Pete Harris, 86, regularly seeks lake trout on Lake Superior, almost always alone and each time deploying the same three-seater 14-foot Starcraft he bought in 1964 to fish for walleyes on inland lakes. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211004-fishing
The cormorant population was once dangerously low in the Lake Erie area due to DDT byproducts. Now cormorants are abundant and there is discussion about culling cormorants to protect habitat. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211004-cormorants
The state of Michigan is working to reduce lead exposure caused by aging water distribution infrastructure with the goal of removing lead contamination from drinking water. Read the full story by WZZM-TV- Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211004-lead
Ottawa County lawmakers have put forward legislation that would prevent the Michigan Department of Natural Resources director from instituting a planned ban on swimming at state parks when waves are considered most hazardous. Read the full story by the Holland Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211004-swimming
For the first time, toxic blue-green algae has been found in Lake Superior waters as part of a recent bloom that formed at a beach in the Duluth-Superior harbor. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-algal-bloom
More intense storms, fueled by climate change, are battering shorelines and cities throughout the Great Lakes, pulling the land right out from under some homes. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-climate-change
The water around the U.S. Steel plant in Northwest Indiana does not pose a human health risk after a large discharge of iron into Lake Michigan over the weekend, according to state and federal government officials. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-iron-spill
About 9 million Chinook and coho salmon eggs will be collected, fertilized and hatched this fall at Michigan weirs to maintain the Great Lakes’ region’s world-class fisheries. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-salmon
The Detroit River Protection Ordinance was approved Tuesday by the Detroit City Council and goes into effect next July, where companies operating along Detroit’s riverfront will face increased inspections and maintenance rules. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-detroit-river
Trails that can accommodate strollers, wheelchairs with tank treads, and baby changing stations in men’s bathrooms are part of a push to accommodate a surge of new visitors at Michigan state parks. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-michigan-dnr
After several incidents of chemical discharge from the U.S. Steel Midwest plant, including a recent leak this past Sunday, residents and environmentalist are pushing for stricter compliance. Read the full story by WBEZ-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-indiana-dunes
Although not as common as the blue-green algae found in the Lake Erie basin, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists warn that treatment plants should also be on the look out for “yellow water”, which is a result of hypoxic conditions. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-yellow-water
Waterspouts, an atmospheric phenomenon that resembles a tornado-like column of swirling air on water, were spotted on Lake Ontario Wednesday. Read the full story by WHAM-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-waterspout
Efforts are underway to encourage future nesting of the federally endangered piping plover, a small migratory shorebird, who makes its home on the sandy beaches of Lake Erie’s Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve in Lake County, Ohio. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20211001-plovers
Around the Great Lakes region, shipyards are busy. The need for vessels, maintenance and retrofits, and necessary infrastructure improvements, have led to a hike in activity for some shipbuilders. Read the full story by Marine Log.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-shipyards
Conservationists in the Thousand Islands Region have been awarded millions of dollars to restore wetlands on the St. Lawrence River. The funds will be used to increase bird populations and wetland habitat while supporting local economies. Read the full story by WWTI-TV- Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-wetlands
Earlier this year the CEO of John Ball Zoo announced zoo leaders were in the exploratory phase of a plan that could result in a new major tourist destination for the Grand Rapids area. The project involves the Zoo building, a large-scale, off-site aquarium that would rival and compete with aquariums in cities like Chicago, Atlanta and Monterey. Read the full story by WZZM-TV- Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-zoo-aquarium
A mix of local, state and federal partners are wrapping up a $320,000 restoration project funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as part of a broader years-long effort to slow the flow of runoff into the Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-slow-flow
Hot summer weather and drier than average conditions have led to a lowering of Lake Superior water levels. The International Lake Superior Board of Control (ILSBC) said water levels had declined and reached the seasonal long-term average for the first time since April 2014. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-superior-level
Cook County, Minnesota is one step closer to having another state-recognized Scientific and Natural Area. The newest addition will be known as the Icelandite Coastal Fen, a 25-acre site just east of Colvill. Read the full story by North Shore Community Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-natural-area
A Finger Lakes Community College graduate spotted a snowy plover at Sandy Island Beach State Park on Lake Ontario. This spotting is significant because it is the first record of the species for the State of New York. Read the full story by the Daily Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-snowy-plover
A Lakehead University researcher says it won’t be long before data on the amount of plastic in the water at the Thunder Bay harbour can be compared to other areas on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-seabin-plastics
While the overall water temperatures of the Great Lakes are still warmer than normal, watch out at any one specific spot. The wind could have pushed warm surface water out into the middle of a lake and replaced it with colder water from below. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-michigan-cold
U.S. Steel temporarily shuttered operations at a northwest Indiana plant Monday after it leaked an orange substance into a Lake Michigan tributary, prompting the closure of a water treatment facility and several nearby beaches. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210929-us-steel
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act which included provisions that strengthen U.S. national economic security and protects shoreline communities in the Great Lakes region. A vital component of the Fiscal Year 2022 NDAA was the inclusion of the “Great Lakes Winter Shipping Act” which would provide the U.S. Coast Guard with expanded icebreaking capabilities to keep vital shipping lanes on the Great Lakes open when ice endangers sailors and the North American supply chain. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-defense-authorization
A research team from the University of Toronto has been using Seabins to capture trash that ends up in the lake to figure out where it accumulates in the water, determine what types of trash is getting deposited, and where it’s coming from in the first place. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-plastic
Contract fishers and various agencies removed, by 2020, 1,268,956 invasive carp, weighing 10,357,069 pounds. Removing invasive silver, bighead, grass, and black carp helps to prevent them from reaching the Great Lakes via the Chicago Area Waterway System. Read the full story by Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-carp
Michigan Congressmen in the U.S. House of Representatives are opposed to the Canadian government storing nuclear waste near the shores of the Great Lakes. A bipartisan resolution has been signed and sent to President Biden asking him to keep the Canadian government from building a proposed 1,500-acre nuclear waste storage site in South Bruce, Ontario. Read the full story by Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-nuclear
The EPA recently received a scathing emergency petition criticizing the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the city of Benton Harbor for failing to provide residents with safe drinking water after three straight years of lead exceedances. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-lead-water
Discovery of Laggerstätte found in Waukesha, WI includes an exceedingly rare collection of fossils that included the soft tissues of ancient organisms dating back 440 million years ago. While there are several dozen Laggerstätten today, the insights they offer still make them highly valuable to paleontologists. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-fossils
A trap-and-transfer program funded by Ontario Power Generation is trying to help American eel populations with migration by paying fishers $50 for each live eel they deliver to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry station in Glenora, ON. Read the full story by The Kingston Whig Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-eels
Since the early 2000s, a collaborative partnership between local, state, and federal agencies formed the Michigan Hydro Relicensing Coalition with the goal to increase lake sturgeon recruitment and survival to adulthood, and led to the installation of a fish elevator to transfer sturgeon upriver on Wisconsin’s Menominee River. Read the full story by Up North Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-sturgeon
Coming in time for next summer could be a rule that bans swimming at Michigan beaches when the conditions are deemed hazardous. Michigan Department of Natural Resources is reviewing the rule that could mean fines of up to $500 for swimming when the waves are too high, when there’s contamination in the water, or when there’s another situation that imperils swimmers. Read the full story by WJSM-TV – St. Joseph, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-swimming
New York state intends that, by 2040, no greenhouse gases will be emitted in generating electricity. Oil- and natural-gas-burning electric power plants will be replaced by renewable wind and solar energy installations. Read the full story by New York Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-new-york-energy
The water levels of Lake Superior is 13” below the levels in September of 2019, a difference of 5.5 trillion gallons of water due to below average precipitation in the upper Midwest, but 1” lower than the September average. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210927-water-levels
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $309,300 grant to the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, to keep litter and trash out of Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie provided by the Trash-Free Waters Grant under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by WZTE-FM – UNION CITY, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-epa
The Lake Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Conservancy, a nonprofit group based in Marquette, Michigan, received $122,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this year to remove marine debris from Upper Peninsula beaches and harbors. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-noaa-grant
Crystal M.C. Davis, vice president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, is being recognized for her efforts to ensure fair and equitable access to water. Read the full story by WKSU-FM – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-cleveland
This year at least six algae blooms were reported on the western arm of Lake Superior, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The blooms of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are likely increasing in the lake due to warm surface water and ample sunlight. Read the full story by The Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-algae-bloom
During the Mackinac Policy Conference on Wednesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials offered up the Lake Michigan Electric Vehicle Circuit, a plan to add charging stations all along the shoreline. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-ev
Waterspouts, an atmospheric phenomenon that resembles a tornado-like column of swirling air on water, were formed on Lake Michigan Wednesday amid gusty winds and high, damaging waves, according to multiple reports on social media. Read the full story by WMAQ-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-water-spout
The 2021-22 state budget passed this week by the Michigan Legislature includes $25 million for a pilot program in the western Lake Erie basin to increase the participation of agricultural lands using best management practices for water quality. Read the full story by the Daily Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-michigan-budget
The state of Michigan will provide bottled water and water filters in Benton Harbor, where tests have revealed elevated levels of lead, a spokesman said Wednesday. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-lead
Partners for Clean Streams, which focuses on improving quality of life along Toledo-area waterways, is reaching a milestone this Saturday with its 25th annual Clean Your Streams Day. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-cleanup
A fledgling initiative created in part by the Chicago-based Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers has attracted nearly $4 billion in sustainability investments for the region in 19 months. Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210924-sustainability-investment
Large one-time investments in water infrastructure and environmental protection are included in Michigan’s 2022 budget, which puts millions toward drinking water emergency response, municipal flooding and erosion aid, pollution cleanups and dam repairs. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210922-michigan-budget
The bipartisan infrastructure bill, which has already passed the Senate and is expected to be voted on by the House by the end of September, directs dollars to improve water quality not just locally in the Great Lakes but across the Midwest. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210922-infrastructure
Wisconsin tribal official Daniel Guzman has been appointed to the EPA’s Small Community Advisory Subcommittee, which was established in 1996 to solicit input from community leaders about ideas to improve and protect the health of the people of the environment where they live. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210922-tribal-official
The nine catfish species found in the Great Lakes are a surprisingly interesting group of fishes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210922-catfish
The Senecaville State Fish Hatchery is one of six fish hatcheries operated by Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, that produce more than 40 million fish a year to stock many of Ohio’s waterways. Read the full story by The Daily Jeffersonian.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210922-hatchery
