Aquatic Invasive Species Awareness Week, which begins July 1, serves as a collaborative outreach campaign to raise awareness about preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species through recreational boating and related activities. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220627-landing-blitz
Three research buoys have been placed in Lake Michigan for the first full season of data collection as part of research being conducted by Northwestern Michigan College and Michigan Technological University. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220627-buoys
In a marketing event Wednesday, Illinois officials announced the focus-group-approved name for the prolific invasive species, Asian carp: now rebranded as Copi. Read the full story by The Washington Post.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-copi
Lake Michigan sediment cores reveal changes to the Great Lakes over the past few hundred years. Significant changes can be observed from both humans and invasive quagga mussels. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-human-impact
University of Texas researchers are looking at the indirect impacts of 6PPD-quinone, an antioxidant added to car tires to prolong their life, on Great Lakes fish. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-tire-chemicals
Lake whitefish in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron have a recruitment problem. Since the early 2000s fewer young whitefish have been making it to adulthood. Fewer adults mean fewer fish for commercial fishers to catch. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-whitefish
Nearly every piece of microplastic pulled out of Lake Ontario is tracked and recorded by the dozens of University of Toronto students participating in a study that pulls more than 10,000 pieces of microplastics out of the lake each day. Read the full story by the CTV National News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-microplastics
Climate change-fueled weather such as extreme storms will provide a direct threat to contaminated waste storage sites, nuclear power plants and industrial facilities at multiple sites on the shores of Lake Michigan, according to a new report. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-hazardous-waste
A group of Great Lakes mayors say Ontario should prioritize the maritime transport sector. The group, which represents more than 150 Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River mayors, says the Ontario government needs to create an effective Marine Strategy. Read the full story by CFLZ – Fort Erie, Ontario.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-marine-strategy
Reports of harmful algal blooms have increased in Michigan in recent years, and state officials have tips on how to keep an eye out for them. Read the full story by WXPR – Ironwood, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-algal-blooms
Tawas Point Lighthouse, located in Northern Michigan, rested on the edge of the point looking over Lake Huron when it was built in 1877. Over the years, the lighthouse began to almost recede into the peninsula, through a process called accretion. Read the full story by WRKR – Portage, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-lighthouse
The availability of expanded federal infrastructure resources offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Upper Midwest to protect current and any potential residents. Read the full story by Crain’s Chicago Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220624-climate-refuge
This is testing test. Fun! I’ll add a link here.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220623-carp
Quagga mussels are implicated in the decline of many Great Lakes fish species and their hold on phosphorus, a key nutrient in the Great Lakes, is causing huge ecological disruptions. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-1836-quagga
How the Great Lakes’ current shape compares with their past shape is important as negotiators update the consent decree addressing commercial and recreational fishing interests in waters covered by an 1836 treaty. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-1836-treaty
This week, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources plans to introduce a new name for the invasive fish that they hope will sound more appetizing and encourage people to target the fish for consumption. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-asian-carp
Agencies involved in responding to last week’s release of thousands of gallons of an oil-based substance into the Michigan’s Flint River said Tuesday, June 21, that work is continuing in an effort to pinpoint the exact location of the breach. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-oil-spill
Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle State Park has returned to nearly normal operation two years after record-high Lake Erie water levels and storms caused massive damage across the peninsula. Read the full story by the Erie-Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-presque-isle
More than 800 kilograms (1,764 pounds) of debris was taken from Lake Ontario during the two-day ‘Dive Against Debris,’ an international initiative aimed at helping keep our waters clean. Read the full story by Global News Canada.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-dive-against-debris
The MacArthur Lock resumed operation in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend after unexpected maintenance complications extended its winter closure, slowing down shipping traffic in the bottleneck between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-soo-lock
A project to create new public hiking trails in Lake Michigan dunes took a step forward with a $100,000 grant from Entergy Corporation, the owner of the recently closed Palisades Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-hiking-trail
As Michigan wildlife officials continue in their fight against highly pathogenic Avian Influenza, dozens of dead birds, mostly cormorants, were found in Muskegon County, Michigan. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-avian-flu
Plans for the Lake Metroparks Lakefront Path in Painesville, Ohio, kicked into high gear as the park system took steps to accept donated property access for the trail and Gov. Mike DeWine signed a state capital budget that awarded $400,000 for the project. Read the full story by The News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220622-lake-metropark
In 2016, the accepted limit for PFOA – one of several PFAS chemicals – in drinking water was at 70 parts per trillion. Now, the EPA has lowered that number to .004 parts per trillion. This means that PFOA is 75,000 times more toxic than previously thought. Read the full story by WKAR Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-pfas
Community concerns of Lake Michigan contamination from a Waukegan power plant’s recently shuttered coal-fired units heightened last week after an environmental study, released by Chicago’s Environmental Law and Policy Center, identified the facility as a potential flood risk due to climate-related lake level changes. Read the full story by Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-coal
Negotiators are updating a 2000 consent decree, a legal settlement that spells out where and how much lake whitefish and lake trout can be harvested by recreational, state-licensed and Native American commercial fishers in the Great Lakes. The invasion of zebra and quagga mussel invasions, among other changes, to the Great Lakes have caused ecological disruption that sets the scene for deciding how to manage the lakes in the future. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-fish-harvest
Today (June 20th) marks the 10-year anniversary of the Duluth flood, more than 10 inches of rain fell in 24 hours and raging waters overcame the city’s hillside streams in its most devastating flood in history. Read the full story by The Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-duluth-flood
New court documents in the fight over Line 5 show that an energy industry consultant hired by Enbridge estimates shutting down the pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac would have a minimal impact on fuel prices. According to the report prices for gasoline, jet fuel and diesel would rise by an estimated 0.5 cents per gallon, however the impact in Ontario would be far greater, closer to 5 cents per gallon. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-line5
Researchers at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, are studying clumps of the invasive species didymo or “rock snot” algae to learn more about its lifecycle and impacts. Didymo first appeared in the St. Mary’s River in 2015. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-didymo
The invasive plant, water chestnut, has been found a home below the village of Heuvelton’s dam on the Oswegatchie River in New York State, infesting hundreds of acres of bay and river. Volunteer efforts will continue this year to remove the invasive plant. Read the full story by Watertown Daily Town.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-invasive-plant
“Swim Shady,” a juvenile sturgeon, was released into the Detroit River June 3 after spending the school year in Michigan’s Gibraltar School District. The release, is the culmination of a St. Clair-Detroit River Sturgeon for Tomorrow project, which is designed to build awareness and appreciation for the environment. Read the full story by The News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-sturgeon
Shipments of iron ore from U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 4.4 million tons in May — a decrease of 20.4% compared to the same month a year ago, and 21.9% below the month’s five-year average, according to the Ohio-based Lake Carriers’ Association last week. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-shipping
Brookfield Renewable U.S. plans to construct a 2,050-foot long berm to protect its Steel Winds II facility from damage during storms along Lake Erie. Fall and winter storms have caused erosion events impacting access and causing turbine shutdowns for remediation. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220620-wind
To control the population of the invasive fish in the Great Lakes, a pesticide containing TFM (3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol) is added to spawning areas to kill lamprey larvae. However, fewer treatments due to the pandemic might have inadvertently led to a surge in lamprey populations in 2022. Read the full story by Newsweek.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-lamprey
In Harbor Springs, Michigan, thousands of juvenile fish native to the Great Lakes are being meticulously monitored and raised for release by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Natural Resources Department in efforts to revitalize vulnerable fish species in the 1836 treaty territory. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-fish-stocking
After last week’s oil spill in the St. Mary’s River, Lake Superior State University will put numerous oil pollution monitors around the Great Lakes, which will allow the university to quickly identify and react to spills. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-water-sensors
With a healthy sturgeon population in the St. Clair River, researchers are hoping that eggs collected during spawning can help restock areas that have seen historic sturgeon declines. Read the full story by the Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-sturgeon
In Indigenous communities that have lacked access to safe water for years, getting access to a safe water supply is crucial. However, perceptions of the water supply — not just how it tastes and smells, but also trust in the source’s safety — affect consumption. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-water-perception
Starting next week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy will host the public in Luna Pier, Michigan, at the first of seven free beach walks around the state led by a coastal engineer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-beach-walk
Stamp sand, a pulverized rock leftover from ore processing, has been dumped in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula for more than 100 years. Transforming miles of shoreline, the stamp sand is now a slow-moving ecological disaster. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-stamp-sand
Two significant flood mitigation projects along Lake Ontario are now complete – one in the town of Irondequoit and the other in the Village of Sodus Point, New York. Read the full story by WXXI-TV – Rochester, New York.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-flood-mitigation
Extreme water levels and stronger storms are not only threatening homes and beaches along Lake Michigan — they could also send toxic waste into communities and the lake, according to a new report by the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Read the full story by Indiana Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-erosion
Lower lake levels offer a welcome change for communities and property owners who have been trying to keep up with erosion affecting their shorelines, but some experts are advising caution before folks get swept up in a wave of relief. Read the full story by the Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220617-lake-levels
Michigan agencies are responding to a significant oil spill in the Flint River. Officials said the spill, estimated at several thousand gallons, was reported to a state hotline Wednesday morning. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220615-flintriver
A report by Chicago’s Environmental Law and Policy Center, focuses on toxic hazards in the four states bordering Lake Michigan but also notes that densely populated neighborhoods in Chicago could face potentially devastating flooding if weather patterns continue. Large parts of those areas may face more severe flooding, as much as a half-mile inland, and pose threat to lakefront superfund sites. Read the full story by Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220615-climate-impacts
Environmental advocates argue the gear oil spill last week in St. Marys River connecting Lakes Superior and Huron amounts to a small taste of the potential ecological catastrophe that could strike the heart of the Great Lakes should a controversial underwater petrochemical pipeline rupture. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220615-oil-spill
In six months, Detroit’s temporary ban on water shut-offs runs out, and residents with past-due bills will once again be at risk of losing access to water. More than 60,000 city households have delinquent water bills. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press and Bridge Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220615-water-shut-offs
Wisconsin Republicans will allow regulations Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration developed to control pollution from a group of chemicals known as PFAS to take effect. Regulations that are being finalized include a 70 parts per trillion standard for drinking water and an 8 ppt standard for most surface waters that can support fish, while leaving well water unregulated. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220615-pfas-standards
Mike Shoreman, a passionate advocate for mental health after suddenly losing his mobility in 2018, has crossed Lake Erie this summer and set his sights on crossing all five Great Lakes. Shoreman is set to finish his crossing of Lake Huron next and would become the first person with a disability to paddleboard across Lake Huron. Read the full story by The Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220615-great-lakes-crossing
A large alewife die-off washed up on the beach along the state of Michigan’s Lake Michigan shoreline. While it may be an unpleasant sight, die offs are a sign the Lake Michigan salmon fishery is in good shape and benefitting juvenile fish. Read the full story by Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220615-alewives
