Cruise ships on the Great Lakes may be smaller in stature than their ocean-going counterparts, but they’re making a big financial impact on lakeside local economies. Read the full story by The Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-cruise-benefits
Cleveland, Ohio, has informed city residents that their water is safe amid growing concerns about the environmental consequences from the derailment of a train hauling chemicals in the northeastern part of the state. Read the full story by The Hill.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-dunkirk
New York state has made a $10 million investment in the city of Dunkirk, starting with its marina and pier, on Lake Erie. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-dunkirk
The Montreal/ Lake Ontario section, which includes the St. Lawrence River, and Welland Canal are set to open for the next navigation season on Wednesday, March 22 at 8 a.m., according to a press release from the Seaway System. Read the full story by WWTI -TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-st-lawrence
In its new report, the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the Ohio Environmental Council, with technical assistance from the Ann Arbor-based company LimnoTech and Chicago-based Delta Institute, found that Michigan and Ohio are not likely to meet the 2025 phosphorus reduction goals agreed to under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-report-phosphorus-reduction
A much milder-than-average weather pattern across the Great Lakes for most of this winter has produced the lowest ice cover on record for the Great Lakes. As of Monday, February 13, ice covered only 8 percent of the Great Lakes. That’s far below the average of 41 percent for this date and at record low levels previously set in 2012. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-record-ice-cover
Newly elected U.S. Sen. JD Vance will co-chair the U.S. Senate’s Great Lakes Task Force, replacing his predecessor Rob Portman at the helm of a group that pushes to protect the world’s largest freshwater lake system. Vance said his priorities in the job will include fully funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, fighting invasive species like invasive carp, and ensuring the Lakes’ aging lock systems and infrastructure stay in good repair to allow the passage of cargo ships. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-task-force-chair
This month, the National Park Service said it expects to complete its review of the Menominee Nation’s application to list an ancient indigenous burial ground called Anaem Omot on the National Register. If approved, it will mark a victory for the Menominee Nation in a long-running battle to stop Gold Resources Corp. from building a gold mine within part of the proposed site boundary. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-register-historic-land
Lead levels in Benton Harbor, Michigan’s drinking water continue to decrease as 90 percent of the test results came in at or below 9 parts-per-billion (ppb). Sixty-five residential taps around the city between July 1 and Dec. 31 last year, according to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, marking a decrease from 14-ppb in calculated test results from the first six months of 2022. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-lead-reduction
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has received $1.5 million from the states of Illinois and Michigan to advance the Brandon Road Interbasin Project on the upper Illinois Waterway. This complex ecosystem restoration project includes innovative technological deterrents designed to prevent upstream movement of invasive carp and other aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes. Read the full story by KWQC-TV – Davenport, IA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-brandon-road-funding
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell has sent a letter to Michigan’s top environment official Monday, urging him to reject the PFAS remediation plan proposed by Wolverine World Wide after a violation was issued by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy for failing to meet a previously approved timeline. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-letter-pfas-cleanup
National Grid is providing $100,000 to support the Aquarium of Niagara’s innovative “Great Lakes 360” project, which will add 15 new Great Lakes-focused exhibits and expand the cultural attraction’s City of Niagara Falls campus. Read the full story by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-aquarium-great-lakes
Thanks to a mixture of erosion and wind, winter runoff has created more than ten ice formations in the Chequamegon ice caves along the Wisconsin shoreline of Lake Superior. Tour guides will lead thousands of people across the snow and ice to see the natural phenomena through the caves that have just opened for a month-long season. Read the full story by WJFW-TV – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230215-tour-ice-caves
The U.S. military on Sunday shot down another unidentified object, this time over the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-us-unidentifiedobject-shotdown-greatlakes
American Queen Voyages has announced it is adding a port for the first time to the Upper Peninsula for lakes and oceans vessels. The Escanaba port will begin being used in May for select voyages that tour the Great Lakes. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-escanaba-greatlakescruises-2023
Norfolk County, Ontario has an ambitious $290-million plan to build 100 kilometres of pipelines and pump fresh water from Lake Erie to its far-flung rural communities from a single treatment plant in Nanticoke. But first, the county needs to plug some leaks. Read the full story by the Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-norfolkagingsystem-cleanwaterloss
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos invites the public to visit the DEC Bureau of Fisheries’ angler outreach programs at the upcoming Greater Niagara Fishing and Outdoor Expo. The event runs from Feb. 16-19 at the Niagara Falls Conference and Event Center. The expo provides excellent opportunities for anglers to interact directly with the biologists who study and manage our Great Lakes and inland fisheries. Read the full story by the Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-dec-greaterniagarafishingexpo
An expedited review of the binational regulation plan for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River has moved into its second phase. The International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management committee is working on a review of the much-scrutinized Plan 2014, which is the basic regulation plan governing Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River outflows implemented in 2017. Read the full story by NNY360 News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-lakeontario-stlawrenceriver-regulationplan-phase2
West Creek, a 9-mile meandering tributary of the Cuyahoga River that drains a large portion of Parma and parts of several neighboring suburbs, has received a lot of attention from conservationists over the years. The nearly $20 million stormwater management project, the largest ever undertaken by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, is designed to enhance water quality, improve fish migration, and reduce erosion. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-cuyahogariver-tributarywestcreek
Water levels in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron have been trending down for the past year or so. Less precipitation has led to the decrease. Read the full story by WSJM – St. Joseph, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-greatlakeswaterlevels
For years, lack of outdoor equity has been something the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has been trying to find solutions for. The primary problems stem from the location of recreation facilities, lack of facilities, discomfort and lack of activity. By promoting and hosting free fishing days in Detroit, the DNR has seen a jump in interest and outdoor activity. Free fishing weekends happen twice a year where residents and non-residents are able to fish the Great Lakes and inland waterways without a license and without charge. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-outdoorequity-michigan
A couple in Ontario is suing over a beach house they say they’ve never been able to set foot in, alleging the vendor disclosed just three days before their deal closed that the building with “breathtaking million-dollar views” was unsafe for human habitation. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230213-ontario-home-swallowedbylakehuron
Steel production fell by 16,000 tons in the Great Lakes region last week, continuing a slow start for the year, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Read the full story by the Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-steel-production
Pesticides are making their way into tributaries around the Great Lakes, many at toxicity levels that exceed federal thresholds considered safe for aquatic life, according to a recent study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-pesticides
The population of two types of birds – swallows and martins – have declined sharply and researchers at Colorado State University say weather in the Great Lakes region is the reason. Read the full story by the Brantford Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-bird-population
In Michigan, Graphic Packaging has agreed to build curbs and take other action at its facility along the Kalamazoo River following an October spill that resulted in notices of violation from the state and the city. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-kalamazoo-spill
On Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued two groups after they were stranded on ice floes in the Great Lakes, one group in Sebewaing, Michigan and one off Sherwood Point, Wisconsin. The Coast Guard has now issued a warning about unpredictable ice conditions and tips on avoiding an ice disaster. Read the full story by Fox Weather.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-coast-gaurd
Wildlife agencies in the U.S. are finding elevated levels of PFAS in game animals and fish across parts of the country, including Lake Superior and the Great Lakes region. This is prompting health advisories in some places where hunting and fishing are ways of life and key pieces of the economy. Read and listen to the full story by WTIP – Grand Marais, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-minnesota-pfas
Cargill has closed its grain elevator at Burns Harbor in Portage as of Jan. 31, saying a variety of current and expected market conditions led to the decision to not renew its lease. The elevator handled soybeans, corn and wheat on Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Baking Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-grain-elevator
The Port Burwell Lighthouse has guided sailors through storms and tourists through its door for almost two centuries. But suddenly, it is feared the 65-foot or 20-metre tall lighthouse, the oldest wooden one on Lake Erie, could topple. Read the full story by CTV News London.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-lighthouse
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed state budget puts billion-dollar priorities on climate action and clean water measures. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-whitmer-budget
For just the second time in more than 150 years, Wisconsin tribal members will descend on Madeline Island in Lake Superior this weekend for the once-banned Indigenous “Olympic Games” at the Mooningwanakaaning Minis Inter-Tribal Snow Snake Festival. Read and listen to the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230210-indigenous-games
On Tuesday, Jan. 31, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a $1.1 billion supplemental spending bill which contained $25 million to develop a water shutoff prevention fund at the state treasury department. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-water-shutoffs
Reduced ice coverage on the Great Lakes can have an impact ranging from increased lake effect snow, decreased plankton production and increased competition among fish. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-ice-impacts
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced the discovery of the 144-foot Barquentine “Nucleus,” which sank more than 150 years ago in Lake Superior. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-shipwreck
The state of Indiana may require Region municipalities providing public access to Lake Michigan to install life rings and other safety equipment in an effort to reduce drownings in the deadliest of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Longview News-Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-rescue-eqipment
The Great Lakes Task Force within the U.S. House of Representatives has told the Biden Administration it would like to have the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funded at $425 million for the next fiscal year, A $57 million increase in federal funding. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-glri
Floating, rock-like masses formed of fat, grease and trash like wet wipes and diapers — researchers found more than 100 of these “fatbergs” along the docks of Toronto Harbor last year. Floating water trash device called seabins are hoping to collect the trash. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-seabins
Two hundred fifty people will be putting their heads together at a conference in Madison to discuss a pressing freshwater challenge: how to reduce runoff, especially from agricultural fields, that carries phosphorus. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-wi-freshwater
With a total catch limit of six fish, Michigan’s Black Lake sturgeon season lasted just 65 minutes on Saturday morning, Feb. 4, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-sturgeon
The fate of a proposed 73-turbine wind project in northwest Ohio near the Black Swamp Bird Observatory could be decided by the Ohio Supreme Court, which is expected to hear a challenge to the proposal. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230208-wind-farm
The old Union Fish Co. building in Erie, Pennsylvania’s Wolverine Park Marina will soon take on new life. Gannon University is seeking $1.5 million from Erie County to transform the old building into the Great Lakes Research and Education Center. The facility will be used to test water samples for micro-plastics and other pollutants currently found in Lake Erie. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-projectneptwne-lakeerie-waterquality
Commercial fishers in Ontario may soon be able to access more online services as part of what the province says is an effort to modernize licensing and reporting systems. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said this new process will allow for faster license renewals and easier harvest reporting. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-ontario-commercialfishing-movingonline
After several close calls among boaters sailing into Port Dalhousie, Ontario over the years, the solution was a simple as changing the color of the lights that mark the entrance to the harbor. White the lights installed at the north lighthouse on the east side of the harbor entrance made it difficult for sailors who may be unfamiliar with the area to tell with any certainty what side of that light they should navigate toward at night. Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-newlighting-boatersafety-portdalhousie
A small earthquake rumbled through western New York early Monday, alarming people in a region unaccustomed to such shaking but apparently causing no significant damage. The U.S. Geological Survey preliminarily reported a 3.8 earthquake centered east of Buffalo at about 6:15 a.m. Read full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-earthquake-lakeerie
Built in River Rouge, Michigan, the vessel originally named Leon Fraser launched on February 28, 1942. The ship spent 43 years as an iron ore carrier under the ownership of Pittsburgh Steel Corporation, and after a brief stint with Spitzer Marine Limited, was sold to Inland Lakes Transportation in 1989, where it became a cement carrier. Read the full story by WBKB-TV Alpena.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-steamshipalpena
This year, about 5,000 workers are needed to make all areas of the island run smoothly. About 1,000 of those are typically jobs supported by the United States’ H-2B visa program, which allows international workers to come here for temporary employment. Read the full story by MLive.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-apply-jobs-mackinacisland
Shipwreck hunters are closing in on more than $20m in gold coins and a cache of rare whiskey that sank with the vessel in Lake Michigan during a storm more than 150 years ago. It is forbidden to recover artifacts from Great Lakes wrecks without a permit, and the Westmoreland is no exception. But now talks are underway to salvage her cargo. Read the full story by the Daily Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-westmoreland-treasures
Wetlands improve water quality, provide habitat, increase biodiversity, trap carbon, and reduce flooding in the Great Lakes. Southern Ontario has lost more than 70 per cent of its wetlands and is under threat to lose more to population and developmental pressures. Read and listen to the full story by CityNews Kitchener.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-wetlands-southernontario
Biology researchers in Michigan found the best way to kill invasive New Zealand mudsnails from fishing and boating gear is to heavily spritz with common household cleaner Formula 409. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230206-newzealandmudsnail-formula409
