The Winnebago, Wisconsin, sturgeon spearing season was closed with bang when two more fish were harvested weighing in at over 100 pounds each. Read the full story by WTMJ-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250224-sturgeonspearing-sunday
The oldest known Great Lakes piping plover was recently spotted at her favorite wintering grounds on the Atlantic shore in Georgia. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-oldest-pipingplover-basks-southernsunshine
As expected, companion legislation aimed at reauthorizing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was reintroduced into the U.S. Senate this week. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-greatlakes-reauth-bill-senate
Minnesota is giving its water quality standards a fresh look. With public input in their hands, officials are under pressure to add language about nitrate levels, a move some said is long overdue. Read the full story by Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-minnesota-nitratestandards
Winter surfing in Sheboygan, Michigan, sometimes called the Malibu of the Midwest, is unique in that it’s not as particular about which way the wind blows. The Great Lakes surf season peaks in fall and winter when the wind creates some of the biggest waves of the year. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-wintersurfers-embrace-cold
The Port Authority recently began requesting proposals from entrepreneurs/individuals interested in both operating the bayfront landmark and bringing new business/activity — such as a retail shop or a restaurant — to the iconic waterfront landmark and its surrounding area. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-bicentennialtower-erie-portauthority
A recent study has found dozens of previously unknown “forever chemicals” in the fish, mussels and waters of Lake Huron, revealing more contamination than previously realized. Now researchers are scrambling to understand the health and environmental effects of these chemicals. Read the full story by Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-researchers-chemicals-pfas-greatlakes-fish
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said it stocked the state with more than 46 million fish in Ohio’s lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. That’s 6 million more than what was stocked in 2023. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-ohio-restockedwaterways-fish-2024
Eight new H2Ohio wetland grants totaling $7.7 million were announced by the DeWine administration Tuesday. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-northwest-ohio-h2ohio-wetlandprojects
The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie are a critical piece to the ever-important Great Lakes shipping industry. Each year, from late March through mid-January of the next year, hundreds of ships go through Lakes Superior and Huron, up and the St. Mary’s River transporting tens of millions of tons of cargo. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-ships-soolocks-2024
In December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the first construction contract had been awarded for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River near Joliet, Illinois. The work includes installing underwater defenses to keep invasive carp from getting into the Great Lakes. However, the first phase of the project has now been postponed due to the “anticipated lack of federal funding” under the Trump administration. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-funding-uncertainty-greatlakes-invasivecarp-trump
Canada and the U.S. are being asked by the science advisory board for the International Joint Commission to designate microplastics as a chemical of mutual concern under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-us-canada-greatlakes-microplasticpollution-takeaction
An increasing goose population within cities and suburban areas is raising concerns about the effects of their poop entering waterways. Goose poop contains high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, which in large quantities cause eutrophication, or the growth of algal blooms in water bodies. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-moregoosepoop-moreproblems
Ashland County is set to host an event focusing on the retailer’s role in implementing H2Ohio’s nutrient management plans. Read the full story by the Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-conservationchat-h2ohio
The city of Rochester Hills, Michigan, was awarded $300,000 in funding for habitat restoration. The funds will allow the city to use herbicide, mechanical removal, and prescribed fire methods to reduce invasives in the natural areas in Rochester Hills and the Clinton River watershed. Read the full story by C&G Newspapers.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-rochesterhills-fight-invasive-species
The owners of a shuttered nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Michigan are still banking on its historic reopening later this year, despite the confusion of President Donald Trump’s mixed messages on nuclear power. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-palisades-nuclear-plant
The Minnesota Court of Appeals handed environmental groups a win in their continuing legal fight against the expansion of a massive pond for mining waste three miles from Lake Superior. Their ruling says the DNR was too quick to reject a comprehensive study of the basin, which holds more than 40 years’ worth of mine waste near Silver Bay. Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-dnr-massive-pool-mine-waste
Michigan’s sturgeon fishing season on Black Lake set a record Saturday as the fastest ever, wrapping up in just 17 minutes. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-michigan-2025-sturgeonseason-blacklake
Greenhouse growers would love to tap into Lake Erie directly for water, cutting development charges. Municipal officials say the move would also reduce strain on the municipal water system. Read the full story by The Chatham Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-growers-lakeerie
Ottawa Sands County Park, located in Spring Lake, Michigan, was transformed from a former sand mining site to a vibrant ecological and recreational hub has been recognized for its design by state park officials. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-ottawacountypark-transformation-miningsite
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources worked this fall to stock hundreds of thousands of fish in waters across the state — fish that will provide anglers with more opportunities in seasons to come. Read the full story by The Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-dnr-restocked-michiganwaters
After a few mild winters that left the Great Lakes with a lack of ice cover, anglers are rejoicing about the colder temperatures and thicker ice this winter. As of Friday, Lake St. Clair was 100% covered by ice. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-anglers-ice-longerseason
During the winter months, the water levels drop in the Great Lakes as part of an annual cycle, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They predict water levels will continue to drop until around April. All the Great Lakes this winter are below 2023-2024 levels. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-waterlevels-january
The Manitoulin, a 663-foot Canadian vessel with 17 people on board, got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie on Wednesday after it dropped off a load of wheat in Buffalo, New York, and was heading back to Canada. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-freighter-lakeerie-freed
The sea lamprey, native to the Atlantic Ocean, invaded the Great Lakes generations ago and killed off much of the lake trout population. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-predator
Chicago’s warmest February on record, in 2024, brought an unsettling first: a full month without snow in a city known for epic winter storms. While a milder winter may seem like a relief, the implications go deeper, signaling the urgency to prepare for more erratic weather, especially along our Great Lakes shores. Read the full story by Crain’s Chicago Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-coastal-communities
A business competition to tackle environmental and infrastructure issues in the Great Lakes kicks off on Monday. Water quality, microplastics, PFAS and marine infrastructure are among the things people could grapple with in this year’s Great Lakes Blue Tech Challenge. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-problems-solutions-bluetech
A new documentary film that tells the underwater impact of quagga mussels in the Great Lakes debuts this Thursday in Wisconsin and will be streamed online.. “All Too Clear” is a 90-minute production that uses underwater drones to explore the re-engineering of the ecosystem in the Great Lakes by the tiny invasive mussels. Read the full story by the Door County Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-underwater-documentary-doorcounty
A new assessment of Great Lakes Lake whitefish populations indicates that even if we bring commercial fishing harvest to zero, the lakes are still headed toward extirpation. Read the full story by WCMU Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-lakewhitefish-survey-direpicture
The Great Lakes region is an ideal place to see gulls, especially during the winter months when rare gulls pass through. While they may not be a marvel to most birders, they stand out for their unique ability to adapt to their environment in the face of climate change. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-greatlakes-gulls
A film set to debut in Cleveland might be the first of its kind to provide a hyperlocal focus on the unseen impacts of the plastic materials that are floating around our the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Cleveland Scene.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-ripplesofplastic-lakeerie-plasticpollution
The American Mariner was the final ship through the Soo Locks on Thursday, marking the end of the Great Lakes navigation season. Read the full story by WCMU Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-soolocks-americanmariner-lastship
One of the largest vessels to use the Port of Cleveland — the 1004-foot-long, 50-foot-tall James R. Barker — on Thursday found itself stuck in ice as it attempted to navigate the harbor. Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-freighter-stuck-lakeerie-coastguard
Local surfer and Greenhouse Surfboards founder Ken Cole took his passion for surfing beyond getting out on the water. He’s created the world’s first leaf-based surfboard to encompass what he believes is the art, soul and sustainable future of surfing. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-milwaukee-surfer-ecoboard
Tourism leaders in East Tawas in Northeast Michigan have joined an international cruise marketing program called ‘Cruise the Great Lakes’ with the hope of becoming a stop for cruises. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-michigan-cruisestop-greatlakes
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission’s Annual Life on Lake Erie Photo Contest is now open. Photographers are invited to submit up to five images that represent the essence of life on Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Fremont News-Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-commission-ohio-greatlakes-photocontest
Trump recently referenced a “large faucet” in British Columbia, Canada that could be turned on to bring water to California, without providing supporting information or a mention of how Canada might see the venture. Canadians are taking Trump’s desire for Canada’s water seriously. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-trump-waterstatement-canadians
A new study is contributing to the ever-evolving understanding of what occurs in the Great Lakes during the winter months, and how the lakes affect winter weather in the region. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-greatlakes-winter-season-shrinking
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-coastguard-icebreaking-begins-greatlakes
Many environmental groups oppose a proposed Osceola County, Michigan, salt mine out of concern that the “solution mining” process would contaminate aquifers and dry up surface water bodies. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-public-input-michigan-saltmine
The amount of cargo moving through ports on the Great Lakes is trailing behind shipments at the same time last year as the shipping season nears its end. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-cargotonnage-greatlakes-ports-shippingseason-ends
Sea lamprey abundance exceeded targets in 2024 in all Great Lakes due to treatment restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, numbers of the parasitic fish are expected to decline. Read the full story by USA Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-vampires-greatlakes
A large section of a 19th century vessel that washed up on the shore of Lake Erie in Erieau, Ontario, has generated a lot of interest. Read the full story by the Chatham Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-19thcentury-vessel-erieau
A recent Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan report documents substantial progress in creating The Great Lakes Way — an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from Port Huron, Michigan, on southern Lake Huron, to Toledo, Ohio, on western Lake Erie. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-greatlakesmoment
With temperatures in single digits, more ice developed in Duluth, Minnesota, giving the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw a chance to show off its skills. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-photos-mackinaw-path
Researchers on Lake Superior have “rediscovered” the shortnose cisco, a Great Lakes fish species thought to have been extinct for decades. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-rediscovered-fish-species-lakesuperior
Snowy owls are arriving in the Great Lakes region earlier than usual this winter, marking what experts describe as an “early-season push.” This contrasts with a much slower migration in 2023. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-greatlakes-early-season-push-snowyowls
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission said non-native predatory sea lamprey populations spiked due to reduced control during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission said numbers rose when field crews were constrained in their ability to conduct sea lamprey control in 2020 and 2021. Read the full story by WWTV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-invasivesealamprey-population-spike
MillerKnoll, a West Michigan office furniture manufacturer, has committed to eliminating PFAS from most of its products by next year. The company said all North American products will be free of any added per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances beginning in May 2025. Efforts to reduce or eliminate PFAS in manufacturing could play a huge role in limiting further pollution of our lakes. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-millerknoll-pfas-eliminate-north-america
In the early hours on Friday, Dec. 13, the Michigan Senate passed five bills that would, together, overhaul Michigan’s environmental remediation program to prioritize physical removal over allowing pollution to remain in the ground but limiting human contact. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-michigan-sentate-cleanup-efforts
