Could the once-ambitious plan to install wind turbines on Lake Erie be resurrected? It’s possible, local wind power advocates believe, now that a Maryland company has taken control of a company that two years ago aborted its effort to erect six wind turbines off the coast of Cleveland, Ohio. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250303-erie-wind
The three-part documentary series, “All Too Clear: Beneath the Surface of the Great Lakes,” uses cutting-edge underwater drone technology to capture life hundreds of feet below the surface of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem, resulting in what the filmmakers believe to be the first shots of whitefish spawning in the wild. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250303-mussel-documentary
During this unusually cold, snowy winter, Lake St. Clair between the U.S. and Canada has been almost completely ice-covered throughout January and February. It has given ice-fishing retailers and their customers a lake to stand on. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250303-ice-business
Great Lakes researchers and communicators with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Michigan are the latest federal employees to be axed amid the ongoing nationwide purge of government workers. In Michigan, NOAA researchers study toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie and help the shipping industry forecast water level changes and ice cover on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250303-noaa-purge
As “The Fish Thief” documentary details, the invasive creature sometimes referred to as a “vampire fish” once wreaked havoc on lake trout and other native species in Midwestern waters. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250303-lamprey-documentary
New York state lawmakers announced a group of five bills aimed to reduce PFAS exposure. The five bills would: ban the use of PFAS in consumer and household products, cosmetic products, and menstrual products; regulate PFAS as an air pollutant; and require the disclosure of PFAS levels in all permitted facilities discharging waste. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-new-york-pfas
In a sweeping proposal, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced Tuesday that his budget will include more than $145 million to address PFAS contamination. The bulk of the money would fund PFAS testing for municipal drinking water systems, but it would also help private well owners test for the chemicals. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-wisconsin-pfas
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources gets a good chunk of its budget from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. But licenses aren’t selling like they used to, and some are wondering: even if fees go up, how long will this system work? Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-dnr-funding
Last year, Vice President J.D. Vance, then an Ohio senator, was part of a bipartisan coalition calling to increase funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Advocates hope he hasn’t changed his mind. Read the full story by WBEZ Chicago.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-glri-funding
Aamjiwnaang First Nation and the Canadian federal government will work together on a pilot project to address environmental racism and contaminants in the air, water, and soil. The nation, located in Sarnia, Ontario, has spent decades fighting to stop pollution from a cluster of petrochemical plants known as Chemical Valley that surround it. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-aamjiwnaang-pollution
The Palisades nuclear plant, which sits on the Lake Michigan shore near South Haven, Michigan, stopped operations in 2022. The unprecedented proposal to bring the shuttered nuclear plant back online reached a new level Wednesday as a panel of federal administrative judges heard arguments over the regulatory process for the proposal. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-palisades-restart
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has proposed additional water quality protections in Oakland County, Michigan, amid a years-long dispute with neighboring Macomb County over accusations of sewage discharged into the Red Run Drain, contributing to beach closures and the growth of large masses of algae in Lake St. Clair downstream. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-county-sewage
Lake Erie is more than 90% covered with ice but that doesn’t mean it’s safe to be walking on the frozen water. Conditions are particularly hazardous for fishermen at least for the next few days, as winter weather is expected to bring shifting winds that will blow the ice around. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-erie-ice
Several Metro Detroit water systems exceeded the previous lead limit of 15 ppb in 2024, with more communities nearing the new 12 ppb standard, while Republican lawmakers in Congress aim to repeal Biden’s lead regulations via the Congressional Review Act, potentially barring federal mandates on lead service line replacement or stricter lead limits in water. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-michigan-lead
More than 300 dead wild birds have been discovered in five Michigan counties, including Allegan, Shiawasee, Ingham, Eaton and Washtenaw. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources doesn’t expect serious impacts to Michigan’s duck, goose or swan populations statewide, although areas where waterfowl concentrate in the remaining ice-free water may see more die-offs. Read the full story by WDET – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-avian-flu
Workers who administer the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental justice program were put on leave last week, raising concerns about federal grants for pollution-burdened communities. Amid proposed federal cuts, a bipartisan group of Great Lakes lawmakers are trying to protect the authorized $475 million funding levels for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-funding-uncertainty
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s $83 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 targets roads, education, and economic growth, while also tackling environmental and justice issues like affordable drinking water and septic code, crucial yet often overlooked by citizens. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-michigan-budget
For over 40 years, efforts to stock the lake sturgeon in the St. Louis River, Minnesota, have been underway, but the local population remains below management goals. A new partnership aims to bolster the number of mature sturgeon living in Lake Superior and the river estuary by rearing them in their very waters. Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-sturgeon-partnership
Water levels of the upper Great Lakes are expected to drop to near or significantly below their historical summer averages for the first time in nearly a decade, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-water-levels
New grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to Great Lakes states to measure harmful chemicals such as PFAS, pesticides, and metals from groundwater in marginalized communities are facing uncertainty under increased White House scrutiny on federal spending. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-biomonitoring-grants
The chaos surrounding the future of scientific research in the Trump administration’s first weeks has meant a bumpy beginning for a new program where ice fishing anglers and others on the frozen Great Lakes record ice thickness for research. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-ice-research
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is calling on ice fishing enthusiasts to take care after a rash of fatalities involving recreational vehicles. The DNR tracked six fatal incidents involving utility task vehicles (UTVs) over the last month, four involving vehicles breaking through the ice. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-ice-fatalities
With the arctic blast at the end of January, the ice coverage on Lake Erie went from nearly 30% to over 80% in just four days. Now, Lake Erie ice coverage is at 91% and the total Great Lakes ice coverage is currently at 27%. Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-erie-ice
A lure and fishhook that together stretch 22 feet hangs from a stairwell ceiling at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory. The lure was made by a first mate of the Blue Heron research vessel to draw attention to the oversized problem of invasive species in the lake and the Blue Heron‘s role in invasive species research. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-big-lure
A large, clear yellowish glob located in Michigan’s Thunder Bay along Lake Huron may “look strange,” but U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff was pleased to share its findings with the public anyway. The Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office reported a bryozoan colony that its crew happened to catch in a net. Read the full story by CBS Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250210-bryozoan-colony
The health of the Great Lakes, a vital resource and historical treasure for millions, faces an uncertain future as President Donald Trump’s temporary freeze on grants and loans takes effect. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-funding-freeze
There’s a new plan to help restore and protect Michigan’s remaining native wild rice beds. The stewardship plan comes one year after wild rice, or Manoomin, was officially made Michigan’s state native grain. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-manoomin-plan
A process that could establish a commercial bycatch fishery for lake trout on the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan took another step forward January 22 when the Natural Resources Board approved a preliminary public hearing and comment period on a scope statement. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-trout-rule
A process that could establish a commercial bycatch fishery for lake trout on the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan took another step forward January 22 when the Natural Resources Board approved a preliminary public hearing and comment period on a scope statement. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-trout-rule
A process that could establish a commercial bycatch fishery for lake trout on the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan took another step forward January 22 when the Natural Resources Board approved a preliminary public hearing and comment period on a scope statement. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-trout-rule
A process that could establish a commercial bycatch fishery for lake trout on the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan took another step forward January 22 when the Natural Resources Board approved a preliminary public hearing and comment period on a scope statement. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-trout-rule
The Michigan state attorney general continues to challenge Enbridge’s permit to operate the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. An Enbridge attorney argued federal regulators exercise sole authority over pipeline safety, saying challenging the pipeline’s operations would violate a 1977 treaty with Canada. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-line5-hearings
Saginaw Bay was ranked as the fourth-best ice fishing spot in the U.S. by FishBooker, which looked at criteria like location, fish species you can reel in, and whether you’ll land a trophy. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-saginaw-bay-fishing
Saginaw Bay was ranked as the fourth-best ice fishing spot in the U.S. by FishBooker, which looked at criteria like location, fish species you can reel in, and whether you’ll land a trophy. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-saginaw-bay-fishing
Saginaw Bay was ranked as the fourth-best ice fishing spot in the U.S. by FishBooker, which looked at criteria like location, fish species you can reel in, and whether you’ll land a trophy. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-saginaw-bay-fishing
In the Great Lakes region alone, Ducks Unlimited has been involved in hundreds of projects in the past decade that involve either the conservation of wetlands through acquisition, or the restoration and management of wetlands. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-ducks-unlimited
When ice piles up along Great Lakes shorelines, it can create spectacular blue ice, craggy piles and “volcanoes” that spray water high into the air, but officials say people should stay off shelf ice along the beach because it hides deadly secrets. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-deadly-ice
When ice piles up along Great Lakes shorelines, it can create spectacular blue ice, craggy piles and “volcanoes” that spray water high into the air, but officials say people should stay off shelf ice along the beach because it hides deadly secrets. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-deadly-ice
When ice piles up along Great Lakes shorelines, it can create spectacular blue ice, craggy piles and “volcanoes” that spray water high into the air, but officials say people should stay off shelf ice along the beach because it hides deadly secrets. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-deadly-ice
Before 1900, North American rivers had the highest diversity and density of freshwater mussels on Earth, but today, mussels rank among the most endangered organisms. Mussel populations in the Midwest currently face many challenges but were first decimated by the button industry. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-mussel-buttons
A new decades-long study found that fish-eating gulls and terns nesting on Michigan shoreline areas known to have long-standing industrial contamination reproduce less, have fewer chicks that survive, and develop more deformities than those on nonpolluted shorelines. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-contaminated-birds
A new decades-long study found that fish-eating gulls and terns nesting on Michigan shoreline areas known to have long-standing industrial contamination reproduce less, have fewer chicks that survive, and develop more deformities than those on nonpolluted shorelines. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-contaminated-birds
A new decades-long study found that fish-eating gulls and terns nesting on Michigan shoreline areas known to have long-standing industrial contamination reproduce less, have fewer chicks that survive, and develop more deformities than those on nonpolluted shorelines. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-contaminated-birds
Scientists in northwest Ontario say they made a breakthrough in the search for a tool to identify the boundaries of environmental spills below ice: a U.S. dog trained to detect the scent of oil under several inches of ice and snow. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250129-oil-dog
A new study builds on previous research that shows winters on the Great Lakes are growing shorter due to climate change. The Great Lakes have been losing an average of 14 days of winter conditions each decade since 1995 due to warming air temperatures. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-shorter-winter
According to a recent study, recreational fishing in the Great Lakes is worth $5.1 billion, fewer billions than the amount cited for many years. The previous number, compiled by the same firm nearly two decades ago, was $7 billion. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-fishing-worth
Leaders of three major Great Lakes environmental activist groups said this week they are cautiously optimistic the next four years, while challenging and unpredictable, may not be all that detrimental to the world’s largest collection of fresh surface water. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-trump-lakes
The Doug Ford government is pushing for a prospecting rush across northern Ontario, leaving a blanket of mineral claims on land just upstream from Lake Superior where First Nations are still fighting for title. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-mining-superior
An icebreaker cruise ship set sail on Friday for a frosty journey that will bring passengers along the St. Lawrence River, a new route that tourism officials hope will usher in a new era of winter cruises in Québec. Read the full story by The Canadian Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-icebreaker-cruise
While sailing up the Detroit River, Abraham Lincoln observed efforts to free a stranded steamer, which led him to whittle a wooden model of a steamboat with gear that could lift boats grounded in shallow waters. His idea was never commercially produced, but it made Lincoln the only U.S. president to have patented an invention. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-lincoln-patent
