The health of aquatic ecosystems depends on the supply of key nutrients, especially phosphorus. In the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem, the North American Great Lakes, control of this nutrient may have been lost to an invasive species. Read the full story by the National Science Foundation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210210-key-nutrient
Advocates are calling for an increase in protected areas at Chicago’s Montrose Beach to encourage more endangered piping plovers to nest. Read the full story by Chicago Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210210-montrose-beach
Saturday was the first day of sturgeon season on Black Lake in Michigan’s Cheboygan and Presque Isle Counties. High interest and a low quota meant the season didn’t even last until noon on opening day. Read the full story by WLNS-TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210210-sturgeon
A project at Lake Superior State University received $250,000 from the United States Forest Service to install landscaping reducing the pollution flowing into the St. Marys River, as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read and view the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-green-landscaping-water-quality
A mild December and January left the waters of Lake Michigan, near South Haven, mainly open and free of ice. But, over the last two weeks, temperatures fell and ice finally began to take shape along Southwest Michigan’s shoreline. Read the full story by MLive.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-shoreline-ice
Hamilton’s cold-water swimmers cavort among lake ice cubes in regular bathing suits — and to be fair, usually gloves and hats — and swim into the wintery swells for five to 15 minutes at a time. Fans of a prolonged winter dip argue the health benefits outweigh the extremity-numbing pain. Read the full story by the Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-cold-water
A project at Lake Superior State University received $250,000 from the United States Forest Service to install landscaping reducing the pollution flowing into the St. Marys River, as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read and view the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-green-landscaping-water-quality
At issue is Fisheries Order 243.21. Michigan Fish Producers Association sued the Michigan DNR in federal court this month alleging that the order will make commercial fishing unprofitable and asking for a preliminary injunction that would allow Michigan’s 13 commercial fishing operations back on the water under the rules that governed 2020. Read the full story by GreatLakesNow.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-commercial-fishing-michigan
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency have signed a $16 million agreement to remediate contaminated sediment in two backwater ponds surrounded by shallow marsh wetlands in Duluth. The project will improve access to the Duluth-Superior Harbor, a vital site for Minnesota’s economy. Read the full story by BusinessNorth.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-area-of-concern-pollution
A federal appellate court judge has denied a motion to stop construction of Enbridge’s controversial Line 3 replacement, the second court ruling against pipeline opponents in the past week. Read the full story by Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-enbridge-line-3
Michigan is a microcosm of the country in terms of our partisan split and difficulty interacting with those who have different viewpoints. But, there is a great exception to this divisiveness, and that’s our unity around support for the Great Lakes and clean water. Can and should President Biden utilize his interest in rebuilding civility, democracy and bipartisanship to advance clean water, equity and Great Lakes protection? Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-rebuilding-water-great-lakes
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently released a report documenting efforts and investments along the Great Lakes. The two-year report highlighted partnerships and achievements, including resiliency improvements, source water protection and accelerating restoration initiatives in communities that have been historically and disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution. Read the full story by WWTI – TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210209-restoration-plan
Illinois officials are working to improve the public image of invasive Asian carp, promoting the fish as a healthy, delicious, organic, and sustainable food source. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-carp-makeover
A binational bird conservation research effort is using their data to identify the most important coastal areas in the Great Lakes to protect and restore, including Chequamegon Bay, Green Bay, Saginaw Bay and Sandusky Bay. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-binational-bird-research
Freshwater is the most precious natural resource on Earth, according to a soil biophysicist researcher from Michigan State University who doesn’t believe current water regulatory policies in the United States, Canada, and around the world will solve humanity’s growing competition for it. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-conserving-freshwater
Wildlife researchers and scientists have been using herring gulls for the past 50 years to better understand how the Great Lakes are changing over time. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-herring-gulls
Wildlife researchers and scientists have been using herring gulls for the past 50 years to better understand how the Great Lakes are changing over time. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-herring-gulls
Despite strong congressional and governmental support, the Port of Oswego on the shores of Lake Ontario in New York, will once again receive nothing toward the repair of the deteriorating 140-year-old breakwall protecting the Oswego harbor. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-breakwall-repairs
The Dam Safety Task Force, created after the May 2020 failures of the Edenville and Sanford dams in mid-Michigan, are requesting revisions to “soften” some of the language in the final dam safety report. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-dam-safety
An unexpected flurry of sailing songs called sea shanties have been making the round on social media and are sure to brighten up bleak winter days on the shores of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-sea-shanties
Northern Michigan conservation nonprofit Huron Pines became the new owners of a 145-acre parcel of Lake Huron property that is slated to become an Alabaster Township park in the coming years. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-lake-huron-park
A feasibility study this spring at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House could lead to a more natural restoration of the shoreline of the historic estate on Lake St. Clair in southern Michigan. Read the full story by C and G Newspapers.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-shoreline-improvements
St. Clair County in southern Michigan is making emergency funding available to its coastal communities impacted by ongoing flooding. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210208-flooding-emergency
Michigan’s lakes are experiencing record low ice coverage. Loss of ice means hazardous conditions for ice fishing, more coastal erosion, and trouble for whitefish, burbot and other species that spawn in ice-covered Great Lakes reefs. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-mi-ice-cover
Despite congressional and governmental support, the former president’s final budget proposal excluded funding for repairs of the deteriorating breakwall at the Port of Oswego in New York. The $6.35 million requested by the Army Corps of Engineers for the repair was expected to be part of former-President Trump’s final budget but was axed at the last moment. Read the full story by Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-oswego
Three Coast Guard ice breakers from the United States and Canada have been working on the St. Clair River trying to break up ice dams to prevent flooding in homes near East China Township in Michigan. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-coast-guard-flooding
The impending closure of the Line 5 oil pipeline directed by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer is prompting Canadian businesses and politicians to reconsider energy relations between the two countries. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-line-5
Unique ice formations resembling pancakes were spotted along Chicago’s Lake Michigan shoreline this week. These ice formations are rare but interest scientists because they can decrease wave intensity, which can have major implications for ships navigating wavy waters. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-pancake-ice
After not having lifeguards last year at Washington Park beach on Lake Michigan, officials in Michigan City, Indiana, are considering a plan to attract applicants by boosting pay. Read the full story by the Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-mi-city-lifeguards
Advocates for a provincially significant wetland in Pickering, Ontario, are pushing back against a proposal to drain the Duffins Creek wetland and build a warehouse. Read the full story by TVO.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-duffins-creek
The Midland Bay Landing Development Corporation approved plans to accommodate a boat dock on Lake Huron that will support boat tours and cruise ships, hopefully boosting tourism to the town of Midland, Ontario. Read the full story by Orilla Matters.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-island-princess
A train derailment in Goderich, Ontario, destroyed a fish shanty near Lake Huron, removing part of the town’s prized cultural heritage. Read the full story by the Goderich Signal-Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210205-goderich-shanty
According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ice cover on the Great Lakes is at its second lowest point since NOAA started keeping records in 1973, standing at 13%. Lake Huron in particular is at its third lowest point since that time. Read the full story by Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-ice-cover
Grain silos may not be the first place that comes to mind as a spot to create artwork, but that’s exactly what is about to happen in Toledo. 28 ADM silos along the Maumee River are about to become host to a mural. It’s called the Glass City River Wall. Read and view the full story by WTVG-TV Toledo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-toledo-river-art
A preliminary feasibility study is set to begin along the water’s edge of the historic Ford estate along Lake St. Clair. The goal is to restore a mile of coastline to benefit the Great Lakes aquatic ecosystem. Read the full story by WDET – FM – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-ford-shoreline-restoration
Wolverine Worldwide is in the final stages of a feasibility study for the future of the House Street area, contaminated by PFAS, proposing either a nature preserve with remediation, or a 30-acre cap which would make the land mostly unusable. Read the full story by WZZM – TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-wolverine-pfas-pollution
It will be a few more days before a task force set up to study Michigan’s dam safety regulations will finish its final report due to task force member requests to soften the tone of the report. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-michigan-dam-regulation
The Great Lakes Research Consortium announced the call for proposals for 2021 Great Lakes Research Consortium small grants funding. Grants are available as seed funding for new, cooperative projects that contribute to the protection and restoration of the health of New York’s Great Lakes and for ecosystem-based management. Read and view the full story by NNY 360.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-restoration-grants
Officials in Hamilton, ON have been working toward removal of the fish, last year the team implanted tags in some larger goldfish to track their movements. In 2021, the team plans to further assess tagged fish to obtain an idea of the overall number in the harbour. Read the full story by Maclean’s.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-ontario-invasive
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced her appointments to the state’s new Council on Climate Solutions this week. Appointees are tasked with formulating the implementation of the MI Healthy Climate Plan, which will serve as the action plan for the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition toward economywide carbon neutrality by 2050. Read the full story by WXMI – TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-michigan-climate-change
According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ice cover on the Great Lakes is at its second lowest point since NOAA started keeping records in 1973, standing at 13%. Lake Huron in particular is at its third lowest point since that time. Read the full story by Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-ice-cover
A national hunting group filed a lawsuit this week to force an immediate start to Wisconsin’s wolf season before potential federal protections for the animals are implemented. Read the full story by WIBW – TV – Topeka, KS.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210204-wisconsin-wolf-hunt
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay and Canadian Coast Guard Griffon were deployed Tuesday afternoon to help break up ice jams that formed along the southern St. Clair River. Read the full story by the Port Huron Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-icebreakers
South Haven L.I.F.E. is calling for lifeguards, among other beach safety measures, to be implemented at local beaches. One of the group’s leaders understands lifeguards would come with costs and liability but said it’s worth it. Read and view the full story by WOOD-TV Grand Rapids.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-lifeguards
After applying several bandaids to Erie Shore Drive’s flooding problems, Chatham-Kent is moving forward with several long-term solutions. Councillors voted to issue a request for proposals for an engineering consultant for Erie Shore Drive as they discussed the next steps for the road plagued by flooding and erosion. Read the full story by The Chatham Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-road-repairs
Icy waves struck the shoreline of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois, on February 1, after a winter storm dumped more than 10 inches of snow across the city. Read the full story by Yahoo! News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-icy-waves
The Canadian Coast Guard says ice formation across the Great Lakes was at its lowest in 50 years at the end of January. Read the full story by the Blackburn News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-ice-formation
Hamilton’s mayor is calling on the federal government to reconsider a plan to install swing gates blocking access to two Burlington Canal piers that are popular for photos, strolls and boat watching. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-canal
The U.S. Coast Guard is warning people to be careful on the Lake Erie ice. The current thickness of ice on the lake “far below” the seasonal average of years past, creating “extremely hazardous conditions” for anyone who goes out there. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-ice-warning
Great Lakes steel production fell by 6,000 tons last week, the second straight week of decline, and remains depressed by nearly 10%, with U.S. steel mills only operating at about three-fourths of capacity. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-steel
