Lake Erie-Niagara River ice boom to be removed Thursday
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210317-ice-boom
Due to a lack of ice cover on Lake Erie, the New York Power Authority says they’re preparing to remove the Lake Erie-Niagara River ice boom this Thursday. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210317-ice-boom
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has set online listening sessions for residents who live in the Marinette and Peshtigo areas to share their thoughts on PFAS contamination. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210317-pfas-listening-session
Engineers are using virtual reality to perfect the design of a new Soo Lock that will soon be under construction and they’re sharing some of that imagery with the public. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210317-soo-locks
Despite above average outflows from the Great Lakes, water levels remain high due to high weather-caused inflow, damaging shoreline communities and causing costly restoration for homeowners. Read the full story by Orilliamatters.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-shoreline-communities-water-levels
Canada’s federal government announced Monday that it is investing $2 million for projects in Terrace Bay and Red Rock through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan, replacing water mains, sanitary sewers, and storm sewers to reduce the risk of flooding. Read the full story by WDIO – TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-ontario-water-infrastructure
Coast Guard Cutters Mackinaw and Mobile Bay commenced the break out of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal as of Monday March 15. On Tuesday March 16, captain of the port Lake Michigan opened the southern half of Green Bay to commercial navigation. The regulated navigation area previously closed will be reopened as the two Coast Guard ice breakers proceed south creating a track through the ice from Sturgeon Bay to the Fox River entrance. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-sturgeon-bay-canal-shipping
The state of Michigan has announced a total of $3.6 million in grants for 29 projects to combat invasive species that will be awarded through the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program. Read the full story by WLUC – TV – Negaunee, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-michigan-invasive-species-projects
Midland and other cities were hit hard by a flood caused by the failure of a dam. If that flood happened a few years ago, the damage could have been worse. But, due to wetland restoration efforts, the thousand acres of restored wetlands helped reduce the severity of that flood. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-wetland-restoration-floods
As of March 12, the Great Lakes water levels for 2021 are tracking below last year’s average levels, although Lake Michigan and Huron still remain well above the long-term average levels according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read the full story by WZZM – FM – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-water-levels
The Soo Locks will open 12 hours early this year, kicking off the 2021-22 Great Lakes shipping season a little ahead of schedule on March 24th at noon. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-shipping-soo-locks
The Ontario government is investing $20 million over the next four years in the Greenlands Conservation Partnership to help secure land of ecological importance and promote healthy, natural spaces. The funding will enable conservation groups to restore and manage natural areas while assisting a commitment under the province’s Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan to mitigate effects of climate change. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-ontario-conservation
Pet stores in 32 states were recently found to be selling moss balls studded with the invasive species, zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), and the U.S. government wants the mollusks gone, one mangled moss ball at a time. Read the full story by AtlasObscura.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-invasive-species-mussel-moss
Last November, Gov. Whitmer revoked the easement that allows the Line 5 pipeline to operate, and ordered Enbridge to halt oil transport by May this year. Cited in the revocation, for the first time in the history of Line 5, Michigan’s administration officially acknowledged nearly 200-year-old Indigenous Chippewa and Ottawa treaty rights as one of the reasons to shut down the pipeline project and protect Great Lakes ecology and fisheries. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-line-5-treaty-rights
Powerful gusts linked to global warming are damaging water quality and creating a hazard for fish in Lake Erie and perhaps elsewhere in the Great Lakes, according to researchers. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-climate-water-quality
Powerful gusts linked to global warming are damaging water quality and creating a hazard for fish in Lake Erie and perhaps elsewhere in the Great Lakes, according to researchers. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210316-climate-water-quality
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210315-gull
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210315-charter
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210315-ice
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210315-wolves
If you’re looking forward to taking the car ferry across Lake Michigan this year, the dates for the 2021 season have been announced. Michigan’s historic S.S. Badger says there will be a full season of trips across the lake after the pandemic shortened the season last year. Read the full story by WTRC – Michiana, IN
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210315-badger
The Mariners’ Church of Detroit and boaters from around Michigan are welcoming the shipping season, starting with its annual ‘Blessing of the Fleet” service on Sunday, hosted with certain COVID-19 restrictions in place. The Blessing of the Fleet is a historic tradition that includes an Honor Guard of Shipmasters, Coast Guard, and military personnel, who participate in a procession alongside Michigan Sea Cadets. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210315-blessing
Two Canadian Coast Guard ships – the CGS Samuel Risley and the CCGS Griffon – are currently breaking a path through ice for commercial vehicles on Lake Huron.. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210315-icebreaking
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration released a plan Friday to make sure Michigan will have enough propane if a controversial pipeline is shut down. The strategy addresses a frequent objection to the Democratic governor’s demand that Enbridge Inc. decommission its Line 5, a leading carrier of natural gas liquids that are refined into propane to heat many Michigan homes. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210315-propane
Pet stores in 32 American states were recently found to be selling moss balls studded with invasive zebra mussels, and the U.S. government wants the mollusks gone, one mangled moss ball at a time. Read the full story by Atlas Obscura.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-balls
The Biden administration said Wednesday it was delaying the effective date of a policy intended to prevent lead pollution of drinking water, continuing a decades-old debate over how to remove a serious health hazard to children. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-bidenepa
Great Lakes water levels continue to track below 2020′s record levels, although Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie remain well above long-term average levels. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-tracking
New research finds the annual dead zone in Lake Erie is getting a boost that makes it worse very quickly. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-deadzone
After a century of abandonment, after seasons of water and ice tearing at its base, the Waugoshance Lighthouse in Emmet County, Michigan, will be swallowed by Lake Michigan. The only mystery is when. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-nolighthouse
A proposed new general management plan for Leelanau State Park on Lake Michigan in Northport, Michigan, will look into making a few updates without changing the park’s rustic nature. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-rustic
The National Weather Service in Duluth, Minnesota, is starting a new marine forecast zone March 30 specific to the waters of Lake Superior surrounding the Apostle Islands. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-apostle
One of the defining sights of a Minnesota winter is looking out on a frozen lake and seeing people sitting on stools, fishing rods in their hands. But how safe is it, really, to walk on the iced-over lakes? Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-icylake
The trumpeter swan, the white-feathered bird that wades through wetlands, remains on Ohio’s threatened species list, though its population is growing, including in Northeast Ohio. Read the full story by Cleveland.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-swans
A group from Kincardine, Ontario, is pitching some life-saving ideas to improve safety at their beach and pier on Lake Huron. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210312-stoplight
According to new research from Climate Central, a nonprofit news organization that analyzes and reports on climate science, although there are still high coverage years, the annual maximum ice coverage on the Great Lakes is 22 percent lower on average, compared to 50 years ago, with years of low ice cover becoming more frequent. Read the full story by WNEM- TV – Bay City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-ice-coverage
Some anglers and conservationists oppose a controversial catfishing bill introduced in the Michigan Legislature. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-fishing
Five Michigan congressional members signed a letter Wednesday pressing President Joe Biden to stop Enbridge’s Line 5, an oil pipeline, from being potentially shut down in May. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-line5
2021 Wisconsin Water Week is a conference meant to bring river and lake lovers from all over Wisconsin together to share research, educational strategies and new ideas about how to care for the water of the state. Read and listen to the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-wisconsin-water-week
The SS Badger will carry passengers and cargo in the Great Lakes from May 20 through Oct. 10 this year and will run at a full 600-person capacity. Read the full story by Manitowoc Herald Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-ss-badger
Step one in prepping for the 2021 shipping season in the Twin Ports started Wednesday as the U.S. Coast Guard broke up ice with the cutter Alder. Read the full story by KBJR-TV- Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-coast-guard
The Stannard Rock Lighthouse, located 25 miles from the shore of Marquette in Michigan’s upper peninsula, has the longest distance separating a lighthouse from shore on the continent. Read the full story by WKFR – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-loneliest-place
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency are seeking public comments on the proposed removal of a beneficial use impairment within the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-cuyahoga-river
After three years of extraordinarily high levels on Lake Ontario that flooded properties and marinas, residents are hoping for some normal this year. Read the full story by The Syracuse Post-Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-lake-ontario
American infrastructure that manages water for drinking, agriculture, transportation, and flood control faces a mounting backlog of maintenance needs, witnesses and members of a congressional subcommittee chaired by Ohio U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said during a two-hour online hearing Wednesday. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210311-kaptur
The Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Canada suffers from high exposure to toxic contaminants from nearby chemical plants in Sarnia, Ontario. Members are fighting for policy changes to overcome shortcomings in Canadian toxic chemical regulations that have failed to protect indigenous community members. Read the full story by the Anishinabek News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210310-gaps
The presence of the nesting piping plover pair in Chicago, Illinois, is the culmination of an environmental success story that began 20 years ago when a plant called lakeshore rush took hold on Montrose Beach. The Chicago Park District stopped grooming that section of beach to protect the rush and something remarkable happened; other rare plants emerged from the sand and began to spread. Read the full story by The Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210310-plover
A northern Michigan organization is hosting community trash pick-up events to raise awareness and inspire action to care for the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WBKB-TV – Thunder Bay, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210310-cleanup
A northern Michigan organization is hosting community trash pick-up events to raise awareness and inspire action to care for the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WBKB-TV – Thunder Bay, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210310-cleanup
A recent letter to President Joe Biden from environmental and tribal groups argues the Line 3 pipeline was “inappropriately permitted” by the Trump Administration and is demanding that he shut down the pipeline by revoking Line 3’s presidential permit. Read the full story by Green Matters.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210310-line-3
Experts attribute the Detroit River’s increasingly clear waters to clean up and remediation efforts along the river that have improved water quality. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210310-detroit-river
A new study by the Nature Conservancy of Canada has designated southwestern Ontario as one of nine regions of Canada whose biodiversity is most in need of protection. Decades of intensive farming and population growth have eroded the region’s natural areas and shrunk habitats for already at-risk wildlife. Read the full story by The Brantford Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210310-ecoregion