A robot won’t solve the problem of plastics pollution on Presque Isle State Park beaches in Erie, Pennsylvania, but it could be part of the solution. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240624-beach-cleaning-robots-pesqueisle
The Cleveland Water Alliance has deployed 13 smart buoys along Ohio’s Lake Erie coast, including one in the Toledo area and others as far east as Ashtabula, and Ohioans who are curious may text each of them to get real time information. Read the full story by The Courier.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240624-lakeerie-buoy-waterwind-info
Summer is officially here, and for many of us Michiganders, there’s no better way to kick off the season than by visiting one of our state’s picturesque beaches. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240624-mymichiganbeach-kickoff-summer
Most of the litter picked up by volunteers during beach cleanups is plastic. Volunteers with the Alliance for the Great Lakes have removed more than 9.7 million pieces of litter — more than 535,000 pounds — since its Adopt a Beach Program was launched in 1991. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240624-lakemichigan-beachcleanups
Most people explore nature in Michigan on its beaches or in its woods – but at a place called Bear Cave in Southwest Michigan, you can explore Great Lakes history underground. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240624-cave-near-lake-michigan
Each year, the Great Lakes attract several million tourists from the U.S. and around the world. The Great Lakes hold one-fifth of all the fresh water on the Earth’s surface with a combined coastline extending for over 10,000 miles. However, those are some rather basic facts – whether it’s pirates, shipwrecks, or Babe Ruth’s first official home run, these fascinating tidbits are a bit less straightforward. Read the full story by Classic City News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-greatlakes-facts
A Lake Erie documentary series produced in Erie is up for a prestigious award. ‘Lake Erie, Our Kin,’ a two-part series produced by Erie-based filmmakers John C. Lyons and Melissa A. Troutman has been nominated for two Emmy Awards in the Societal Concerns category in the 55th annual Central Great Lakes Emmy Awards. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-lakeerie-documentary-emmyawards
Dog owners beware, harmful algal bloom season could be near. The first blooms that exceeded the threshold for dog swimming advisories last year were discovered in late May. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-lakeerie-bloomseasoncoming
The S.S. Badger is back in service after a longer-than-expected offseason. It’s a sound that people in Manitowoc have waited 10 months for; the blowing horn of the S.S. Badger. The ferry, which is the largest one to cross Lake Michigan, arrived in Manitowoc at noon Friday. Read the full story by WTAQ-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-ssbadger-lakemichigancrossings
A new robot meant to save lives is coming to the shores of Lake Michigan. The high-tech tool is a battery-powered and remote-controlled boat, which can be used at beaches for drowning prevention and water rescue. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-lakemichigan-lifesaving-robot
Michigan Clean Water Corps organization held its annual Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program on Saturday in Crystal Falls, Michigan. The purpose of the program is to help volunteers monitor indicators of water quality in their lakes. The program aims to teach attendees how to do things like measuring the clarity of the water. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Negaunee, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-michigancleanwatercorp-lakemonitoringefforts
More than $77 million in infrastructure and expansion projects are now being developed at Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor as a record construction season kicks off in the Lake Michigan port. Read the full story by Maritime Logistics Professionals.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-maritime-projects-lakemichigan
Fourth and fifth-grade students from Rogers City, Michigan Elementary took a field trip to the Carmeuse calcite operations quarry on Monday to release the Chinook salmon they’ve taken care of since November. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-releasingsalmon-lakehuron
The toxic algae blooms that befoul Lake Erie and other regional waterways each summer are stinky, ugly and dangerous. They’ve killed dogs, sickened boaters and triggered rashes and respiratory problems for beachgoers — and there’s little doctors can do to help. However, there’s hope that medicine will eventually be available for people who are regularly exposed to the toxin. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-greatlakes-algae-sickness
Despite losing a few ships this year, experts say you can expect to see a lot of cruise ships once again on the Great Lakes this summer. A few popular cruise ports will include Little Current, Killarney, and Sault Ste. Marie. Read the full story by CTV News Northern Ontario.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-cruiseships-greatlakes-summer
The cause of a large number of dead and dying fish reported at Lake Macatawa, located near Holland in Ottawa County, Michigan, has been found. Testing of collected fish revealed positive cases of viral hemorrhagic septicemia. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-fish-dying-lakemacatawa
SUNY Oswego recently launched the Great Lakes Institute to foster a greater awareness and understanding of the Great Lakes through continuing research efforts, academic programming and coursework for students at all levels, and public outreach. Read the full story by Oswego County News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-greatlakesinstitude-challenges-solutions
Readers across the Great Lakes states and Canada this year will participate in a basin-wide book club hosted by the Library of the Great Lakes. From now until September 2025, participants will read Michigan author Sally Cole-Misch’s The Best Part of Us and Ontario author Joanne Robertson’s children’s book, The Water Walker. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-summerread-book-club
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced a remarkable discovery on May 1st, 2024, unearthing the long-lost Adella Shores vessel beneath 650 feet of water, roughly 40 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in Michigan. Read the full story by WITL – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-adellashores-shipwreck-lakesuperior
After major work this weekend, one of the tall ships in Erie, Pennsylvania, the Lettie G. Howard, has a new mast and is close to being ready to setting sail on Lake Erie. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-lakeerie-tallship
Despite hitting some rocky waters recently, it’s full steam ahead for the SS Badger this year, with the popular Lake Michigan car ferry setting sail for its 71st season May 17. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-ss-badger
The owner of an unlicensed mid-Michigan RV park is accused of violating environmental laws and jeopardizing water quality by discharging raw sewage into groundwater. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-michiganrvpark-sewage-discharge
One year after an effort was rejected by regulators, a new plan is in motion to restore the rapids to the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-grandriver-rapids
Researchers at Central Michigan University are exploring the Great Lakes with the help of a brand-new submarine. CMU’s Institute for Great Lakes Research bought a two-person submersible with big plans for its future. Read the full story by WNEM-TV – Bay City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-cmu-sub-greatlakes
It’s estimated that nearly two-thirds of aquatic invasive species currently in the Great Lakes hitched a ride in the ballast water of cargo ships crossing the ocean. However, the same isn’t true of lakers, or ships that move exclusively within the Great Lakes. While the ballast water of these ships isn’t introducing new species, there’s a good chance it’s spreading invasive species throughout the lakes. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-ballastwater-greatlakes
The National Museum of the Great Lakes located in Toledo, Ohio will break ground on a 5,000-square-foot expansion Monday afternoon to provide additional space for temporary and traveling exhibits, new permanent exhibit spaces, and a community education center. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-nationalmuseum-greatlakes-expansion
To study the impacts of ice coverage, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences have algae at the center of their research. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-uwmilwaukee-scientists-icecoverage-lakemichigan
When you walk along the beaches of Lake Erie, you’re going to see litter and a new report found that a lot of that trash is going to be plastic. On average, 86% of the litter collected in a given Adopt-a-Beach season is composed either partially or fully of plastic. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-greatlakesbeaches-presqueisle-plasticpollution
If you spend a lot of time on the water, you might be interested in becoming a water quality monitor. The MiCorps Cooperative Lake Monitoring Program is to help citizen scientists across the state collect water quality information, and other information about their lake’s health, to help understand what’s going on in their lake. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-michiganswaterquality-micorp-lakemonitoring
H2Ohio’s agriculture incentive program is now being offered to producers throughout the state. H2Ohio’s agricultural program, which initially focused solely on farms located in northwest Ohio near Lake Erie, incentivizes farmers to implement science-based, proven best management practices to prevent nutrient runoff and improve water quality. Read the full story by Ohio Ag Net.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-statewideh2ohio
Lake sturgeon don’t need Endangered Species Act protections, federal wildlife officials announced Monday, saying that stocking programs have helped the prehistoric fish return to areas where they had vanished. Read the full story by WGHP-TV – Madison, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-prehistoric-lakesturgeon
Dozens of children of the water crisis — now teenagers and young adults — have turned their trauma into advocacy. They provide input on public health initiatives, participate in social issue campaigns, distribute filters and provide free water testing for homeowners. Read the full story by WHNT-TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240422-flint-environmental-advocacy
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
Ottawa Sands County Park on Lake Michigan near Grand Haven, Michigan, will be closed to the public until later this summer as construction continues on numerous improvements to facilities, including treehouses, yurts, and campsites for overnight stays. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-lakemichigan-park-closing
A new study suggests microscopic plastic particles are reaching corners of the world untouched by people, including remote bodies of water in Ontario north of Lake Superior. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-microplastics-greatlakes-newstudy
In the 76 days of the 2023 domestic icebreaking season, six U.S. icebreakers combined to deliver 719 hours of icebreaking assistance to the benefit of 52 vessel transits; 18 of these movements required direct icebreaking assistance to ensure commercial vessel safety. Read the full story by WWTV- Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-coastguard-greatlakes-icebreakers-52vessels
Every fish studied recently in two southeast Michigan watersheds contained at least one of 14 PFAS health-threatening chemicals. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-toxicchemicals-lakemichigan-fish
Lake Zurich, Illinois, village officials approved new measures last week for a $154 million project that will transition the town’s water source to Lake Michigan, but it comes at a price for its residents. The project will be the most expensive infrastructure project in the village’s history. Read the full story by the Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-lakezurich-150million-project-lakemichiganwatersource
Navigating vessels in the Great Lakes might seem a lot easier than spending weeks on the open ocean. However, that doesn’t mean Great Lakes crews are any less vigilant, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-greatlakes-shipping-safety
Environment and Climate Change Canada says ice cover on the Great Lakes reached a record low this winter. Experts say that ice cover on the Great Lakes has declined about 75 percent in the last 50 years. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-icecover-low-greatlakes-environmentcanada
Tribal communities have long faced barriers to clean drinking water and testing. The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center, based in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, aims to help tribal schools, childcare centers and after-school programs across the Great Lakes region ensure their water is safe through its free drinking water testing program. Read the full story by WUMW – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-freewatertesting-tribalschools-greatlakesregion
