The fate of Traverse City, Michigan’s FishPass project will be decided in court. That’s after city commissioners decided not to put the question before voters in November. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210901-fishpass
The Sierra Club is objecting to BP’s bid to eliminate hourly emission limits at its BP Whiting Refinery in Indiana after it faced potential penalties for violating them. Read the full story by The Shelbyville News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210901-whiting-refinery
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Coastal Resources Management Program (CRM) is accepting grant applications for federal fiscal year 2022 beginning Monday, August 30 until 4 p.m. on Monday, October 18. Read the full story by WJET -TV- Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210901-erie-projects
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the continuation of the regional dredging initiative to build resiliency in communities along Lake Ontario on Monday. Read the full story by WWTI – TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210901-ontario-dredging
Michigan state conservation officials say boaters, anglers, and hunters are spreading an invasive aquatic plant. The European frog-bit has been messing up Lake Erie and Michigan coastal areas and inland lakes in the central Lower Peninsula for almost 30 years, but its now popping up in new areas. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210830-frogbit
Niagara area organizations are launching a community-based monitoring program that will engage communities along Lake Erie in the stewardship of shoreline resiliency and healthy coastal ecosystems. Read the full story by the Welland Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210830-niagara
The Canadian Freshwater Alliance is calling for an updated timeline on when the Ontario government will act on on tackling phosphorus loads in Lake Erie. Read the full story by CTV.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210830-erie
More toxic lead pipes than any other region of the country. An unmatched legacy of abandoned, highly polluted industrial sites. Dozens of corporations chronically in trouble for poisoning air and water. All of these maladies face whomever President Joe Biden picks to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency office that oversees Illinois, five other Midwestern states and the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210830-epa
In Michigan, locals prevailed in an impassioned effort to save a local beach and dunes from development, fueled by a large state grant and more than 800 donors. Cherry Beach grew from a tiny 253 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline to 657 feet, a 404-foot expansion onto sand that locals had already been using for a century. Read the full story by the South Bend Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210830-cherry
Dubbed the Marysburgh Vortex, or alternatively “The Graveyard of Lake Ontario,” a small stretch of water off the shores of Ontario’s Prince Edward County has for centuries played host to shipwrecks, airplane mishaps, strange sightings and mysterious disappearances. Read the full story by Global News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210830-vortex
An Ohio judge found a prominent Lake Erie commercial fishing operation based not guilty of a list of more than 20 wildlife violations in a case that had been brought by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources early in 2020. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210830-fishery
Much of the history regarding the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald surrounds what was lost, but there is an important item that was found — and it’s now on full display. In the summer of 1995, months before the 20th anniversary of the ship’s sinking in November 1975, a mission was started to recover the bell on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Read the full story by KSAT-TV- Paradise, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-fitzgerald
Fourth-year University of Guelph student Corallee Allaert will be attempting a 30-kilometre swim across Lake Erie this weekend to raise awareness for mental health. Read and listen to the full story by Guelph Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-erie
The proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary has been in the planning stages for years and would include hundreds of square miles of Lake Ontario off Cayuga, New York. As officials continue narrowing options for a possible marine sanctuary, a series of public information sessions has been scheduled. Read the full story by The Citizen.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-sanctuary-ontario
More than 1,000 people rallied outside the Minnesota Capitol on Wednesday against the Enbridge Energy Line 3 oil pipeline that is nearing completion in northern Minnesota. Read the full story by the Sahan Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-line3
Great Lakes steel production dipped by 2,000 tons last week, though U.S. steel mills remained at 85% capacity utilization. National steel output is up more than nearly 20% so far this year and more than 27% higher than at the same time last year. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-steel
Even before the leaves lose their green and the nights cool and days shorten, there’s a sure sign another summer is coming to an end: the plovers have left the beach. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-plover
The Port of Duluth-Superior has bounced back from last year’s pandemic slump with a standout start to the Great Lakes shipping season, driven largely by taconite shipments. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-taconite
Erosion, flooding and high water levels are some of the most concerning issues across the Great Lakes region. But communities lack the funding, knowledgeable staff and support from government agencies to face these issues. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-coastal
A wildfire on Michigan’s remote Isle Royale has been about 15% percent contained and crews have saved some historic cabins from encroaching flames. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-fire
New York state fisheries researchers identified lake trout fry in Lake Erie this past spring, a significant milestone in re-establishing wild stocks of the species in the lake after more than half a century. Read the full story by the Olean Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210827-trout-fry
U.S. and Canadian researchers completed a reference genome, or digital genetic map, for lake trout. The feat should boost efforts to rebuild populations of the prized fish in the Great Lakes and other North American waters where they’ve been hammered by invasive species, overfishing and pollution. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-trout-genome
The western region of Lake Superior has seen increases in precipitation intensity of around 35-40% since the mid-1900s. These heavy rains wash loads of sediment and nutrients directly into the lake and into surrounding rivers that lead into the lake, providing a banquet for blue-green algae. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-algal-bloom
Aerial surveys conducted by Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission wildlife biologists in northern Wisconsin have indicated that 2021 may be one of the worst wild rice crop years since a 2010 disease outbreak. Read the full story by WXPR–TV – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-wild-rice
Environmental groups are calling on the Air Force and the State of Michigan to get serious about cleaning up PFAS from decades of training and firefighting foam around the site of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-pfas
After nearly three decades of remediation, Muskegon Lake is on the verge of being delisted as an environmental “area of concern.” Three remaining restoration and cleanup projects are on track to be finished by Sept. 30. Once completed, the popular recreational lake connected to Lake Michigan will cross a major step forward in being removed from the list of heavily polluted Great Lakes sites. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-remediation
Environmental groups are asking social media users to show their support for Lake Erie and push politicians to address the lake’s failing health by posting Lake Erie stories to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #WeAreLakeErie to create what organizers call “a virtual wave of support for the lake.” Read the full story by The Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-social-media-lake
Perhaps the most disturbing conclusion of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is the permanence of climate impacts. Changes like shrinking ice sheets, rising sea levels and oxygen depletion and acidification of the oceans are deemed “irreversible for centuries to millennia.” Read the full story by The Intelligencer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-climate-change
The “Reimagine the Canals” initiative is a perfect chance to evaluate which of these approaches best fits the Erie Canal. We missed the chance to keep round gobies bottled up in the Great Lakes, but barriers on the Erie Canal could stop or slow the arrival of even more damaging invaders. Read the full story by Time Union.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-invasive-species
Vacuum trucks will suck up the algae mats for disposal at the Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant by Wednesday. Public health doesn’t yet know if the mats are blue-green algae — a toxic form of bacteria potentially harmful to humans and pets that closed the beach at Pier 4 to swimming in July. Read the full story by the Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-algae
The polluted water has prompted Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper to work on an ambitious restoration plan to restore the health of the lake and possibly pave the way for it to eventually connect with Scajaquada Creek, a tributary of the Niagara River. Read the full story by the Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210825-lake-restoration
Learn the 10 things about Presque Isle State Park’s history and its relationship to Erie that every visitor should know. Read the full story by the Erie-Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-erie
Flint, Michigan, officials plan to start blending water from the Great Lakes Water Authority and Genesee County on Monday, Aug. 23. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-flint
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy announced that an invasive aquatic plant, called European frog-bit, has been found in the lower Lincoln River in west Michigan. Read the full story by the Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-efb
Cuyahoga County’s lakefront in northern Ohio is now a water trail, as designated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The Lake Erie Water Trail features more than a dozen official access points to the water with a variety of amenities, designed to increase recreational water access and provide opportunities for environmental awareness and stewardship. Read the full story by Idea Stream.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-trail
A new program in southeast Michigan aims to reduce the amount of trash that reaches Lake St. Clair from a storm drain. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-debris
The city of Kalamazoo in west Michigan is dyeing stormwater as part of an investigation meant to keep harmful materials out of local water systems. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-stormwater
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff will be applying a chemical treatment at several locations in Wisconsin waterways to kill invasive sea lamprey larvae that have burrowed into the bottom of the Oconto River. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-lamprey
High water on Lake Ontario can disrupt maritime commerce to Great Lakes ports. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-ports
The Canadian government is investing $340 million to support Indigenous guardians and Indigenous Protected Areas as part of its commitment to conserving 30 per cent of the country’s lands and waters by 2030. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-guardians
Great Lakes coastal communities are wondering if their shoreline infrastructure will survive another round of record high water. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210823-high-water
After years of cleanup efforts, Ohio’s Ashtabula River is no longer considered one of the “most environmentally degraded” areas in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-ashtabula
Minnesota pollution control and natural resources officials on Wednesday released a $700 million plan to improve the drinking water for 14 Twin Cities communities whose groundwater was contaminated due to decades-long chemical disposal by 3M Co. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-3m-chemicals
It took 60 years to accomplish, but Lake Erie has positive evidence that there is natural reproduction of lake trout. Read the full story by the Observer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-lake-trout
Did you know the first female conservation officer in the United States was from Michigan? It was 1897 when state game warden and future Michigan governor Chase Osborn appointed Huldah Neal deputy game warden for Grand Traverse County. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-trailblazer
Drought conditions continue to worsen across Minnesota, causing some of the state’s 10,000 lakes and rivers to have much lower water levels than usual. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-drought
For two intense weeks each July in Ohio, Case Western Reserve University hosts a camp that immerses students aged 12 to 16 in the world of shipwrecks and how to explore them. Read the full story by Patch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-students-shipwreck
The full moon of August will be visible this weekend. This month’s nickname for the full moon goes by the Sturgeon Moon. This is because in the past, sturgeon of the Great Lakes were mostly caught by Native Americans in this portion of the summer. Read the full story by WFRV-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-stuegeon-moon
A triathlete from Ontario, Canada, learned a painful lesson recently while swimming in Lake St. Clair: Muskies might mistake your extremities as prey, and the fish have dangerously sharp teeth. Read the full story by USA Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-fish-bite
Avid boat-watchers in Michigan’s St. Clair County will have a new face to look out for next week: Theodore TOO, a 65-foot tugboat based on the TV character Theodore Tugboat. Read the full story by The Times-Hearld.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210820-theo
