It has been a year since the state of Michigan ordered Enbridge to stop its operation and organizations, like the National Wildlife Federation, are fighting to keep it that way. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220513-line-5
The smart buoys that have become an important source of data for Cleveland Water and other organizations that monitor Lake Erie were redeployed this week. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220513-buoys
While many are excited that funding designated to river cleanups are being taken seriously, others note that the $1 billion from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is nowhere near enough. Read the full story by KMGH-TV – Denver, CO.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220513-infrastructure-law
Sunken vessels, like the Argo of Lake Erie can influence the structure, chemistry and biology of marine ecosystems, even decades after they occur. Read the full story by the Smithsonian Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220513-sunken-vessels
High levels of PFOS — one of a group of related chemicals known collectively as PFAS have been found in smelt sampled along the south shore of Lake Superior. Health officials are advising smelters not to eat more than a meal a month of the tiny silvery fish. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220513-smelt
With the ice finally gone on most Minnesota lakes, the spring fish harvest is in full swing. Tribal members say the annual ritual of gathering fish through spearing or netting provides a vital food source for the community and preserves a cultural tradition. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220513-fish-harvest
As Michigan parks are primed for another year of pandemic-induced high visitation, upcoming investments couldn’t be coming at a better time. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220513-state-parks
During this year’s ice season, the U.S.-flag Great Lakes shipping industry lost the equivalent of a month due to delays in ice covered waters. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220513-icebreakers
Indigenous water protectors from Great Lakes tribes and their supporters are calling on a federal agency to fully review and reject a Line 5 project in northern Wisconsin, which they say would be “an act of cultural genocide” if permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Read the full story by the Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-indigenouswomen-line5reroute
The S.S. Badger is set to make its first voyage of the season on Thursday. The 410-foot Great Lakes car ferry will sail 60 miles from Ludington to Manitowoc, Wisconsin sporting a fresh coat of paint. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-ssbadger-michigan
Michigan is set to receive more than $1 billion over the next five years to repair water infrastructure. The federal funds are an opportunity to reinvest in essential public works. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-michigan-infrastructurewindfall
The University of Toledo christened its newest research vessel Tuesday at the Lake Erie Center. The 21-foot R/V Spangler, named after the late charter boat captain and water quality advocate Dave Spangler, will replace the Mayflier. Read the full story by WNWO-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-lakeerie-newvessel
A University of Michigan research team says it could not find a clear link between increasing seismic activity and recent high water levels in Lake Erie. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-lakeerie-earthquakestudy
The first cruise ship since 2013 to arrive in Duluth’s harbor will arrive May 30 and dock at the new customs facility in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Read the full story by Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-duluthport-cruiseship
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hopes to get more students interested in Great Lakes research by taking them out on research vessel Neeskay. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-greatlakesresearch-neeskay
It’s the oldest mystery on the Great Lakes: Whatever happened to the Griffon? It was the first big ship to sail the Great Lakes. Loaded with furs in what’s now Wisconsin, the Griffon was said to have sunk somewhere in northern Lake Michigan in 1679. A couple in Charlevoix, Michigan, think they’ve found it. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-griffon-glshipwreck
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s first Great Lakes piping plover nests of 2022 have been spotted, kicking off what’s hoped to be another great summer for the endangered bird. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-pipingplover-firstnest
If you are looking for an escape from the unseasonably warm weather, taking a dip in the Great Lakes isn’t a good option yet, according to surface water temperature data. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-heatwave-unsafewatertemps
Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is doubling down on the claim that the continuing operation of the Line 5 pipeline is “non-negotiable” despite continued opposition across Michigan and Wisconsin. Read the full story by The Canadian Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-line-5
Many of Michigan’s 1,773 cities, villages and townships are reaching a crisis point because of a decline in federal dollars for water and sewer infrastructure that’s made worse by the state’s centralized taxing system. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-water-infrastructure
The loss of 800 megawatts of carbon-free energy from the nuclear plant along the Lake Michigan shoreline near South Haven, MI (122 miles NE of Chicago) at the end of May is likely to result in more greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere as the electric sector pivots to natural gas while more solar and wind generation comes online. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-energy
Some officials are becoming concerned about the future of walleye fishing in Michigan after a local fisherman caught a sick fish along with several others in Ohio waters. Read the full story by WNEM-TV – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-walleye
Algoma Central Corp. is the newest naming sponsor for one of the two ice-pads inside Walker Sports and Abilities Centre at Canada Games Park. The company headquartered in St. Catharines operates the largest fleet of dry and liquid bulk carriers operating on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-shipping-carriers
In decades past, almost every major Great Lakes port city offered a specialty grocery supplying freighters. Recently, a Cleveland, Ohio-based fleet grocer ceased operation, leaving only three U.S.-based Great Lakes fleet grocers in operation. Those are located in Duluth, Minnesota, Sault Ste. Marie, and at Alpena’s Marine Market. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-grocer-history
Fred Wiseman, of Findlay, OH (located about 100 miles south of Detroit, MI) sailed from Detroit to Florida last year. The 3,800-mile trip took around two months and included travel through Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence Seaway and along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Read the full story by The Courier.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-ship-travel
Many local organizations have turned Earth Day into “Earth Month” by dedicating the month of April to cleaning up the community. The Lakeshore Cleanup Coalition participated in the 2022 Great Lakes CleanUP, a collaborative trash removal effort to protect habitats throughout the Great Lakes Basin. Read the full story by ODC Network.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-cleanup
Divers from the North Bay Scuba Club in Ontario were gearing up and diving into Lake Nipissing’s Marina boat launch to clean the waters of trash and debris ahead of the boating season. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-scuba
A new plan to restore the Lake St. Clair coastline at Ford’s Cove would rebuild the nearby wetland, expand the shore, while also building out shoals to buffer the area from the Great Lakes battering waves. Read and hear the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-ford-cove
Buoys deployed onto Lake Michigan are collecting real-time conditions which are helping scientists monitor the lake. Read the full story by WOOD – TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-buoy
Even though the Great Lakes ice-breaking season has ended, some members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation are continuing to push for funding for a new heavy icebreaker on the Great Lakes to reduce shipping delays during the winter months. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-ice-breaker
President Joseph Biden nominated Southfield, Michigan attorney Gerald Acker to be commissioner and chair of the International Joint Commission, a binational group that regulates uses of the Great Lakes and other waters shared by the U.S. and Canada. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-ijc
Three Michigan men will cross Lake Ontario on stand-up paddleboards in mid-June. Read the full story by New York Upstate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-lake-ontario
Scientists at the University of Toledo Lake Erie Center are working on a water quality monitoring network for Lake Erie by preparing sensors before algal bloom season. Read the full story by WNWO – TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-algal-bloom
The level of Lake Superior rose more than usual during a wet April and now sits at nearly its average level for the beginning of May, the International Lake Superior Board of Control reports. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-lake-superior
Federal regulators recommended Tuesday that the Army Corps of Engineers decline to reissue a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine, saying the project could raise levels of mercury and other pollutants downstream from the site in northeastern Minnesota. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-polymet
An Indigenous tribe in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan received a $75,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the impacts of legacy mining waste and other pollutants. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-tribal-study
The City of Chicago, Illinois is promoting its water by serving cans of tap water, affectionately called “Chicagwa”. Read the full story by WFLD – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-chicago-water
The Ozaukee Washington Land Trust looks to be in competition with a private buyer for a pristine piece of property along Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-lake-michigan
The oldest know pair of common loons have nested together at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a quarter century and are back this spring for their 26th year as a breeding pair. Read and hear the full story by WKAR – East Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-loons
Ohio state regulation of streams that flow temporarily after rainfall will be restricted under legislation signed into law by the governor. Environmental groups largely opposed the legislation, saying the streams play an important role in maintaining water quality. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-stream-regulation
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) first decided to introduce coho and Chinook salmon in the 1960s to control an invasive fish called alewife. Most of the salmon are naturally reproduced but the DNR still stocks salmon to keep up with demand, with plans to release 1.6 million fish this year. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-salmon
Failing septic systems can allow contaminated water to seep through the earth into nearby bodies of water, causing water quality issues throughout Michigan. This problem is made worse by the state’s lack of septic system regulations. Listen to the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-septic-systems
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division reported on the dwindling yellow perch population in Saginaw Bay, during one of the 2022 Lake Huron Regional Fisheries Workshops. Read the full story by the Iosco County News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-yellow-perch
Michigan officials have released their 2022 “Eat Safe Fish” guides and there are several notable updates. The state says the guides can help Michiganders plan their fish consumption to minimize exposure to chemicals that can build up in fish, while still getting all the health benefits of eating fish. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-eat-safe-fish
The Brooklyn Dam on the River Raisin in southern Michigan once supplied hydroelectricity to run a factory but now is targeted for demolition by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by WSYM-TV – Brooklyn, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-dam
Around $1.8 million in fisheries habitat grants administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will be shared between 12 fish habitat conservation projects across the state. Read the full story by The Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-fisheries-habitat
Billions of dollars are needed to fix Michigan’s drinking water systems in the rural towns that rely on wells for drinking water instead of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-drinking-water
Thanks to $20,000 earmarked by Congress, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be looking at the Two Rivers Harbor located on Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shore to determine federal interest in further studying the harbor’s infrastructure. Read the full story by Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-two-rivers-harbor
Known as Mama Duck, the “World’s Largest Rubber Duck” is set to make two appearances in Michigan over the summer, along the shores of lakes Huron and Superior. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220504-rubber-duck
After getting wiped out in the early 1900s due to fur traders and deteriorating water conditions in the Detroit River, river otters have officially made their triumphant return to southeast Michigan, local biologists happily announced on Friday. Read and listen to the full story by WWJ Newsradio 950 – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220502-ottersdetroitriver
