For the past few years, the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota has had a goal of boosting its attendance to break the 200,000-visitor mark. The organization just announced that it surpassed that goal in 2022, welcoming over 206,000 visitors through its doors. Read the full story by Fox 21 News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-greatlakesaquarium-newrecord
Wisconsin’s Great Lakes ecosystems are graded in a new international report. The analysis from the International Joint Commission noted Lake Superior’s forest watershed and coastal wetlands help maintain high water quality. Read the full story by WHBL – Sheboygan, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-greatlakes-scorecard
There are tens of thousands of abandoned wells throughout the Great Lakes region. Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania have each received a $25 million grant from the federal government through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plug orphan wells. Orphan wells can contaminate groundwater through the leakage of chemicals like hydrogen sulfide and arsenic, both of which are harmful to humans. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-federalfunds-orphanwells
Invasive black carp are spreading through the U.S. Midwest and are threatening Illinois waterways. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources believes black carp have moved up the Illinois River as far as central Illinois. Read the full story by the Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-invasive-blackcarp
The City of Detroit has been awarded $5.8 million in funding from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to redevelop four contaminated properties in the city. EGLE has awarded $2.8 million in funding from brownfield grants and loans and has approved $3 million in brownfield tax increment financing. Read the full story by CBS Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-egle-redevelop-contaminatedsites
What happens if oil spills under ice in freshwater? Researchers have determined the ice can contain the oil, making for an easier cleanup — but it’s harder to detect. Read the full story by the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-line5-oilspills-ice
A new letter clarifies why Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is urging the state’s Department of Natural Resources to reject a National Guard proposal to expand Camp Grayling. Read the full story by the Petoskey News Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-pfascleanup-egle-dnr-campgrayling
To better guide the interventions of emergency services, scientists from the Maurice-Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Quebec have mapped underwater vegetation in the St. Lawrence River to prioritize places to protect during maritime incidents. Read the full story by The Saxon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-underwatervegetation-oilspill
High chloride levels in freshwater can be toxic to aquatic life, increase the potential for harmful algal blooms, disrupt the ecosystem of a river or lake and seep into groundwater, which can corrode pipes and other infrastructure. In other words, that handful of extra salt you’re throwing onto the sidewalk could eventually, in a different form, damage a fish in a nearby river. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-roadsalt-impactsonfreshwater
The U.S. Coast Guard said the tow boat Michigan started to sink in the Port of Milwaukee on Monday this week. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan was notified by the National Response Center that the tow boat sank in 26 feet of water. As of Wednesday, the Coast Guard said there is no pollution from the boat and they have deployed safety measures for containment. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-milwaukee-tugboat
A feasibility study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released late last week does not support the placement of turbines in the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario. Read the full story by The Post-Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-turbines
The beaches of Lake Erie will be occupied by more than people this spring as plastic cleaning robots BeBot and PixieDrone help clean up the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-beach-robots
Researchers at the Great Lakes Fishery Commission believe they have found a tool to help provide spawning habitat access to native fish, without allowing access to invasive species: combining new technology with an ancient tool, the Archimedes screw. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-lamprey
A new study seeks to measure the economic impacts of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, including effects on the housing market. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-algae
A large plume of toxic chemicals produced by a plant that manufactures firefighting foam has seeped through groundwater to Lake Michigan’s Green Bay, scientists said Tuesday. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-pfas
Ottawa County, Michigan, received grant funding for improvements and restorative work of the wetlands at a local park. Read the full story by the Grand Rapids Business Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-restoration-funds
The federal government will spend $2.4 million to continue developing a long-term strategy to better manage and protect the coastlines of the Great Lakes, including Lake Ontario. Read the full story by the Oswego County News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-coastal-resiliency
An international report on the Great Lakes shows that two of the five Great Lakes have a strong ecosystem, while three others have notable room for improvement. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-great-lakes
The $1.7 trillion dollar spending plan recently passed by Congress includes money for a number of environmental issues in Michigan and the Great Lakes region, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-glri-funding
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is to be funded at $368 million, which is $20 million more than the current funding level, for the next fiscal year if the federal $1.7 trillion budget being presented to Congress on December 22 is approved. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-glri-funding
Researchers at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory are building a sensor network to measure and detect Lake Huron water chemistry and acidification due to ongoing absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-atmospheric-carbon
This week 3M announced that it will stop the production of PFOS and PFAS compounds by 2025. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a class of toxic fluorochemicals that pose serious health risks and have polluted water supplies, food systems, and other natural environments in the Great Lakes and across the globe. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-3m-pfas
Residents of the Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario are being asked to halt all non-essential water usage for the foreseeable future amid a state of emergency that was declared by the community last week. Oneida officials declared a state of emergency on Dec. 15 after an “all-time low” water level was recorded in the community’s water tower, its main source of water. Read the full story by CFPL – London, ON.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-michigan-pfas
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a lawsuit against a paper manufacturing company alleging the company transported waste contaminated with harmful PFAS and PFOS chemicals to a nearby landfill where contaminants spread for more than 20 years. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-michigan-pfas
The last ocean-going cargo ship, or “saltie,” of the 2022 shipping season is expected to depart Duluth, Minnesota, on its way to Italy on Thursday, Dec. 22, which would tie with 1984, 2016, and 2019 as the latest departure date of an ocean-going vessel in port history. Read the full story by Duluth News-Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-last-saltie
Santa took time out of his busy December schedule on Saturday to participate in the Santa Splash to Pick Up Trash at Rockport State Recreation Area located on the northeastern coast of Michigan’s lower peninsula. Santa and several other divers took to the Lake Huron waters in search of debris, while others picked up litter along the shoreline. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-santa
The headwaters of Wisconsin’s Ahnapee River gained another level of protection through a conservation easement agreement recently donated to Door County Land Trust. The 158-acre property, which will remain privately owned but managed by the Trust, contains surrounding wetlands that slow down water runoff and filter sediments and nutrients before entering the river. Read the full story by Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-headwater-conservation
Long before it ended up as a breakwater in Mississauga, Ontario, the S.S. Ridgetown was originally named the S.S. William E. Corey. The ship was built by the Chicago Shipbuilding Company and launched on June 24, 1905; after surviving storms and being run aground during the 1905 “Mataafa Blow,” it was finally retired in November 1969. Read the full story by Insauga.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-ships
When the winter waves of Lake Michigan are crashing onto Sheboygan’s beaches in 30- and 40-degree weather, the surfers will still be there. While Wisconsin’s so-called “Malibu of the Midwest” is less popular than famed surfing spots in California and Hawaii, the owner of a Sheboygan surf shop says his city, and plenty of others on the Great Lakes, offers a lot to the surfing community. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-surfs-up
Black carp, an invasive species that was first imported to control snails in fish farms where fish are bred, have made their way into Illinois waterways. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources believes black carp have moved up the Illinois River as far as central Illinois. If the invasive carp enter the Great Lakes, they have the ability to dominate the food chain and cause major disruptions to the ecosystem. Read the full story by WBGZ – Alton, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-invasive-carp
Lockwood, Andrews & Newman (LAN), an engineering firm accused of having some responsibility for Flint’s lead-contaminated water in 2014-2015, has settled a lawsuit with four families, months after a jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict in August. Details of the agreement between the families and LAN were not publicly disclosed in federal court in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Read the full story by AP News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-flint-settlement
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is urging its customers to take advantage of programs that will lower their sewer bills while calling on the federal government to do more to help low-income water customers. The sewer district is offering affordability programs at the same time it is having to pay for massive improvements, including the $3 billion Project Clean Lake that is designed to reduce combined-sewer overflows into Lake Erie and its tributaries. Read the full story by Cleveland.com
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-discounted-water
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is requiring the village of Montgomery to submit a water improvement plan for approval of its permit application to divert Lake Michigan water to its residents. The plan requires the village to lower its non-revenue water loss from 28.2 percent to under 10 percent. Read the full story by WSPY – Plano, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-water-permit
For the past 37 years, an agreement between the State of Michigan, the federal government, and five sovereign tribal nations has guided commercial fishing regulations in parts of the Great Lakes. The last decree was set to expire in 2020 but was extended as negotiations carried on. Four of the five tribes involved are supporting the new decree, but the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and other sport fishing and conservation groups take issue with changes in the new agreement. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-fishing-rights
The City of Waukesha, Wisconsin could start breaking ground on a short, but critical stretch of water pipeline in just a matter of weeks, thanks to a Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors decision Thursday afternoon. The 35-mile pipeline will convey Lake Michigan water from Milwaukee to Waukesha and then return it —after it’s used and treated— to Lake Michigan via the Root River. Read and listen to the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-water-pipeline
The U.S. Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation is underway in Lake Superior. The Coast Guard sector based in Sault Ste Marie has started its winter icebreaking efforts – known as Operation Taconite – because of an increasing amount of ice in the commercial ports located on the west side of Lake Superior. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-ice-breaking
The walleye hatches in the western and central basins of Lake Erie were above average this year, as was the hatch for yellow perch in the western basin. The story was different for yellow perch in the central basin where hatches there “continue to be well below average,” according to a news release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by Cleveland.com
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-fish-hatches
Muskegon County closed on the former Nugent Sand property on December 13, finalizing the acquisition of more than 160 acres that includes 1,460 feet of Lake Michigan frontage property for its Dune Harbor Park. The park will be opened for public use no later than March 13, 2023, said Muskegon County Community Development Director Robert Lukens. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-public-park
Paul Radomski’s new book Walleye: A Beautiful Fish of the Dark details the biology, management and importance of this iconic fish. Radomski, a fisheries biologist by trade, said he hopes readers will take away a greater appreciation for walleye as they learn more about it. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221219-walleye-book
The first mission to survey nearly all of the water on Earth’s surface has launched. The mission will survey water on more than 90% of the world’s surface and measure the height of water in freshwater bodies as well as the oceans. Read the full story by CNN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-swot
Staff at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is keeping tabs on a specific bird that summers in northern Michigan. A piping plover from northern Michigan was spotted at a state park in Florida this week. Read the full story by WPBN – TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-plovers
A part of Lower Michigan is protected from the arctic cold that hits Wisconsin and westward. Lake Michigan can warm that arctic air as much as 20 degrees from the bitter cold temperatures in Wisconsin. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-michigan
Toxic algal blooms in western Lake Erie have begun to affect not only aquatic life but human economics. A Michigan State University study estimates that up to $5.9 million annually in economic activity is lost in Michigan’s small portion of Lake Erie because of canceled angling trips due to harmful algal blooms. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-algae
The annual National Defense Authorization Act that now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature includes an authorization for the Corps to spend as much as $3.2 billion on the new Soo Lock under construction at Sault Ste. Marie. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-soo-lock
Waukesha, Wisconsin is in the process of laying down 35 miles of pipeline to convey Lake Michigan water to the city and hopes to lay a portion of it on Milwaukee County parkland. But last week, the city faced an unanticipated challenge when the County parks committee rejected the amount of money Waukesha offered in exchange for the use of the land. Read and hear the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-drinking-water
The Essex Region (Ontario) Conservation Authority issued a Shoreline Conditions Statement ealier this week due to forecasted winds across Lake Erie. People were encouraged to take extra caution to avoid areas where flooding was occurring as well as rivers, streams, and shoreline areas during significant rainfall and wind events. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-shoreline-alert
The Toledo Lucas County Port Authority board has approved a $400 million bond for a salmon fishing facility in Williams County, but many locals are not happy with the decision. A group of advocates attended a Port Authority board meeting Thursday morning to talk about how they believe this facility could harm drinking water. Read the full story by WTVG – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-salmon-farm
Year after year, local and state transportation leaders try to identify efficiency and efficacy improvements in order to use less salt, said Matt Bruning, the spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation. In addition to causing billions of dollars in corrosion damage to cars, bridges and roadways annually rock salt can also negatively impact water quality, harm ecosystems and wildlife. Read the full story by WEWS – TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-road-salt
The installation of the Niagara River ice boom is scheduled to start on Friday, to reduce the amount of ice entering the river which can increase the potential for ice jam damage to shoreline property. Read the full story by CHCH -TV – Hamilton, Ontario.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221216-ice-boom
A major agreement on how to divvy up fishing rights in parts of the Upper Great Lakes was finalized among four Indigenous Tribes and both state and federal fishery regulators and now awaits approval by a federal judge. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221214-tribalgreatlakesfishingdeal-federalreview
