The sucker maybe not be a popular recreational fish, but the Great Lakes native works hard to contribute to the ecosystems of all five lakes as well as the creeks and streams feeding into them. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211222-shedd-fish
Kathy Johnson of Great Lakes Now reminisces on her journey to bring freshwater fish content to PBS and onto the national stage. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211222-fish
Leamington’s Hillman Marsh Conservation Area in southern Ontario has undergone an extensive restoration thanks to the Ontario government and Ducks Unlimited Canada, providing protection for the ecologically significant marsh. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-marsh
Mercury pollution remains a problem in many parts of the Great Lakes, but new research from Canada’s Experimental Lakes Area in northern Ontario shows that efforts to reduce the amount of mercury going into a lake can have quick and dramatic effects on the levels of the pollutant in fish populations. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-mercury
In Detroit and Flint, Michigan, one in 10 households spend more than a quarter of their income, outside of other essentials like food and utilities, on water services. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-water-cost
A new federal regulation requires higher safety standards for pipelines carrying oil and other hazardous liquids through the Great Lakes region, marine coastal waters and beaches. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-satefy-standards
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore will soon begin charging visitors entrance fees for the first time in the 55-year history of the tourist destination in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-pictured-rocks
Michigan Department of Natural Resource officials reported 12 elk died after falling through the ice on a private lake in northern Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-elk
Enbridge Energy moved to shift a Michigan lawsuit to federal court, seeking the shutdown of an oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-pipeline
Testing revealed more evidence of groundwater contaminated with dioxane in residential areas in southeast Michigan. This comes just more than a month after officials announced the discovery of the toxic chemical pollution. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-dixoane
An appeals court is ruling on a lawsuit filed in White Earth Tribal Court attempting to stop the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources from issuing a permit to Enbridge Energy to pump water from trenches dug to lay the pipe for the Line 3 oil pipeline. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-tribal-court
State testing shows a drop in toxic lead levels in the west Michigan community of Benton Harbor due to a corrosion treatment at the water plant. However, community advocates remain skeptical of the results due to concerns with previous testing efforts. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211217-lead-levels
Midwest governors and Congressional delegates are advocating for funding to speed along the fortification of a chokepoint lock and dam near Chicago that would become the last line of defense against invasive carp reaching the Great Lakes when completed. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-carp
A group of Democratic U.S. Senators from Great Lakes states wants President Joe Biden to prioritize projects that benefit the region when he allots dollars from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal adopted earlier this year. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-infastructure
According to newly released data, Minnesota has lost an average of 10 to 14 days of lake ice over the past 50 years — a change officials say is hurting local economies, the environment and the Minnesota way of life. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-minnesota
Lake Michigan’s high waters in recent years have limited beach access and damaged amenities at state parks along the Wisconsin shoreline. The state Department of Natural Resources is weighing a fundamental question: Preserve land or let nature take its course? Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-wisconsin
The Biden administration has invited Great Lakes tribes for input on upcoming talks with Canada over the fate of Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5. Read the full story by E&E News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-line-5
The historic wooden-hulled snow-brig U.S. Brig Niagara has been out of the water for the first time in years, sitting in Cleveland for some much needed repairs. But after two months away, Erie’s beloved tall ship is returning home. Read the full story by WICU-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-brig
Road salt is affecting everything in Lake Erie, including suppressed reproduction, low survival rates, and reduced growth rates of fish and macroinvertebrates. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-salt
When we wash our clothes, they shed up to hundreds of thousands of microfibers, some of which will enter our waterways. Now a two-year-long study into washing machine filters in an Ontario community shows something can be done. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-microfibers
Efforts by politicians to create a hunting season for eastern sandhill cranes in both Wisconsin and Michigan are stirring debates among hunters, farmers and birders. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-cranes
The Great Lakes Water Authority and several other partners are now monitoring the water quality of the Detroit River through a new buoy. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-buoy
The New York Power Authority was out on Lake Erie Tuesday putting in the ice boom at the mouth of the Niagara River. Since 1964, the ice boom has been used every winter to reduce the amount of ice that goes into the Niagara River. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211215-ice-boom
Wisconsin is set to receive nearly $143 million to rebuild the state’s water infrastructure and address harmful lead and “forever chemical” contaminations across the state, a first installment from the newly passed federal infrastructure bill that includes hundreds of millions more in the coming years. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-wisconsin
Lake Superior State University has officially opened its $14.2-million Richard and Theresa Barch Center for Freshwater Research and Education. The two-story 18,000-square-foot building includes the Great Lakes Discovery Center, and space for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Michigan Sea Grant. Read the full story by The Sault Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-freshwater-research
Community activists and environmentalists reacted with disappointment to approval by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency of a one-year permit extension for a “confined disposal facility” on Lake Michigan operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read the full story by WTTW-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-illinois
The Port of Cleveland has seen more and more companies looking at the port for imports and exports, which can be beneficial to the entire Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Spectrum News Ohio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-shipping
More than 10,000 acres of land in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have avoided losing protection. The grounds known as the Slate River Timberlands were recently acquired by the Nature Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit group, after nearly 60 years under a family’s ownership. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-conservation
The vacant site of a coal-fired power plant on Lake Ontario is set to sprout 8,000 homes, 200,000 square feet of retail and 1.8 million square feet of offices under a plan to transform it into “destination waterfront.” Read the full story by The Real Deal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-ontario-waterfront
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced the completion of the restoration of the North Sandy Pond barrier bar. The project funds were awarded to the town of Sandy Creek, Oswego County, as part of the State’s Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative. The North Sandy Pond barrier bar is part of the largest barrier-pond ecosystem on Lake Ontario’s New York shore. Read the full story by Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-restoration
A 9-year-old Michigan resident became a champion of a fish that hasn’t been in Michigan for 85 years. Declan O’Reilly has raised over $1,400 for the Michigan Arctic Grayling Initiative fledgling and has started an Arctic grayling club. Read the full story by Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-arctic-grayling
Residents along the Lake Erie shoreline have been fighting against wind turbines in and around Lake Erie for the last 13 years. As residents were ramping up opposition, the pandemic limited their efforts. As restrictions ease, they held their first big meeting since totaling 60 people, which consisted primarily of boaters and fishermen. Read the full story by Observer Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211213-turbines-erie
Michigan landowners are under fire once again after part of a seawall collapsed along the Detroit River last month, spilling contaminated soil into the water exactly two years after a nearly-identical incident occurred at the same site. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-detroit-river
Lake Superior State University’s Center for Freshwater Research and Education will host a virtual symposium to inform the public about invasive species research and issues affecting Great Lakes ecosystems and economies. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-symposium
Wisconsin DNR Deputy Secretary Todd Ambs announced he’s retiring later this month during Wednesday’s meeting of the Natural Resources Board. Ambs said he’s dedicated his life to public service over the last 42 years, adding it’s been an honor to serve at the agency. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-ambs
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, held a hearing Thursday with two panels of witnesses to examine how servicemembers, their families and communities in Michigan – and across the country – have been affected by PFAS connected to military sites. Read the full story by WXMI -TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-pfas
The Wisconsin state Department of Natural Resources is weighing a fundamental question: Preserve land or let nature take its course as water reshapes shorelines? Read the full story by Wisconsin Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-wisconsin-shoreline
The New York Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation has announced that the ice boom could be returning to the Niagara River as early as this weekend. Read the full story by WGRZ- TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-niagara
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced today that more than $109 million will be awarded to help fund critical water projects in all of Ohio’s 88 counties as part of the third and final round of grants awarded through the new Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure grant program. Read the full story by WKTN – Kenton, Ohio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-ohio
Three wetland mitigation projects are reaching completion as part of an effort to restore more than 150 acres in Wisconsin’s Sheboygan, Portage and Rock counties. Read the full story by The Country Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-wetlands
A University of Toledo study, titled “Road Salts, Human Safety and the Rising Salinity of Our Fresh Waters,” warns of the overuse of road salts. Read the full story by Phys.org.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-road-salt
The Tamarack Creek Stream and Wetland Habitat Restoration Project in Southfield, Michigan aims to revitalize the “wetland and stream to manage invasive species, as well as to provide habitat for fish and wildlife,” a city press release states. Read the full story by the Southfield Sun.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211210-restoration
The Nature Conservancy of Canada says a stretch of shoreline on Manitoulin Island in Ontario is now protected land. The non-profit organization says the 76 square kilometre parcel is one of its largest single-property acquisitions in Ontario to date. Read the full story by the Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211208-manitoulin
A Wisconsin shipwreck a little more than 13 miles northeast of the Sheboygan Breakwater Lighthouse on Lake Michigan has been added to the State Register of Historic Places. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211208-shipwreck
Contradicting the historical conservation planning tenet that gave preference to protecting larger, more intact areas, a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has shown that small, isolated patches of habitat are inordinately important for biodiversity conservation. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211208-habitat-patches
The curb appeal of the Great Lakes region is that it appears to be a relatively safe place to ride out the wild weather of the future, and climate migration may soon lead to increased city size in the Midwest. Planning in advance for a potential influx of people can alleviate the stress on cities as well as on their newcomers. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211208-climate-havens
Great Lakes steel production fell by 7,000 tons last week, while U.S. steel mills fell further under 85% capacity utilization. National steel output is now less than 20% higher than at the same time last year, when steel mills sank to just over half-capacity early in the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211208-steel
Researchers at The Natural Resource Research Institute in Duluth, Minnesota, said data shows a rise in air temperatures, causing a worrisome increase in water temperatures throughout the Great Lakes. Read the full story by KBJR-TV- Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211208-warming
Approximately 85,000 homeowners in the Great Lakes region will see rate reductions in their home flood insurance because of the National Flood Insurance Program’s new risk rating system. The new system, Risk Rating 2.0, was created to address inequities in flood insurance pricing in the old system, which was last updated in the ‘70s. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211208-flooding
A proposed plan to charge a royalty on bottled water produced from Michigan groundwater would put an estimated $250 million annually into a water trust fund to be used to replace lead lines, create water affordability plans, and provide emergency water funds. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211208-bottled-water
