Over the last ten years, the walleye fishery of Saginaw Bay has rebounded from a point of total collapse into a first-class sport fishery. It’s only gotten better since, aided by, among other factors, the collapse of introduced alewives that had preyed upon young walleyes. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-walleye-resurgence
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is encouraging boaters to take caution as drought conditions persist throughout the state. According to the DNR, 40% of Minnesota is currently experiencing severe or moderate drought conditions. Read the full story by WCCO-TV – Minneapolis, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-drought-impacts
The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, opened to marine traffic on March 22, marking the start of the 2024 shipping season. Soon, ports in places like Manistee, Michigan, will welcome the first large vessels of the year. Read the full story by Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-shipping-season
It has been nearly two years since the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) announced its creative endeavor to rename invasive carp as copi and encourage people to eat the fish. Though the IDNR teamed up with chefs and food retailers, it’s still almost impossible to find on store shelves. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-copi-sales
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 18,091 gallons of diesel have been collected as part of a cleanup effort for last month’s diesel fuel spill at a gas station in Ottawa Lake, Michigan. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-leak-cleanup
The Ohio Division of Wildlife’s Lake Erie Fish Program administrator responded to an online controversy by reassuring the public that while various commercial cases have been brought over the last ten years, none have been for overharvesting perch. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-perch-concern
One of twelve tall ships that will soon be in Bay City, Michigan, the Appledore V will be used as a sail training vessel around the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WEYI-TV – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-sail-training
Fish Ohio released fishing records from Lake Erie that show 3,916 catches of trophy fish were submitted in 2023. Those trophy fish came from 17 different species. Read the full story by WFMJ-TV – Youngstown, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-trophy-fishing
There’s never been a better time to find, explore and document shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, thanks to a combination of technology, environmental change, and surge in public interest. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240408-shipwreck-discoveries
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202403
When U.S. Rep.-to-be Debbie Dingell was growing up in St. Clair, she’d get in an inner tube and ride in the wake of freighters passing on the St. Clair River.
She fished there too.
The post Dingell talks environmental priorities in election year first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/04/08/dingell-talks-environmental-priorities-in-election-year/
By Kimberly Rosvall, Indiana University and Liz Aguilar, Indiana University
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
The total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, coincides with an exciting time for wild birds. Local birds are singing for mates and fighting for territories as they gear up for their once-a-year chance to breed.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/during-the-2024-eclipse-biologists-like-us-want-to-find-out-how-birds-will-respond-to-darkness-in-the-middle-of-the-day/
By Matthew Daly, Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday defended a new $20 billion federal “green bank” program, saying it will finance a variety of projects to create low-carbon solutions to combat climate change, including in disadvantaged communities that are most affected by pollution.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/epa-head-regan-defends-20b-green-bank-i-feel-really-good-about-this-program/
Four Michigan tribes and the state and federal government renegotiated fishing rights in the Great Lakes last year without the Sault tribe’s consent. Now, the tribe is suing, arguing it cannot be held to an agreement it never approved. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-saultribe-michigan-fishingdeal
Great Lakes ports can be viable long-term alternatives to East Coast ports, port officials in Detroit and Monroe, Michigan, claim as shipping companies and manufacturers consider diversifying their supply chains to handle catastrophes such as the Baltimore bridge collapse. Read the full story by Axios Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-greatlakesports-boost-supplychain-diversify
The state of Great Lakes port infrastructure is one of the biggest issues facing the U.S. and Canadian maritime industries. Over the next five years Great Lakes navigation channels will require $540 million of dredging to maintain authorized channel dimensions. Read the full story by Maritime Logistics News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-greatlakesports-infrastructure-portinsurance
Citizen-led testing near a polluted former military base in Oscoda, Michigan, has revealed high levels of toxic “forever chemicals” in Lake Huron’s beach foam, prompting calls for the state to better alert beachgoers to the danger. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-pfas-huron
Lake Superior is an incredible resource which appears fresh and clean. However, a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth and the Large Lakes Observatory is researching how many microplastics are floating through Lake Superior’s waters. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-microplastics-lakesuperior
The latest numbers from the Lake Superior Board of Control show that water supply conditions were slightly above average for the month of March. Read the full story by the SooLeader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-watersupply-lakesuperior-waterlevel
State and federal partners announced that conservation practices will be implemented on over 1,700 acres of Indiana farmland through the Western Lake Erie Basin Regional Conservation Partnership. The primary goal of this project is to reduce phosphorus and sediment loading into Lake Erie. Read the full story by WBIW – Bedford, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-soilconservation-fundsawarded-westernlakeeriebasin
Some community leaders say the original limestone steps at Promontory Point are functioning and don’t need to be replaced, just repaired. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already replaced much of Chicago’s shoreline barriers with concrete revetments to repair damage and erosion from the crashing waves of Lake Michigan. Promontory Point is the only spot where the original limestone steps remain. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-promontorypoint-chicago-lakefront
Lake Erie has always been a hot spot for anglers, especially when it comes to walleye fishing; but how successful were they last season? Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-anglers-lakeerie-success
The Biden administration recently announced a goal to protect 30 percent of lands and waters throughout the United States by 2030. This includes continued protection from mining impacts near wilderness areas such as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northeastern Minnesota. Read the full story by the Quetico Superior Foundation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-biden-cleanwater-efforts-historic
The Kirtland’s warbler has an expansive conservation program, draws tourists from across the globe and even has an annual festival in Roscommon, Michigan.
Yet what is perhaps Michigan’s most well-known endangered bird is slated to lose its name.
The post New names slated for birds, including Michigan’s Kirtland’s warbler first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/04/05/new-names-slated-for-birds-including-michigans-kirtlands-warbler/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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/2024/04/sault-tribe-challenges-michigan-fishing-deal-chides-preposterous-rules/
In Ohio and other states in the path of Monday’s total solar eclipse, tons of harried officials are busy dealing with concerns like traffic congestion and hotel capacity. At least a few are also conscious of the fact that demand for electricity is going to spike at the same time that the supply of solar power temporarily plummets.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/energy-news-roundup-even-the-solar-eclipse-is-an-energy-issue/
A Great Lakes commercial fisher cleans a fishing net. Photo credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant
A new publication from a team of Sea Grant researchers lays out a framework for training the future fleet of small-scale commercial fishers and processors in the Great Lakes.
The study, published in the March issue of the Fisheries magazine, proposes place-based, adaptable training content for the Great Lakes Future Fishers Initiative, an apprenticeship program aimed at recruiting and preparing young people for commercial fishing.
The initiative responds to the industry’s concerns about the lack of a future workforce.
“It’s an aging fleet. It’s definitely a hard business,” said Titus Seilheimer, fisheries outreach specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant and coauthor of the study. “We talked to the industry folks and found out what they needed. And you know, what they need is people.”
Seilheimer, alongside Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Food–Fish Outreach Coordinator Sharon Moen and Michigan Sea Grant’s Lauren Jescovitch, surveyed and conducted focus groups with those involved in the Great Lakes commercial fishing industry, including Anishinaabe fishers, multigenerational fishing families and staff from regulatory agencies, to learn more about workforce challenges and what’s needed to be successful in the job.
“A message we heard was that everyone’s needs were different,” said Seilheimer. “Different businesses wanted different things.”
As a result, the Great Lakes Future Fishers Initiative framework is designed to be used more as a menu rather than a curriculum, meaning businesses can select training content that is relevant to their workforce. Content is categorized into three topic areas: fundamental skills (e.g., business planning and marketing), processing skills (e.g., food safety training and knife handling), and deckhand skills (e.g., gear repair and boat navigation).
Lake whitefish are the most valuable fishery in the Great Lakes commercial fishing industry in Wisconsin. Photo credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant
Another major takeaway from the survey was the importance of exposing people to industry at a young age. Of those that took the survey, 92% had some sort of interaction with commercial fishing and processing prior to doing it themselves.
“It wasn’t just a random job posting that they saw and applied to,” said Jescovitch. “Almost everybody that works in the industry had some previous exposure to [it.]”
Jescovitch said that’s where Sea Grant is well positioned to help.
“We can go into schools or even younger groups and [say], ‘hey, this is a possible career path,’ and make sure that people are just even aware that it exists.”
The Great Lakes commercial fishery is a multimillion-dollar industry in Wisconsin, with lake whitefish netting the highest value. Nearly 2 million pounds of lake whitefish were harvested from Lake Michigan and Lake Superior in 2020.
While the industry is small compared to that of the salty coasts, the research team emphasized just how embedded it is in the communities where it occurs. Losing fishing means losing part of the culture.
“This has been a part of our coastal communities for as long as people have lived on the shores of the Great Lakes,” said Seilheimer, pointing out that some communities, like Two Rivers, Wisconsin, have fishing imagery on their town logos and welcome signs.
For tribal fishing businesses, like the Red Cliff Fish Co., commercial fishing and processing is also a way to preserve Indigenous knowledge and traditions.
And much of the fish stays local. The study found that a little over 68% of processed fish—which refers to fish sold as filets or made into other products—stays within 100 km or 62 miles of where it’s caught.
Local harvest means local food security, and as Moen also pointed out, local pride. Commercial fishers and processors can enjoy knowing they put food on the plates of their neighbors. It’s a perk of the job.
“You’re providing good, healthy food for families in a community that you care about,” said Moen. “You can go home at the end of the day feeling like, ‘Wow, I made a difference in some family’s life.’”
The research team is currently applying for grant funding to get the program off the ground—and into coastal communities across the Great Lakes.
The post Training the next generation of Great Lakes commercial fishers first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/training-the-next-generation-of-great-lakes-commercial-fishers/
Michigan’s corn farmers rejected a recent proposed assessment increase amid low prices, blocking additional funds for research and lobbying.
The proposal would have raised the assessment from 1 cent per bushel to 2 cents.
The post Corn farmers again reject assessment bump amid “bad timing” for industry first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/04/04/corn-farmers-again-reject-assessment-bump-amid-bad-timing-for-industry/
Green Bay, WI
https://www.weather.gov/grb/TheApril2-3DamagingWinterStorm
By Dustin Dwyer, Michigan Public
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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/2024/04/palisades-work-family-reunites-for-shot-at-reopening-a-michigan-nuclear-plant/
By Dustin Dwyer, Michigan Public
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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/2024/04/palisades-work-family-reunites-for-shot-at-reopening-a-michigan-nuclear-plant/
LANSING, MI (April 3, 2024) – Nutrient pollution is a severe threat to water quality across the Great Lakes region and is particularly important in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. Understanding, tracking, and predicting where this pollution comes from is difficult due to weather and cropping complexities and a lack of data. This makes it difficult to properly target where conservation funding should be spent.
Through a new $4.86 million grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and a $600,000 grant from the Erb Family Foundation, the Alliance for the Great Lakes will work in partnership with MDARD to increase the agency’s ability track and monitor water quality in five of Michigan’s priority subwatersheds of the Western Basin of Lake Erie. Technical assistance will be provided by the Michigan State University Institute of Water Research and LimnoTech.
The partnership aims to increase monitoring capacity by deploying higher spatial density monitoring instrumentation with a particular focus on understanding phosphorus trends. The information gleaned from this effort will help MDARD better understand various drivers of nutrient transport and allow for better targeting of conservation efforts to combat nutrient pollution.
“Ultimately, understanding where nutrient pollution is coming from and how it travels through the watershed will allow agencies and practitioners to better target conservation and land management practices to improve water quality outcomes. We are excited to partner with MDARD on this effort and applaud the leadership of Director Boring who has continually emphasized the importance of expanding monitoring and data collection to help guide conservation decision making,” said Tom Zimnicki, Alliance for the Great Lakes’ Agriculture and Restoration Policy Director.
“Our department has recognized the need for improved water quality monitoring in WLEB. We know that more holistic farm management focusing on soil health and regenerative agriculture principles can be expected to improve nutrient losses. Through the State of Michigan’s Domestic Action Plan adaptive management approach of continuous assessment and improvement, the scientific outcomes of this work improve our ability to make meaningful progress toward water quality improvements,” said MDARD Director Tim Boring.
The project will run from 2024 to 2029 and cover five of Michigan’s priority sub watersheds – Lime Creek, Stony Creek (South Branch River Raisin), Headwaters of the Saline River, Nile Ditch, and the S.S. LaPointe Drain. Area hydrology, sediment transport, and phosphorus transport in the sub watersheds will be tracked by the program. Data collected will be publicly available.
###
Contact: Don Carr, Media Director, dcarr@greatlakes.org
The post New MDARD Partnership Will Improve Water Quality Monitoring appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2024/04/new-mdard-partnership-will-improve-water-quality-monitoring/
A bill in the Michigan legislature aims to create the Office of the Tribal Legislative Liaison, which, if passed, would make Michigan the first state with a formal legislative connection with its tribal governments. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-tribal-liaison
The first oceangoing vessel of the 2024 shipping season, the Barbro G, sailed into the port of Duluth-Superior just before noon Monday morning, marking the traditional opening of the Great Lakes shipping season in the Twin Ports. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-shipping-season
Marine traffic in the St. Marys River was reopened after an empty bulk cargo ship, The American Mariner, struck a concrete navigation aid around 12:20 a.m. on March 28. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-marine-traffic
The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a Marine Safety Information Bulletin for Lake Erie boaters regarding the April 8 total solar eclipse. According to the Coast Guard boater bulletin, the eclipse may present challenges and potential distractions for those who navigate and operate commercial vessels on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-eclipse-bulletin
Toronto’s Enwave Energy Corp. is digging deep to expand its giant deep lake water cooling system as part of a $100-million program to increase the system’s reach to even more Toronto buildings. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-cooling-system
Twenty-five years ago, several lower Detroit River islands and marshes were threatened by development. As part of a strategy to save these ecosystems, local conservationists coined the term “Conservation Crescent” to raise awareness of the value and benefits of this crescent-shaped archipelago of islands and wetlands. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-conservation-crescent
In Holland, Michigan, local explorers from the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association announced that they had discovered the remarkably intact remains of the 1886 shipwreck of Muskegon-based steam barge, Milwaukee. Read the full story by WWMT-TV – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-shipwreck-discovery
Brook trout and Atlantic salmon are native to Lake Ontario, but in 1873, the Canadian federal government began stocking the lake with non-native salmonids. Now, most of these fish are from the wild, not hatchery-raised, and while these fish aren’t native to Lake Ontario, they’re now an important part of the ecosystem. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-fish-stocking
The state of Michigan released new fishing regulations for the 2024 season, including combined possession limits for lake trout and splake in certain waters and a licensing requirement for charter boat captains and inland fishing guides. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-fishing-regulations
U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell says she expects continued bipartisan government action on improving and protecting Great Lakes water quality, despite the fact that this is a bitterly partisan election year. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-bipartisan-priorities
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/april-3-4-1974-super-outbreak
While the House and Senate have never had a direct, official connection to tribal governments throughout Michigan, new legislation could change that.
A bill would make Michigan the first state with a formal legislative connection with its tribal governments,
The post Liaison office would be first to connect tribes and Legislature first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/04/03/liaison-office-would-be-first-to-connect-tribes-and-legislature/
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.bc7e4e7095534bf0af81bf51b730c32e0e55ef75.004.1.cap
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.90555e5a205c9d0b3f5e91eac19ff84e68c11242.001.1.cap
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.d48521c4c2a95ae5da735598a5c0b12f415412ec.002.1.cap
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
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Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.bd96409eae3ebcd166b4641faf0e926b1d8259dc.001.1.cap
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.ce719945eea4d081d392ae14c9ea5836c513e739.002.1.cap
