For the second year in a row, scientists predict the annual Lake Erie cyanobacteria bloom will be smaller than it has been in the past decade.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast, assembled with the help of multiple partners, indicates an expected bloom severity index of 3 on a scale of 10.5.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/2021-harmful-algal-blooms-toxic-algae/
CHICAGO (AP) — While most of Chicago’s cultural institutions have reopened their doors, the Adler Planetarium won’t do so fully until next year.
The planetarium along Lake Michigan closed in March 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Planetarium officials said in a letter posted on the website earlier this month that they’ll start offering some events in July including weekend screenings of sky shows, but due to financial difficulties the full reopening will be in March 2022.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-chicago-adler-planetarium-reopen-2022/
Parks around the Great Lakes are expecting a spike in visitation this season as the United States and Canada continue to distribute COVID-19 vaccines.
At Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the park campgrounds and backpacking sites are booked for the summer after a record 1.2 million visitors last year.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/great-lakes-parks-increased-visitation-summer/
A Wisconsin State Park bordering the shoreline of Lake Michigan is teeming with dunes, preserved wetlands and protected plant species. It’s a great view – making it an ideal neighbor for a new golf resort that one of the state’s manufacturing giants has been fighting for years to build.
Kohler-Andre State Park is located in Sheboygan County and comprised of two state parks, Terry Andrae State Park and John Michael Kohler State Park.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/wisconsin-lake-michigan-dune-shoreline-golf-course-development/
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/
In the May installment of Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Lake Talks, guest speakers from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism will explore the role that Great Lakes tourism plays in Wisconsin’s economy. They’ll also share their ideas for fun summer getaways.
The Lake Talks are informal, interactive presentations on Great Lakes issues, especially those involving Lake Michigan. In light of the ongoing pandemic, these public events are currently being offered via Zoom.
On Thursday, May 6, from 7-8 p.m., the featured speakers will be Wisconsin Department of Tourism Acting Secretary Anne Sayers and Office of Outdoor Recreation Director Mary Monroe Brown.
Dunes at Kohler-Andrae State Park, located along Lake Michigan in Sheboygan, Wis. (Photo: Wisconsin Department of Tourism)
As the top driver of visits to Wisconsin, outdoor recreation plays a major role in the success of our state’s tourism industry. With 800 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, Wisconsin’s vibrant coastal communities invite visitors to experience the state’s rich outdoor heritage and natural wonders.
Sayers and Brown will discuss how tourism and outdoor recreation are intertwined and work together to create eye-popping economic impact for Wisconsin. Plus, they’ll share tips on what to see and do on your next Great Lakes adventure.
Register now for this free event.
For connection information for future talks, or to watch video of previous talks, visit the Lake Talks page on the Wisconsin Sea Grant website, or follow Wisconsin Sea Grant on Facebook or Twitter.
For questions about this series, contact Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator Jennifer Smith.
The post Next Lake Talk will examine Great Lakes tourism's role in Wisconsin's economy first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/next-lake-talk-will-examine-great-lakes-tourisms-role-in-wisconsins-economy/
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/
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/
FRANKFORT, Mich. (AP) — A popular summer town along Lake Michigan is trying to improve beach safety through technology.
Frankfort will use cellular phone networks and weather data to regularly update lights installed at the beach entrance and at the pier, 9 & 10 News reported.
Signs will explain the different lights and beach conditions.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/ap-lake-michigan-town-lights-beach-safety/
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 Eastern Seaboard has the Appalachian Trail, the Western Seaboard has the Pacific Rim Trail, and the Rocky Mountains has the Continental Divide Trail.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/great-lakes-way-southern-lake-huron-western-lake-erie/
With COVID-19 vaccines rolling out, many people are shifting their worries to the economy and how to recover from the state that it has been left in – with numerous local and regional industries gutted after this past summer.
“Until we start working together and work together to make sure that we keep the pandemic down while the vaccine is coming in, we’re not going to be able to rebuild this economy for quite some time,” John Dickert of the Alliance for Regional Development in a Great Lakes Now interview.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/covid-19-concerns-economic-recovery-plagues/
This is part of a series in which the Great Lakes Now staff looks back on 2020.
A frequent theme of my GLN articles – and others’ – this year was the Crazy-19 virus. For me, its appearance in print ranged from news about charter captains not fishing and non-resident fishing and hunting license sales suspended to parks, monuments, Lake Erie businesses shut down and events cancelled, including The Biggest Week in American Birding.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/2020-really-sucked-next-i-dont-know/
By Paula Gardner, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Doubling the size of a factory during a global pandemic may not fit a traditional business plan.
But Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis is based in Northern Michigan, where it’s making a product that helps to define the winter economy for the ski-maker’s home in Boyne City and across the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/covid-19-outdoor-recreation-michigan-ski-industry/
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/
Great Lakes parks have always been popular among outdoor enthusiasts. This summer, however, pandemic-weary residents on both sides of the border flocked to them – many for the first time – just as services such as campsites, visitors’ centers, washrooms and interpretive programs were closed to help contain COVID-19.
The spike in summertime numbers was doubly challenging this year as the lakes’ record-high water levels have washed away some beaches and trails.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/summertime-spike-great-lakes-parks-covid-19/
Great Lakes states and provinces have opened up their parks to overnight campers again now that COVID-19 closures have been lifted.
In March, national parks were closed in Canada, along with Ontario provincial parks. In the U.S., while parks remained open to visitors, facilities and many campgrounds were closed to the public.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/visitors-flock-parks-beaches-lakes-provinces-states-reopen/
The U.S. headed into the Fourth of July weekend with many parades and fireworks displays canceled, beaches and bars closed, and health authorities warning that this will be a crucial test of Americans’ self-control that could determine the trajectory of the surging coronavirus outbreak.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/ap-july-fourth-weekend-covid-19/
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/
In March, COVID-19 brought the Great Lakes economy and society in general to a grinding halt.
Three months later, it’s not yet business as usual and challenges remain.
That’s the consensus of a group of Great Lakes industries and scientific researchers Great Lakes Now first spoke with in April.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/covid-19-great-lakes-shipping-charter-boats-research/
Once left ambiguously up in the air, the rest of the 2020 cruising season in the Great Lakes has been officially postponed until 2021, due largely to preventative measures taken by both American and Canadian ports restricting cruise ship docking to halt the spread of COVID-19.
When one of the largest players in the Great Lakes cruising industry, Victory Cruises, announced it would be cancelling its 2020 itinerary at the end of May, it became much more likely that others would follow suit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/covid-19-cruise-great-lakes-season-2021/
The animals at various aquariums are dealing with their own COVID-19 lockdown struggles as they adjust to new routines, new procedures and a distinct lack of the public, and each animal handles it a little differently.
Thanks to Great Lakes aquariums like Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, the Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing in Brockville, Ontario, and Belle Isle Conservancy in Detroit, the public can get a peek at the various things staff are doing to keep the animals happy and entertained.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/animal-quiz-great-lakes-aquarium-animal-covid-19-quarantine/
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is one of the more popular, well-known aquariums around the country with 2 million visitors every year.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has closed it to the public, which is a big change for the penguins, whales, fish and other creatures that live in the Shedd’s various habitats.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/covid-19-shedd-aquarium-visitors/
There are cockroaches roaming the aquarium at the Belle Isle Conservancy.
But don’t worry, they’re supposed to be there.
Unlike the smaller, more common roaches you might find in a dirty or old building, these cockroaches are Madagascar hissing cockroaches, who have their own exhibit at the conservancy and were given a chance to say hello to some fish while the aquarium is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/covid-19-belle-isle-fish-and-insects-visitors/
Masks or no, the otters at the Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing in Brockville, Ontario, know exactly who’s in their den space.
“They really recognize us more by our smell and our boots,” said Jennipher Carter, senior aquarist at the Aquatarium. For the otters at least, adjusting to their caretakers all wearing masks didn’t take long.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ontario-aquatarium-covid-19-virtual-engagement/
HOUGHTON, Mich. (AP) — Wolves and moose won’t notice much human company at Isle Royale National Park.
The remote island in Lake Superior said it’s delaying the summer opening because of coronavirus restrictions. Camping might become available by late June or July but there will be no ferry service.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ap-isle-royale-covid-19/
PORTER, Ind. (AP) — Indiana Dunes National Park has started an information line to help visitors find an open beach with available parking amid severe shoreline erosion along Lake Michigan and the need for social distancing.
Beginning Saturday morning, visitors can call 219-395-1003 to hear recorded information on available parking at Indiana Dunes National Park beaches and nearby Indiana Dunes State Park.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ap-indiana-dunes-covid-19-beach-parking/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Clare Nagrant earns her living from tourism, so she’s taken a beating during the coronavirus-imposed shutdown. A few months ago, she was juggling four jobs. Now she’s down to one part-time gig with a distillery that stayed open by adding hand sanitizer to its product line.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ap-coronavirus-covid-19-michigan-traverse-city-tourism/
ALPENA, Mich. (AP) — Some small Michigan communities aren’t giving up on summer traditions despite the coronavirus.
The Alpena Municipal Council is giving people time to raise money for a July 4 fireworks show along Lake Huron in the northern Lower Peninsula.
Lafarge North America, which operates a cement plant in Alpena, will match donations up to $12,000, the Alpena News reported.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ap-coronavirus-alpena-michigan-fireworks/
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/
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/
Cruise season is expected to continue as normal for the Great Lakes region, even as ports and cruise lines grapple with how to protect passengers and crew.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/coronavirus-covid-19-cruises-continue/
The public can continue to enjoy aquariums, museums and centers as the facilities close buildings. But starting March 25, Parks Canada is closing all national parks.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/aquariums-museums-online-livestreams-covid-19/
The tourism that usually rises around this time is on hold, but residents are battening down with ease.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/great-lakes-islands-ferry-coronavirus-covid-19/
The agencies and businesses running the services, centers and parks are adapting daily, hourly.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/great-lakes-parks-centers-tourism-coronavirus-covid-19/
Michigan and Wisconsin are currently the only Great Lakes states with an Office of Outdoor Recreation, though Indiana and Minnesota might see one soon.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/outdoor-recreation-industry-great-lakes/
In major lakeside cities around the Great Lakes, there isn’t a clear answer on who handles oversight of industrial storage facilities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/seawall-inspections-industrial-storage-pollution-government/
