The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently awarded Park Township, a town located on the Lake Michigan shoreline near Holland, Michigan, two grants totaling $826,700 to fund improvements. The grants will be used at Park Township’s Winstrom Park and the new Community Park. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-lake-michigan-improvement-grants
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has opened an investigation into a spill of more than 69,000 gallons of crude oil from a pipeline along Enbridge Energy’s Line 6. Read the full story by KTTV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-wisconsin-dnr-oil-spill-line6
Environmental writer Dave Dempsey, who has authored numerous academic titles about the Great Lakes, has taken a more accessible and entertaining approach with his most recent book, “The Great Lakes: Fact or Fake.” Read the full story by City Pulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-test-great-lakes-knowledge
This winter, artists are invited to take part in a long-established tradition of interpreting Isle Royale National Park, which is a remote Lake Superior island. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-isle-royale-artists
The cruise ship industry is expected to have a $230 million economic impact on the Great Lakes region in 2025, according to a forecast by Cruise the Great Lakes, a marketing program focused on attracting more cruise passengers to the region. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241125-cruiseships-greatlakesregion-2025-economicimpact
In Canada, conservationists are calling on the provincial government of New Brunswick to do more to protect the cold waters favored by wild Atlantic salmon, as 2024 is shaping up to be one of the worst on record for survival of the heralded fish. Read the full story by the Telegraph-Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241125-dwindling-salmon-canada
The wetlands of Michigan and the Great Lakes are quickly becoming popular migratory stops for one of the biggest birds to call North America home: the pelican. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241125-pelicans-migrating-michigan
A fisheries biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife is studying the movement of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie, tagging the fish to study whether they’re capable of making long-distance movements. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241125-tag-you-are-it
What more is there to know about the gales of November on the Great Lakes? What lake has the most shipwrecks? And what were some of the region’s most devastating November storms? Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241125-galesofnovember-greatlakes
State grants are funding the renovation and preservation of buildings in Michigan’s Great Lakes shoreline communities. Money for projects near lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior is coming from State Historic Preservation Office grants. Read the full story by City Pulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241125-historicpreservationprojects-greatlakes-shoreline
The Tim S. Dool, a 225-metre-long lake freighter, became stranded in U.S. waters just east of Morrisburg, Ontario, on Saturday afternoon. Read the full story by CTV News Ottawa.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241125-cargoship-stlawrenceriver-morrisburg-ontario
Seven decades after overfishing and invasive species nearly wiped them off the map, Lake Superior’s lake trout population has finally recovered. The fish come from the Linesville Fish Hatchery in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and are provided by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to help keep a healthy amount of brown trout in the area. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241125-browntrout-lakeerie-winter
It was a perfect fall day as two scuba divers descended on the James R. Bentley shipwreck in Lake Huron with the goal of finding sunken treasure. It wasn’t jewels or gold they were after, but rather the shipment of rye that had been on the ship when it sank in November 1878. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-sunkentreasure-greatlakes
The federal government of Canada announced on Tuesday it’s investing over $25 million toward four Ontario projects, funded under the Green Shipping Corridor Program, including a multi-million-dollar project at Sterling Fuels in Windsor. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-windsorsterlingfuels-greatlakes
Through a Department of Energy grant, faculty members at Central Michigan University will be researching three Michigan watersheds, modeling future risks of extreme precipitation. The research aims to enhance infrastructure preparedness and resilience to flooding for local communities. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-cmu-researchers-lakemichigan-rainfallrisks
The reopening of the Palisades nuclear plant comes as Michigan, and other states, push to meet “clean” energy goals and brace for increased energy demands coming from new infrastructure, like data centers. Read the full story by the Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-palisades-nuclearplant-lakemichigan-2025-comeback
The late season walleye fishing around Lake Erie is in full swing and Fall Brawl anglers are reporting that large schools of trophy fish are moving toward the waters off Huron, Ohio, the prime pre-staging waters for the spring spawning season. Read the full story by The Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-lakeerie-cools-fallbrawl
Ludington State Park, situated near Ludington, Michigan, on 4,300 acres between Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake, is closed for 10 months for construction. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-lakemichigan-statepark-upgrades
Every Great Lake besides Lake Superior is running near or above recent historically warm temperatures with data going back around 30 years to 1995. Read the full story by WROC-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-lakeontario-warm-lakeeffect
Whether it is regulations on walleye, northern pike or smallmouth bass, or on snagging salmon, there are strongly held convictions on multiple sides of fishing on southern Lake Michigan and the Chicago lakefront. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-dueling-fishing-opinions
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a two-part initiative aimed at fighting harmful algal blooms that have plagued the Finger Lakes, endangering public health, regional tourism, and local agriculture. Schumer emphasized the urgent need for federal support after this year’s record-breaking algae blooms disrupted communities and businesses, particularly at the end of the summer. Read the full story by FingerLakes1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-schumer-harmal-algalblooms-fingerlakes
Due to low water levels on the Mississippi River, shipping on the St. Lawrence Seaway utilizing the Great Lakes may provide a streamlined, direct supply chain for agricultural exporters. Read the full story by the Ohio County Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241113-riverchallenges-greatlakes
A five-year-old female Great Lakes piping plover was recently spotted in its favorite wintering grounds in Crandon Park, Florida. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-snowbirdsurvives-greatlakespipingplover-florida
Michigan is stepping up efforts to analyze the flow of harmful nutrients into the Western Basin of Lake Erie. Water quality monitors have been set up in five sub-watersheds in the southeast corner of the state that either feed directly into the lake or one of its tributaries. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-michigan-watershed-monitors
The Edmund Fitzgerald sank nearly half a century ago in “the gales of November.” The lake has taken hundreds of other ships, too. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society has its own underwater research vessel that scours the lake for shipwrecks. Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-lakesuperior-shipwrecks-dramatictales
The Great Storm of 1913 was easily the Great Lakes region’s largest natural disaster ever. Fast-moving “trains” of huge waves — some topping 30 feet high — lashed ships making their late-season runs. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-whitehurricane-november-1913-greatlakes
A busy port and moody skies make the “November gales” a special time to watch massive “lakers” and oceanbound “salties.” Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-greatlakes-duluth-stormseason
An iconic piece of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, history has been listed for sale, and owners say they hope to find a buyer to give the fishing boat a new lease on life. Read the full story by WGBA-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-iconic-fishing-boat-lakeshore
After four decades, a Minnesota writer has brought a radio play capturing the SS Edmund Fitzgerald’s fateful final voyage to life. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-fitzgerald-final-voyage
Volunteers for the Hancock Trails Club, Weubben Construction and the City of Hancock, Michigan, are collaborating together in the improvements of Maasto Hiihto’s Trail 17 with a bridge, boardwalk and more accessible trail conditions. Read the full story by the Daily Mining Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-maastohiihto-improvements
Restoration of the historic Belle Isle Boathouse is progressing, as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has selected a proposal after years of debate on preserving the structure. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-belleisle-boathouse
A former lifeguard in London, Ontario, is on a crusade to teach others about the dangers of Great Lakes rip currents after an especially deadly summer in the surf. Read the full story by The London Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241108-ex-lifeguard-greatlakes-ripcurrents
A unique new Friends of the St. Clair River project seeks to update the pen pals concept for the 21st century and move students out of the classroom and into the great outdoors. Read the full story by The Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241028-friendsofstclairriver-watershedpenpals-program
Following a significant funding announcement, the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) is set to launch several initiatives to improve the health of Lake Erie and the Detroit River Area of Concern. Read the full story by The Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241028-fundingboost-lakeerie-detroitriver-projects
Since 1876, the Ironton Ferry has been a vital part of northern Michigan’s history, offering both a practical and scenic passage across Lake Charlevoix. Read the full story by The Sun Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241028-irontonferry-charlevoix
Ojibwe tribal officials are upset by a decision this month from the state’s Department of Natural Resources to approve a septage disposal site on their reservation in northern Wisconsin. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241028-wisconsin-dnr-septagedisposal-tribal-reservation
Cape Vincent, New York, highway crews tore down a deteriorating restaurant on Thursday as part of a multimillion effort to revitalize the municipality’s riverfront. Read the full story by The Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241028-capevincent-waterfront-project
A free lecture titled “West Coast National Marine Sanctuary Challenges and the Conservation Opportunities That Could Help” will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, Michigan. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241028-conservationlecture-greatlakes-maritime-heritage-center
The Wisconsin DNR has announced that silver carp, an invasive species, have been detected in portions of the lower Chippewa River and lower Black River in western Wisconsin. Read the full story by WXOW – La Crosse, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241028-invasivecarp-lower-blackriver-detected
A stone structure found recently under Lake Michigan, believed to be 9,000 years old, has left most scientists and historians unclear of its origin. This archaeological wonder, which is said to resemble England’s Stonehenge, was discovered in 2007 and is still causing controversy. Read the full story by ECONews.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241028-lake-michigan-stonehedge
Closely intertwined with Indigenous culture and identity, wild rice was decimated after the arrival of European settlers. But today, many partners are supporting initiatives to restore wild rice. Read the full story by WXPR – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-greatlakestribes-wildrice
About a mile from Cleveland’s Lake Erie shore, in a stretch of water once among America’s most polluted, a team of conservationists just released a few dozen lake sturgeon into the Cuyahoga River. Lake sturgeon need a nice clean substrate so their eggs don’t suffocate, and biologists believe the Cuyahoga’s improved water quality has made that possible. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-cuyahogariver-sturgeon
On Oct. 18, the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians will release a new mini documentary about the fisheries program at the Fresh Coast Film Festival in Marquette. The 15-minute documentary, “Sacred Waters: Anishinaabeg Naagdawenmaanaanig Giigoonhkewin,” discusses the tribe’s ancient connection to the Great Lakes and how tribe biologists are leading efforts to restore whitefish populations, whose numbers have been severely diminished by invasive species. Read the full story by the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-sault-tribe-documentary
Thousands of water service lines across the state are made from the original infrastructure, at times, dating back 100 years. With infrastructure developments throughout the years, the state has passed a bipartisan bill to replace service lines made with lead pipes. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-bipartisanbill-leadwater-newyork
Cleanup Club is a non-profit that was created two years ago that focuses its cleanup efforts in rivers located in the Great Lakes basin. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-cleanupclub-michigan-greatlakes
This week, the iconic anchor outside the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, Michigan got an adjustment to ensure there’s not an “anchors away” situation. The anchor is a popular photo op amongst visitors. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-anchor-upnorthmuseum-photo-op
The Douglas County Land and Water Conservation Department located in Wisconsin, has up to $4,000 in grant funding available next year for environmental projects that promote soil and water conservation or environmental sustainability. Individuals, community organizations and public entities can apply for funding from the Douglas County Environmental Reserve Fund. Read the full story by the Superior Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-douglas-county-grants
When you think of travel on Lake Michigan, you likely think of the S.S. Badger. It has been an iconic mode of transportation connecting communities and enhancing travel experiences for decades. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-ss-badger-icon-steamship
The lakes in the Great Lakes region and around the world don’t freeze over as they did in past centuries. That has serious consequences for people, wildlife, and the environment as a whole. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241014-less-ice-greatlakes-climatechange
The Wisconsin DNR got the go ahead from the Natural Resources Board for the next steps in setting new PFAS standards for public drinking water. Read the full story by WXPR – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240930-wisconsin-drinkingwater-pfas
