By Katie Thoresen, WXPR
This story was originally published by WXPR. WXPR is a community-licensed public radio station serving north central Wisconsin and adjacent areas of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Listen to their stories here.
Cougar cubs have been found in Michigan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/cougar-cubs-found-in-u-p-for-first-time-in-more-than-a-century/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit
Darren Riley noticed poor air quality across much of Michigan this week when off-the-shelf air monitors from companies like IQAir and PurpleAir showed readings as high as 154 for PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter) in Detroit on Sunday – putting the monitors in the red or ‘unhealthy’ range on the Air Quality Index (AQI).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/why-poor-air-quality-isnt-just-a-summer-problem-in-detroit/
In light of the ongoing PFAS crisis, stricter groundwater regulations were part of a Michigan statewide effort to protect resident’s health and improve water quality. This was before 3M corporation sued the state to invalidate these new rules. 3M prevailed in the lower courts and the state is currently awaiting a decision for an appeal filed with the Michigan Supreme Court.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/pfas-experts-gather-address-growing-crisis/
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.
The Endangered Species Act was championed by metropolitan Detroit’s very own Congressman John D.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/great-lakes-moment-a-detroit-perspective-on-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-endangered-species-act/
From fishing to enjoying a summer day at the beach, the Great Lakes provide enjoyment, comfort and a sense of home to the region. But these bodies of water were not always secure, as the lakes and connecting rivers were considered dangerous due to high pollution spots.
The Great Lakes region has seen some of the most historic river fires.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/amendment-to-clean-water-act-improves-great-lakes-through-critical-observation-collaboration/
On May 25, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0, changing wetland protection in The Clean Water Act. The Sackett family, who took on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were being fined $40,000 a day for building their Idaho property too close to an unnamed tributary. That tributary feeds into a creek, and that creek feeds into Priest Lake.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/what-are-wetlands-for-anyway/
Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Alison Vilag pays attention for a living.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/points-north-birds-of-paradise/
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Gray wolves are thriving at Isle Royale National Park five years after authorities began a last-ditch attempt to prevent the species from dying out on the Lake Superior island chain, scientists said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the park’s moose population continues a sharp but needed decline.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/ap-wolves-nearly-died-out-recovered-helping-ecosystem/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya, Great Lakes Echo
Laptops, phones, keys, a drone, a picnic table, a meat slicer, axes, spoons, chairs, a horseshoe, guns and a 90-year-old condom are among the items Michigan’s Magnet Man has fished out of the state’s rivers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/michigans-magnet-man-attracts-river-trash/
By Brett Walton, 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/2023/04/great-lakes-take-global-stage/
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.
On that September day in 1998, more than 1,000 rain-soaked and determined people stood up for what they felt was right.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/great-lakes-moment-the-event-that-saved-humbug-marsh/
Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.
As spring comes to Saginaw Bay, a group of elementary school students are preparing to play an important role in a long-term scientific study.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/science-says-what-how-5th-graders-counting-plants-can-lead-to-positive-change/
Lake sturgeon, one of the largest and oldest species of fish in the Great Lakes, are in more trouble than we thought.
In December, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature downgraded its status from Least Concern to Endangered based on shrinking populations over the past three generations, which is between 250 and 300 years for this long-lived fish.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/lake-sturgeon-added-to-endangered-list-but-things-are-looking-up/
By Rebecca Fedewa, 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/2023/01/bridge-circle-of-blue-discuss-michigan-water-priorities/
By John Flesher, Associated Press
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The Great Lakes have endured a lot the past century, from supersized algae blobs to invasive mussels and bloodsucking sea lamprey that nearly wiped out fish populations.
Now, another danger: They — and other big lakes around the world — might be getting more acidic, which could make them less hospitable for some fish and plants.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/ap-atmospheric-carbon-lakes-more-acidic/
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/2023/01/michigan-democrats-aiming-erase-business-friendly-environmental-laws/
By Michael Phillis, Associated Press
President Joe Biden signed a large defense bill on Friday that includes a water bill that directs the Army Corps of Engineers on major infrastructure projects to improve navigation and protect against storms worsened by climate change.
The biggest project by far this year is a $34 billion Texas coastal barrier featuring massive floodgates and other structures to protect the Houston region with its concentration of oil refineries and chemical plants, at risk during major hurricanes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ap-bidens-signature-advances-major-projects-water-bill/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features a story about high tech helpers studying and removing plastic pollution.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/the-catch-robots-tackle-shoreline-trash/
Should natural resources like the Great Lakes have the same legal right to protection from harm as a person has? Including the right to be free from exploitation as a commodity for financial gain?
New York state Assemblyman Patrick Burke thinks so and has introduced formal legislation that would provide for those rights.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/buffalo-legislator-calls-for-protection-for-great-lakes/
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
DETROIT (AP) — In a bustling metro area of 4.3 million people, Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris ventures into isolated thickets to study Detroit’s most elusive residents — coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks among them.
Harris and colleagues have placed trail cameras in woodsy sections of 25 city parks for the past five years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ap-extinctions-shrinking-habitat-spur-rewilding-in-cities/
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/2022/12/michigan-hunters-say-252000-deer-killed-firearms-season-new-rules/
By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments on an attempt by environmental groups to cancel a key permit for a long-stalled copper-nickel mine.
Opponents of PolyMet Mining Corp.′s project say state regulators should have included “end-of-pipe” limits on discharges of mercury, sulfates and other pollutants in the water quality permit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-mine-opponents-minnesota-supreme-court-void-permit/
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/2022/11/i-speak-for-the-fish-these-catfish-have-something-to-say/
By Matthew Daly, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-fired power plants, the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday ordered an Ohio utility to stop dumping dangerous coal ash into unlined storage ponds and speed cleanup of the site.
The order to the Gen.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-epa-orders-ohio-power-plant-stop-dumping-coal-ash/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features a story about Great Lakes piping plovers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/the-catch-record-number-of-piping-plovers/
By Ashley Okwuosa, The Narwhal
Photography by Ramona Leitao
This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.
Susan Rosebrugh rose from sleep when she heard the sound of fire trucks, and turned to her partner in frustration.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/former-gm-plant-leaking-toxic-chemicals/
By John Flesher, Associated Press
Lifelong Cleveland resident Steve Gove recalls when the Cuyahoga River symbolized shame — fetid, lifeless, notorious for catching fire when sparks from overhead rail cars ignited the oil-slicked surface.
“It was pretty grungy,” said the 73-year-old, a canoeist in his youth who sometimes braved the filthy stretch through the steelmaking city.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-clean-water-act-at-50/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features why lightning bugs are in trouble.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/the-catch-lightning-bug-population-dimming/
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled a western county in the state must conduct an environmental review to determine whether a proposed drainage ditch improvement could harm one of the last free-flowing creeks in the heavily agricultural area.
The ruling last week affirms a state Court of Appeals judgment that reversed a Renville County Board decision which said the study wasn’t necessary.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-farm-country-stream-protected-waterway/
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — State regulators on Monday ordered a Flint chemical company to truck wastewater to a water treatment plant, weeks after it was blamed for an oily discharge in the Flint River.
The 11-page order describes disputes between Lockhart Chemical and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/ap-state-cracks-down-on-flint-company/
When we think of our cherished dogs, most of us don’t easily make a connection to environmental policy or protecting the Great Lakes.
But that’s the path Traverse City’s Dave Dempsey followed in his latest book release, Half Wild: People, Dogs and Environmental Policy.
The premise of the book examines our tendency to engage in binary thinking on protecting the environment and the Great Lakes, much like dogs who are domesticated but retain long-ingrained wild tendencies.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/dave-dempsey-people-dogs-and-environmental-policy/
By Keith Schneider, 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/2022/09/powerful-industry-torrent-manure-overwhelms-state-regulators/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features stories from “Poisonous Ponds: Tackling Toxic Coal Ash,” a collaborative project featuring the reporting work of students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications on Great Lakes Now and Energy News Network programs and websites.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/the-catch-coal-ash-regulation/
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Isle Royale National Park’s gray wolf population has reached 28, a dramatic comeback after the species nearly disappeared from the Lake Superior island chain, researchers said.
Health problems from inbreeding caused a die-off that left only two wolves a few years ago, leading park officials to authorize an airlift of mainland replacements.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/ap-isle-royale-wolf-population-surges/
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/2022/08/michigans-up-north-forests-could-be-doomed/
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/2022/06/bird-flu-killed-threatened-caspian-terns/
By Mylène Ratelle, University of Waterloo, and Jessie Yakeleya, Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, The Conversation
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
In Indigenous communities that have lacked access to safe water for years, getting access to a safe water supply is crucial.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/northern-indigenous-communities-drinking-water/
By Darby Hinkley, 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 her experience picking up litter along the Lake Huron shoreline, Meag Schwartz has seen a whole lot of cigarette butts.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/keeping-waters-clean/
By Steve Schulwitz, 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 – Aquatic invasive species continue to spread and threaten the ecosystem in the waterways near Alpena, local environmental professionals say.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/group-battles-invasive-species/
By Diana Kruzman, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.
Northeastern Minnesota’s Iron Range has been a major mining hub since the 1860s. Nestled among thick forests and many of the state’s famed “10,000 lakes,” open-pit mines there produce low-grade iron ore that’s shipped to steel mills around the country.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/minnesota-polymet-mine-renewable-energy-tribes/
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/2022/06/toxic-hot-spots-michigan-great-lakes-states/
Invasive zebra and quagga mussels are firmly established in the Great Lakes, and efforts to control them have proved mostly fruitless. But environmental managers still want to know where they are, how many there are and what they are up to, so they can predict how the ecosystem will be affected and protect vital infrastructure.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ai-technology-invaders-great-lakes/
By Matthew Brown and Matthew Daly, Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s order to protect the nation’s oldest forests against climate change, wildfires and other problems devastating vast woodlands is raising a simple yet vexing question: When does a forest grow old?
Millions of acres are potentially on the line — federal land that could eventually get new protections or remain open to logging as the administration decides which trees to count under Biden’s order covering “old growth” and “mature” forests.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-biden-forest-plan-dispute/
When Monty and Rose – Chicago’s beloved piping plover pair – first successfully nested at Montrose Beach, a popular place on the city’s north side, people celebrated the potential return of a dying bird species and were charmed by the adorable tiny birds.
The Great Lakes piping plover population has been a U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/monty-passes-rose-location-question/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigans-infrastructure-windfall/
By David A. Lieb, Michael Casey and Michelle Minkoff, Associated Press
Constructed four generations ago, the massive rock and clay dam at El Capitan Reservoir is capable of storing over 36 billion gallons of water, enough to supply every resident in San Diego for most of a year.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-analysis-growing-number-of-dams/
In 1972, the federal Clean Water Act proclaimed an ambitious goal – “fishable, swimmable” waters across the U.S. by 1983. Today, just over half of assessed river and stream miles across the U.S. remain too polluted for swimming and recreation, aquatic life, fish consumption, or as drinking water sources.
That assessment comes from a newly released report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), a non-profit group founded in 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/outdated-clean-water-act-polluted-rivers/
By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal
This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.
From warming water to shifting growing seasons, Ontario is already seeing the effects of climate change. But for the most part, Doug Ford and his government say, the province’s natural resources are doing just fine.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/report-ontario-natural-resources/
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
In 2014, the legacy problem of lead pipes throughout the nation came to a head in Flint, Michigan, when the city emergency manager’s decision to switch the water source and not treat it to prevent corrosion led to lead leaching from the pipes into the city’s drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigans-water-systems-city-populations/
By Kelly House
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/water-woes-michigan-suburbs-disinvestment/
