussels – the same zebra and quagga mussels that plague the Great Lakes and inland rivers and lakes throughout the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/great-lakes-now-flathead-reservation-newspaper-partner-invasive-mussels-stories/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Jim DuFresne, Great Lakes Echo
At some point in our lives, we all can use a little help down the trail — aging baby boomers, a toddler, a parent pushing a stroller, an expectant mother, somebody who walks with a cane, somebody else who suffers from asthma.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/great-lakes-trails-friendlier-disabilities/
Canada has nine sailors heading to the Olympics, six of which hail from the Great Lakes. Sarah Douglas is one of them.
“I’m excited, you know, I’m trying to treat it like any other competition,” Douglas said, “I think with the restrictions that we have, it’s going to be easier, the less distractions, but I’m just going out there to race.”
Douglas, a Toronto native who grew up in Barbados, will be competing in the Laser class in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/douglas-lake-ontario-tokyo-olympics/
A little more than a year ago the nation’s media outlets, including Great Lakes Now, were reporting on the widespread closures and restrictions being enacted across Great Lakes states. There were complete or partial closures and restrictions at nearly all public parks, preserves and other lakes-related facilities. Bars, restaurants and many stores and businesses were locking their doors.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/great-lakes-tourism-recreation-covid-19-2021/
On the West side of the United States, residents are seeing problems crop up in their waters. Great Lakes region residents will find those issues familiar.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/tapped-out-power-justice-water-west/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
Illinois American Water is investing over $2.7 million to upgrade the Pontiac area water system.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/drinking-water-michigan-hackers-pennsylvania-water-systems-illinois-ohio/
Rain gardens, bioretention features, adaptable parks and more are popping up all around the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/green-infrastructure-great-lakes-climate-future/
I Speak for the Fish is a new monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/i-speak-for-the-fish/
President Joe Biden has put a spotlight on environmental justice like no president before him, and that’s good news for Regina Strong.
“I feel like environmental justice is having a moment,” Strong told Great Lakes Now last week. She was referring to a recent indication that U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan may be willing to engage more than his predecessors with state and local governments on issues important to communities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/environmental-justice-michigan-goal-national-leader/
The brief Black Lake sturgeon season which garners so much attention each year is over, but not for everyone.
The public face of the season usually begins and ends on a bitter-cold Saturday morning after six anglers spear their fish. After that, it’s over for citizens of Michigan and other states who travel for the opportunity to catch a big, long, tasty prehistoric fish.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/black-lake-sturgeon-fishing-indigenous-culture-conservation/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
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/2021/05/water-life-theme-day-1-protests-shut-down-enbridge-line-5/
By Julie Riddle, The Alpena News
This article is part of a collaboration between The Alpena News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television to bring audiences stories about the Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron and its watershed.
ALPENA — If an oil spill oozed its way to Thunder Bay and onto the shores of Alpena, local responders wouldn’t have the needed equipment on hand to stop it.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/outside-help-available-oil-spill-large-scale-emergencies/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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/2021/05/michigan-line-5-profits-enbridge-shutdown-order/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, and Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
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/2021/05/eve-line-5-shutdown-deadline-enbridge-defy-michigan-order/
High water and erosion caused the beach stairs in Chikaming Township in southwest Michigan to collapse.
Now, two years later, volunteers have rebuilt those stairs, marking renewed access to some of the township’s most cherished assets – its public beaches – after high water in Lake Michigan rendered them unusable.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/higher-than-average-lake-levels-but-no-new-record/
As the global climate warms and water scarcity mounts, Great Lakes water is more valuable than ever before.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/great-lakes-water-diversions-future-possibilities/
By Julie Riddle, The Alpena News
This article is part of a collaboration between The Alpena News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television to bring audiences stories about the Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron and its watershed.
ALPENA — In six days, oil escaping from under the Straits of Mackinac could reach Rogers City.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/line-5-debate-residents-risks-shorelines-economies/
With regular coverage of marine sanctuary research, Lake Huron’s fishing and other recreational activity and watchdog journalism, The Alpena News daily newspaper brings readers the latest about a four-county Great Lakes community.
Through a new partnership with Great Lakes Now, those stories will reach a larger audience as they will be regularly published on the GreatLakesNow.org website.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/alpena-publication-lake-huron-partnership/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Hannah Brock, Great Lakes Echo
A type of algae that a recent study found collects microfibers brings up questions about microplastic pollution impacts and how it could affect human health.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/algae-vacuum-microplastics-greater-health-threat/
Watershed cleanups are popular ways of dealing with local plastic pollution, but once large plastic trash disintegrates into microplastics, they're nearly impossible to pick up.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/plastic-debris-great-lakes-drinking-water-food/
By John McCracken / Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
This story was originally published by The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit, online newsroom offering investigative and enterprise coverage of agribusiness, Big Ag and related issues through data analysis, visualizations, in-depth reports and interactive web tools.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/pfas-contamination-residents-wisconsin-struggle-aftereffects/
Microplastics act like a chemical sponge, soaking up contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/chemical-impact-microplastic-pollution/
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.
As daylight lengthens and water temperatures slowly begin to warm, walleye overwintering in Lake Erie take their cue that it is time to spawn.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/walleye-frenzy-detroit-river/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Brandon Chew, Great Lakes Echo
It was atmospheric pressure waves that produced 6-foot water waves in Lake Michigan on April 13, 2018, damaging docks and cottages and submerging breakwalls in Ludington.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/meteotsunami-great-lakes-contaminants/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Months after President Joe Biden snubbed Canadian officials by canceling Keystone XL, an impending showdown over a second crude oil pipeline threatens to further strain ties between the two neighbors that were frayed during the Trump administration.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/ap-oil-pipeline-disputes-raise-tensions-us-canada/
Growing up in Alpena, Audrey Garant could not wait to leave her hometown in Michigan’s northeast Lower Peninsula. But years later, moving back, seeing the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center built and getting to experience it changed things for her.
“It’s my place to kind of disappear,” she said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/great-lakes-national-marine-sanctuaries/
By Jane Johnston, Circle of Blue
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/2021/04/flooding-climate-income-inequality/
As Great Lakes Now approaches the two-year anniversary of the launch of our monthly program, we asked our staff and contributors about their favorite moments working Great Lakes Now. Their thoughts were as diverse as the show.
Here’s what they shared:
Colleen O’Donnell, social media manager
After some Detroit Public Television staff reorganization at the beginning of the pandemic, Colleen joined the team in June 2020.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/memorable-moments-great-lakes-now-team/
By Mary Retta, Teen Vogue
This story originally appeared in Teen Vogue and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
Watching An Inconvenient Truth in your middle-school science class.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/17-young-people-climate-crisis/
It’s been two years since Great Lakes Now first premiered on Detroit Public Television. There’s been a lot of changes and expansions in the time since, including 24 episodes of the monthly show.
So now we have a challenge for you. If you’ve been paying attention, can you answer these seven questions about rivers that have been shown on Great Lakes Now?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/test-your-knowledge-rivers-great-lakes-now/
The rules that govern fishing in the Great Lakes – commercially and for sport – are about to change, perhaps dramatically. That’s because Great Lakes fish are a shared resource, and because of profound changes in fish populations, there is less to share.
It’s difficult to know exactly what will change.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/native-rights-where-great-lakes-tribes-fish-how-much/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan agency delivered a split decision Wednesday in a high-stakes battle over a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel that connects two of the Great Lakes.
The Michigan Public Service Commission is considering Enbridge Inc.’s application to replace the section of its Line 5 that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/ap-michigan-climate-line-5-tunnel-permit-review/
We get it. The first 24 months of something isn’t usually a big occasion. Not like the neat 5- or 10- or 25- or even 50-year marks.
But there are some good adages:
Two is better than one.
Double trouble.
It takes two.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/anniversary-great-lakes-now-monthly-show-two-years/
The COVID-19 vaccine is still rolling out and making its way to people all around the world. How comfortable people feel about participating in events and group activities is extremely varied.
But that doesn’t have to stop anyone interested in taking part in Earth Day this year, whether they do it indoors, outdoors, around other people or alone.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/earth-day-2021-events-around-the-region/
By Ben Goldfarb, Hakai Magazine
This story originally appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
In the world of competitive sportfishing, the name Arostegui is royalty.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/microfishing-angling-recreational-fishing/
As moratoria expire across the Great Lakes region, advocates say ongoing affordability and debt relief are key.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/water-shutoffs-debt-infrastructure/
As COVID-19 changed the pattern of life around the Great Lakes region in 2020, it also altered the pattern of Great Lakes drownings in unfortunate if predictable ways.
With larger than normal crowds and a fatigue with restrictions, the rise in drownings isn’t a surprise.
“You get no lifeguards, heavier beach crowds, more people who were just escaping their house in the heat, going to the beach, and you’re putting more people into a dangerous situation,” said Chris Houser, a professor in the school of environment at University of Windsor.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/drownings-increase-research-connection-covid-19-restrictions/
By Patrick Shea, Energy News Network
The discovery of a potential archaeological site in the Straits of Mackinac last fall has opened the door for a Michigan tribe to pursue a new, longshot legal strategy to stop the planned Line 5 pipeline tunnel project.
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians passed a resolution in January instructing its historic preservation office to begin compiling research for an application to classify the straits as a Traditional Cultural Property, a rarely used federal designation under the National Register of Historic Places.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/cultural-property-protection-michigan-line-5/
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/2021/04/michigan-fishing-rules-dnr-great-lakes/
CHICAGO (AP) — In the modest bungalows and two-flats of Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, there’s never a shortage of needed home repairs staring residents in the face. And then there is the less obvious but more ominous problem lurking in their pipes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/the-problem-within-biden-targets-lead-pipes-pushes-equity/
Waterfowl hunters began buying them nearly a century ago. Just after that, collectors joined the fun.
Since its inception in 1934 when Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act into law, the duck stamp (as it’s commonly known) has garnered more than $1 billion for habitat conservation in the national wildlife refuge system.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/duck-stamp-impacts-great-lakes-nationwide-refuge/
While President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, officially the American Jobs Plan, emanates from the White House, a veteran Chicago policy executive says we should consider its genesis as broader than top down.
“It is something that cities and regions have requested – full partnership with the federal government – for quite some time,” said MarySue Barrett, president of the non-profit Metropolitan Planning Council.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/infrastructure-biden-administration-policy-qna/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
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/2021/04/scientists-bottom-food-web-great-lakes/
This article, first posted here, was republished with permission from Wisconsin Watch.
By Royce Podeszwa and Jim Malewitz, Wisconsin Watch
The state Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a case that could determine whether the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources failed to adequately protect water from manure pollution when awarding a permit to a giant dairy farm in northeastern Wisconsin — or whether the agency lacks the authority to issue such restrictions.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/wisconsin-supreme-court-protect-water-farm-pollutants/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Indiana:
Dozens of amendments to bills affecting Indiana environmental policy have sparked debate among lawmakers as the Legislature enters its final stretch of the session.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/drinking-water-ontario-dispute-flint-settlement-ohio-infrastructure/
As the pandemic wears on, antidepressant use is on the rise.
Claims for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors increased by 17% in Canada between 2019 and 2020, according to one report. In the United States, the number of prescriptions filled per week for antidepressant, anti-anxiety and anti-insomnia medications increased 21% between Feb.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/fish-study-pandemic-antidepressant-freshwater-ecosystems/
By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter
More than 60 organizations, including local governments, environmental and conservation groups and water management agencies, sent a letter to Indiana state legislators, asking them to consider policy changes instead of supporting a bill seeking to remove all state protections for Indiana wetlands.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/local-governments-environmental-organizations-indiana-legislators-state-wetland-protections/
