A wolf and moose study on Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, one of the world’s longest-running wildlife field studies that began in 1959, has fallen prey to the coronavirus pandemic and no winter observations will be allowed to take place. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210118-isle-royale-study
A federal judge has penalized a Western Pennsylvania copper-processing company with a $550,000 fine for its years-long criminal violations of the Clean Water Act, including illegal discharging of oil into the Ohio River. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210118-illegal-discharge
Minnesota lawmakers are ramping up efforts to prevent mining companies from gaining a foothold in Minnesota with legislation that aims to slow or ban copper-nickel mining on the Iron Range. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210118-anti-copper-mining
Environment and Climate Change Canada forecasts that Lakes Michigan-Huron will stay below record water levels but will remain well above average for the next six months and could approach record levels in early 2021 if wet conditions prevail. Higher lake levels are thought to be a direct result of climate change. Read the full story by Elliot Lake Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210118-climate-change-high-water
In the first month of a 20-year effort to replace every lead service line connecting a Michigan home to a public water supply, Michigan communities are asking who is going to pay for it. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210118-lead-pipes
The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational announced today that applications are now open for the 2021 #TeamUp for the Great Lakes Bay Region charitable program. Since its inception in 2019, this charitable giving effort has awarded over $200,000 to local charities throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region. Read the full story by the Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-teamup-applications
Close to 5,700 lakes in the Northern Hemisphere may permanently lose ice cover this century, 179 of them in the next decade, at current greenhouse gas emissions despite a possible polar vortex this year, researchers at York University have found. Read the full story by WLUC – TV- Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-ice-cover
After a year without travel, international cruise line Viking is catering to built-up wanderlust and taking reservations for its new expedition ships, which are scheduled to sail to Minnesota in summer 2022 as the company makes its Great Lakes debut. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-viking-cruises
Environmental groups have filed a flurry of lawsuits against the Trump administration over its removal of Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf. Read the full story by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-grey-wolf
Environmental groups have filed a flurry of lawsuits against the Trump administration over its removal of Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf. Read the full story by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-grey-wolf
Four vessels will winter in the Twin Ports as the 2020-21 shipping campaign draws to completion Friday with the end-of-day closure of the Soo Locks connecting lakes Superior and Michigan. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-duluth-superior-port
Four vessels will winter in the Twin Ports as the 2020-21 shipping campaign draws to completion Friday with the end-of-day closure of the Soo Locks connecting lakes Superior and Michigan. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-duluth-superior-port
The latest estimates of Lake Michigan’s ice coverage are below average for the winter season so far, running at only 1.7%. The average ice coverage around this time is about 15%, 13.3% more than it is right now. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-lake-michigan
The latest estimates of Lake Michigan’s ice coverage are below average for the winter season so far, running at only 1.7%. The average ice coverage around this time is about 15%, 13.3% more than it is right now. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-lake-michigan
The National Museum of the Great Lakes is offering free admission Saturday through Monday as a gesture of gratitude to the Toledo, Ohio, community for its ongoing support, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-maritime-museum
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a new Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative Regional Dredging project has begun at Little Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario and more are planned. This Initiative was original developed in response unprecedented flooding along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to help communities build resiliency. Read the full story by WWTI–TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-st-lawrence-dredging
The Town of Newfane, New York, recently took another step to secure a breakwall in Olcott Harbor by submitting an application to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-olcott-breakwall
The rescue of a swan in Lake Ontario highlights the plight of many birds killed or injured by garbage carelessly discarded in parks and lakes. Read the full story by BlogTo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210115-swan-rescue
As part of an access grant that the Port Authority received through the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission construction continues on Erie’s Bayfront as crews fix Holland Street Dock and restore recreational areas. View the full story by WJET – TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-pennsylvania-dock-construction
The price increases will raise more funds for beach upkeep, freeing up more money for needed improvements at the city’s other parks, city staff said. The first year of paid parking raised roughly $500,000 last summer. Read the full story by the Muskegon Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-michigan-beach-improvement
The Port of Thunder Bay shipping season closes today, marking the completion of the Port’s most successful year in over two decades. Annual cargo volumes tallied 10.2 million metric tonnes (MMT), exceeding the ten million mark for the first time since 1997. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-shipping-season
MV American Courage, a 634-foot Great Lakes self-unloading bulker, is the largest ship ever to perform automatic dock-to-dock operation. This follows a decision by its owner —American Steamship Company, a subsidiary of Rand-ASC Holdings LLC —to fit the 1979-built ship with Wärtsilä SmartMove solutions for hands-off transit along the Cuyahoga River in Ohio. Read the full story by Marine Log.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-shipping-automatic-docking
The wait continues for the second phase of the Little Lake cleanup project in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin’s Sunset Park. Lake Michigan’s high water levels have seeped in during the past two years, deepening the normally shallow water body and helping to mitigate water-quality issues. Read the full story by DredgeWire.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-restoration-wisconsin
Federal officials say a bird called the interior least tern is being dropped from the endangered species list, after conservation efforts have boosted the interior least tern’s numbers in recent decades. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-endangered-tern-bird
A recently signed federal law will provide $11.6 million to begin restoration of the 1.25-mile creek, officially known as the South Fork of South Branch of the Chicago River. The investment in ecological health will benefit both people and wildlife. Read the full story by Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-chicago-restoration
The agency is looking to fund 10 large-scale projects as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a multi-agency project that provides funding for projects affecting Great Lakes states, with at least $300,000 grants. Read the full story by the Indiana Environmental Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210114-epa-grant-pollution
Skokie, Illinois is implementing new “smart water technology” that could save the village millions of gallons of water and hundreds of thousands of dollars annually through continuous monitoring of water main leaks. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-skokie
For the next five years, we won’t have to play the annual game of impressing on our leaders how important the Great Lakes are, not only to us, but the country and planet. We can focus our energy into protecting and enjoying them.. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-funding
Many complain Michigan’s new restrictions on commercial fishing would shut down their businesses. The state supplies much of the Great Lakes’ whitefish, and there are warnings of looming shortages. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-fishing
A new project meant to help the water quality in Lake Erie is taking root in Hancock County, Ohio. Just south of Liberty-Benton High School, the Hancock Parks District is transforming a 100-acre farm field into 100 acres of restored wetlands. Read the full story by WTOL-TV- Toledo, Ohio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-hancock
Michigan’s Van Buren State Park has grown by 17 acres under a new agreement with an adjacent nature area. County officials approved a 25-year lease, which will add 340 feet of additional lakeshore to park’s existing mile-long stretch along Lake Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-van-buren
Lake Erie’s current ice coverage stands at less than 1%, much below average going back the past 40 years. Read the full story by WOIO-TV- Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-erie-freeze
A bill currently being evaluated by a Michigan House committee would make it easier for homeowners in Michigan to apply for permits to protect their property from high water on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-erosion-permits
The Soo Locks will be closing at midnight on Friday, Jan. 15, marking an end to Great Lakes shipping for another season. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-soo-locks
The Great Lakes as a whole continue to slowly drift lower on water levels. The few Great Lakes that have been in record high water territory this past year are easing away from those milestones. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-water-levels
Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, his health director and other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new investigation of the Flint water scandal, which devastated the majority Black city with lead-contaminated water and was blamed for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210113-flint
In a letter to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Enbridge Energy stated that it will not stop operations on its Line 5 oil pipeline despite Gov. Whitmer’s November revocation of the pipeline’s 67-year-old easement and her May deadline for the line’s closure. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-enbridge
Michigan’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund has hundreds of millions of dollars available in funding to support Michigan municipalities seeking to upgrade and repair their wastewater infrastructure. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-cwsrf
The U.S. Coast Guard wants to replace one of its oldest cutters on the Great Lakes but delays in funding and congressional appropriations mean that a replacement boat may be several years away. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-coast-guard-cutter
The U.S. Justice Department announced charges against a Flint, Michigan-based oil processing company for dumping leachate into Flint’s sewer system in violation of the company’s discharge permits. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-usjd-flint
Akron Council has given initial approval of a deal to allow horizontal drilling and fracking under 475 acres of public land at the La Due Reservoir, which is upstream from the city’s main drinking water supply along the Cuyahoga River. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-akron
The Lake Erie Agriculture Demonstrating Sustainability (LEADS) initiative in Ontario announced $2.58 million in available funding for farmers to adopt environmental sustainability and water quality improvement practices in the Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair watersheds. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-leads-initiative
After cancelling Great Lakes cruises in 2020 and 2021, Viking Cruise Lines is offering booking for 2022 cruise voyages from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Read the full story by Radio K102.5 Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-cruises
The new law provides support for local communities facing rising water levels, coastal erosion, and flooding that have put homes, property, and communities at risk, and caused millions of dollars in damages. Read the full story by DredgeWire.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-peters-bill
With three lake freighters in for maintenance work, this will be the busiest winter in years for the Port Weller dry docks, according to officials at Heddle Shipyards, which has operated the dry docks for the past three years. Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-port-weller
The ship was originally used to launch and retrieve test torpedoes and targets before being decommissioned from the U.S. Navy in 1995. It was then transferred to the Naval Sea Cadet Corps and was renamed the United States Naval Sea Cadet Ship Grayfox in 1998 when it came to Port Huron. Read the full story by the Port Huron Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-black-river
A bill has extended the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through 2026, a program which was previously set to end at the conclusion of the 2021 fiscal year. The bill will increase the program’s current funding level from $300 million to $375 million in the next fiscal year and increases funding by $25 million per year until it reaches $475 million in 2026. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210111-first-nation-water
The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation is expanding its water system to deliver clean drinking water to hundreds of residents who have been grappling for more than a decade with seven drinking water safety advisories for their previous water supply. Read the full story by The Canadian Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210111-first-nation-water
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has organized a pilot program to keep boating access sites plowed this winter at more than two dozen popular Upper Peninsula ice-fishing locations. Read the full story by the Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210111-winter-fishing-access
Microplastic particles, typically studied as aquatic pollutants, are also common in coastal dunes on Great Lakes’ shorelines, according to a new study. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210111-microplastics
