A newly formed, not-for-profit association of local governments and industries is the latest group trying to become added as a defendant in the landmark Lake Erie case in U.S. District Court. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241106-erie-defendant
November is the deadliest month for shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Despite the harsh storms, ships would often have overloaded cargo holds for the final trip of the year, making them more vulnerable as storms arose. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241106-november-shipwrecks
Of the 350 shipwrecks at the bottom of Lake Superior, there is one particularly famous steamship called the SS Kamloops. In 1977, fifty years after the ship disappeared, the divers that found the wreck were met with a grisly sight. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241106-ss-kamloops
In 1998, elementary school students in Belle River, Ontario, threw letters in a bottle into Lake St. Clair. Twenty-six years later, a kindergarten student from the same school found one of the bottles and its letter about Great Lakes water. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241106-bottle-message
A project to conserve land along the Milwaukee River was awarded nearly $20 million in federal funding Wednesday, part of a historic push by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to invest in conservation practices that mitigate climate change. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-milwaukee-river
A Minnesota conservation group wants to focus on land protection and restoration near the St. Louis River as a part of a multi-state initiative known as the Greater Lakes Promise, an effort to improve water quality in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by MinnPost.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-st-louis-restoration
Less than a month after agricultural groups sought to join a landmark case that could affect how western Lake Erie is managed, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed a motion to become a defendant too. The lawsuit targets the U.S. EPA for approving an Ohio EPA planning document under the Clean Water Act, which plaintiffs argue is weak and ineffective. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-erie-case
Soon, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources research center in Charlevoix, Michigan, will have a new and improved boat to help gather fish population data across the Great Lakes. After more than five decades of service, their old boat is outdated, and parts are hard to come by. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-dnr-boat
In nationwide polls, climate change ranks near the bottom of voters’ list of concerns, but it is of concern to Wisconsin voters who fear it is not receiving the attention it deserves in the presidential race. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-climate-voters
Presque Isle State Park near Erie, Pennsylvania, received about $3 million last year in combined federal and state money for an annual beach sand replenishment project. Ice-free Lake Erie waters over the winter contribute to erosion and the need for beach sand additions. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-beach-erosion
Lake trout could be part of a commercial fishery in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan if a new administrative rule is approved. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-trout-proposal
Nearly half a century after the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, claiming the lives of 29 crew members, the National Museum of the Great Lakes in east Toledo, Ohio, will hold guided tours commemorating the sinking and honors those who died. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-fitzgerald-tours
Approximately 15,000 Georgetown, Ontario, residents begin receiving their water from Lake Ontario the week of November 4. Construction recently finished on the infrastructure that will allow for a transfer from a groundwater source to treated lake-based water from Lake Ontario. Read the full story by Halton Hills Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-lake-ontario-water
The remote island national park in Lake Superior is looking for a park guide and a park ranger interpreter for the 2025 season. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241025-job-alert
Western Lake Erie’s 2024 algal bloom set a record for arrival time when it established itself on June 24 this year. Now, even with cooler temperatures this week, it could become the second one in modern history to linger into November. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-extended-bloom
Residents near the Apostle Islands in Northern Wisconsin worry that conversion to a national park would overwhelm their small towns along their lake and limit hunting. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-apostle-pushback
Ten years ago, Toledo warned about half a million residents not to drink the water for nearly three days due to algal toxins. Thus far, some studying Erie say we haven’t flexed enough muscle to live up to commitments made in the wake of the crisis. Read the full story by Crain’s Cleveland Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-erie-bloom
Through a collaboration between water operators and scientists, yellow smart buoys bobbing on the surface of Lake Erie are serving as an early warning system for algae blooms. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-smart-buoys
In June 2025, an underwater remotely operated vehicle contest will be hosted by the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan. More than 1,000 guests from 15 countries are expected to attend. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-robot-championship
Foam from Muskegon Lake in Muskegon, Michigan, contained over 4,000 parts per trillion of PFOS. The source has not been identified because a number of former industries along the shoreline could have used the foam for fire protection or in their industrial processes. Read the full story by the Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-muskegon-pfos
Veteran policy experts discuss how a Harris or Trump presidency may deal with three key topics: Great Lakes restoration, groundwater, and the Line 5 oil pipeline. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-great-lakes-candidates
Chequamegon Bay near Ashland, Wisconsin, hasn’t seen algae blooms unlike other areas of the Great Lakes struggling with high phosphorus levels. A recent study found that the area doesn’t have the same kind of dissolved phosphorus that is associated with intense agricultural production. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-superior-phosphorus
Using trackers to follow the path of plastic bottles in rivers around the Greater Toronto Area, students found hot spots for garbage before it enters Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-tracking-trash
The closed Palisades nuclear plant, located on Lake Michigan, is in the first steps of reopening: on-the-ground efforts are already underway at the site to co-locate a pair of small-modular reactors there by 2030. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241016-palisades-reopening
The state of Michigan has picked a team from the University of Michigan’s Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering department for a nearly $200,000, yearlong project to develop a maritime strategy for the state. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-maritime-strategy
New standards adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exempt the existing fleet of ships on the Great Lakes from installing new ballast water treatment systems to control the spread of invasive species. But they don’t apply to the current fleet of lakers. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-laker-standards
Last year, Michigan’s environmental agency drafted more rigorous rules to protect state waters from a new tide of farm-based pollution. Stronger regulatory measures could succumb to political pressure from farm and energy interests. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-water-protections
Anglers in Pennsylvania’s portion of Lake Erie reported the second-highest walleye catch rates since 1993 for July and landed in the top five highest rates for August. A July survey found a catch rate of 1.99 fish per hour. Read the full story by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-pennsylvania-walleye
Scientists are preparing to test selective fish migration tools in a project in Traverse City, Michigan. A fight is brewing over which fish get to pass. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-fish-passage
Officials from federal, state, and Allen County, Ohio, governments took part to celebrate this week as the wraps came off an H2Ohio project that has restored 19 acres of wetlands. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-h2ohio-project
For many First Nations, securing a water treatment plant is only one hurdle and finding experienced operators is another. A 15-month drinking water internship was created for interns to accumulate 1,800 hours of on-the-job experience, as well as four different certifications. Read the full story by Canada’s National Observer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-water-internships
Eight rural communities in Michigan are getting help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fix water infrastructure problems like sewage contamination, aging pipes, and flooding. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-rural-water-infrastructure
A record amount of federal aid will soon flow to states to help fix, replace, or demolish their aging dams. Midwestern states are largely missing out on that historic pool of money when compared to other U.S. regions. Read the full story by Inside Climate News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-dam-aid
The Illinois governor along with state and local officials celebrated the completion of a $73 million project to preserve the rapidly eroding shoreline at the Illinois Beach State Park near Zion, Illinois. The investment preserves several miles of natural Lake Michigan shoreline. Read the full story by the Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241007-illinois-shoreline
The Great Lakes Observing System is leading a campaign to map every meter of the bottom of the Great Lakes. The effort will pinpoint hundreds of underwater shipwrecks, illuminate topographical features, and locate infrastructure. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-lakebed-maps
The Great Lakes Water Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Monday they will partner on a multi-year study to improve flood resiliency in southeast Michigan. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-michigan-floods
No matter the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the country will have a vice president from the Great Lakes region. How have Vance and Walz advocated for the Great Lakes region thus far? Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-great-lakes-veeps
The Shedd Aquarium, in partnership with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue University, has been tracking fish movements to understand how fish use large urban rivers. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-chicago-river-fish
In an innovative project propelled by the Great Lakes Protection Fund, water nonprofit Freshwater is teaming up with several land trusts on a regional approach to improving water quality around the Great Lakes. A primary goal is to restore select croplands to perennial vegetation, which reduces runoff and erosion while trapping carbon in the soil. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-water-quality-partnership
Lake Michigan’s surface temperature has been above average nearly every day this year so far. As heat trapping-greenhouse gasses continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, the Great Lakes region is projected to grow warmer and wetter in the years and decades to come. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-lake-temps
Western Lake Erie’s summer 2024 algal bloom appears to remain strong going into October, though it’s unclear for the time being if it’s started to recede as extensive cloud cover has blocked satellite imagery. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-erie-bloom
The number of properties located in flood zones is expected to increase significantly in Greater Montreal, corresponding to 15,508 buildings worth $9.9 billion. The updated flood zones consider the uncertainty linked to climate change, which is expected to increase the frequency of floods in the coming years. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-montreal-flood-risk
Two years ago, scientists discovered dozens of massive sinkholes about 14 miles off the coast of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and about 450 feet below the surface. In August, scientists finally got up-close pictures of the sinkholes. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-sinkhole-photos
In 2023, Manoomin (wild rice) became Michigan’s official native grain. Found growing in shallow inland lakes and slow-moving streams across the state, the Gun Lake Tribe works every year to plant, harvest, and teach classes about Manoomin in the Kalamazoo River system. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241002-wild-rice
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized ballast water standards on Tuesday that would require new vessels in the Great Lakes to install treatment systems to prevent the spread of invasive species, but the standards will not apply to existing ships. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-ballast-water
At the click of a button on his office computer, the Windsor Harbor Master can see any moving vessel on the Detroit River and parts of Lake St. Clair. For the last 12 years, the Windsor Port Authority has been quietly using radar technology to ensure large commercial vessels are aware of smaller fishing boats in the area. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-radar-tracking
The Great Lakes Water Authority, which provides drinking water and wastewater services to most of southeast Michigan, is making changes to how it treats drinking water ahead of some new, more stringent rules limiting lead and copper levels in water. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-pipe-corrosion-control
Microplastics pollution has caught the attention of Great Lakes scientists and policymakers. Wayne State University researchers are studying a river for clues. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-river-microplastics
Last month, invasive Quagga mussels were first discovered in Lake Geneva in Walworth County, Wisconsin, threatening the ecological balance of Wisconsin’s inland lakes and motivating new conservation efforts. Read the full story by The Daily Cardinal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-geneva-quaggas
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will install special equipment in the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to study the impact of waves on piers and break walls. In October, an Integrated Radar Monitoring System will be installed at Manistique Harbor to collect fall wave data over several months. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-wave-monitoring
