The S.S. Badger, a coal-fired ferry that carries people and cars across Lake Michigan between Michigan and Wisconsin, has been sold. Read the full story by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-ss-badger
With help from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources acquired Chinook salmon eggs to be used to stock Lake Michigan. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-salmon-stocking
The Rouse Simmons, also known as the “Christmas Tree Ship”, disappeared one cold November day. It is now a shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Michigan just off Rawley point in Wisconsin, about 160 feet underwater, after many years as a mysterious disappearance. Read the full story by WBND-TV – South Bend, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210104-christmas-ship
Chesterfield Township, Michigan is in the midst of making its own little portion of the planet a better place for fish, waterfowl and families, via shoreline restoration at Brandenburg Park. Read the full story by The Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-brandenburg-park
Seiche events and early spring weather events have affected the year class strength of northern pike in Lake Erie. Read the full story by GreatLakesNow.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-pike
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is restricting international cargo at one Michigan port. Other Great Lakes ports don’t face the same restrictions. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-port-monroe
Allen County, Ohio is getting ready to embark on a new drainage project to improve the water quality in the Lake Erie and Maumee River watershed. Read the full story by WLOK-TV- Lima, Ohio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-allen-county
With the Earth on track to finish out another year among the warmest on record and the impact of climate change mounting around the globe, advocates around the Great Lakes are looking ahead to what a new administration could mean for the Midwest, the region containing one of the world’s largest freshwater sources. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-climate-change
The Minnesota Invasive Species Advisory Council (MISAC) bestowed Carol Mortensen Invasive Species Management Awards at their virtual Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference in November. Read the full story by the Herald Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-ais
The Michigan state government has expanded its PFAS guidelines to set groundwater cleanup criteria for another five chemicals. Read the full story by WLNS – TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-pfas
Help could be on the way for shoreline property owners after a bipartisan bill this month passed the Senate. Read the full story by the Huron County View.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-shoreline-grants
The City of Port Huron, Michigan is offering space along the Black River to the Naval Sea Cadet Ship Grayfox this winter. The ship has docked there in the past for events in the city and is still seeking a more permanent home. Read the full story by the Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-black-river
Facts matter, and they help people reach informed conclusions about issues that impact their lives. In this light, we want to correct the misinformation included in a recent opinion piece from State Rep. Rachel Hood. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-line5
Nine harbor maintenance and improvement projects are receiving grants from the state, including four in Northeast Wisconsin. Gov, Tony Evers announced that more than $6 million is being invested in waterfronts around the state to boost statewide economic development. Read the full story by WLUK-TV Green Bay.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201224-wisconsin-harbor
When the canal flowing between two Upper Peninsula college towns froze last week, it wasn’t unusual. But that ice is also typically covered by a deep snow in this northernmost section of Michigan’s mainland. However, there was no snow on the canal’s surface when it froze last week, creating a glassy surface just begging for skates. People in both towns were surprised – and delighted to oblige. Read the full story by CBC Canada.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201223-canal
Conservation authorities are warning of possible flooding along Lake Erie due to strong winds in the forecast. Flood watches were declared by two conservation authorities in Southwestern Ontario on Wednesday. Read the full story by CBC Canada.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201223-flood
Climate change is having a widespread effect on lakes across the Northern Hemisphere, a new study has found. The lakes most at risk are those that are deep, as it’s more difficult for them to form ice, particularly the Great Lakes. Read the full story by CBC Canada.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201223-climate
Saving our Great Lakes means tackling multiple threats and problems from multiple angles. Partnerships form the basis of the solutions advocates seek. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201223-partnerships
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she’s confident the state will be able to provide rural residents in the Upper Peninsula with energy if Enbridge’s Line 5 operations are stopped in the spring. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201223-nessel
Our rollercoaster weather pattern for the next few days has sparked Gale Warnings over Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, with some of these warnings lasting into Thursday. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201223-gale
Great Lakes Divers and Great Lakes, Great Responsibility hosted an inaugural holiday cleanup dive on Tuesday, called the Santa Splash to Pick Up Trash. Divers and beach walkers met at Rockport State Recreation Area north of Alpena, Michigan for an afternoon of diving in and cleaning up. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201223-garbage
Operation Taconite is the Coast Guard’s largest domestic ice-breaking operation. It encompasses Lake Superior, the St. Mary’s River, the Straits of Mackinac, Georgian Bay and all of Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WNMU-Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201223-taconite
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, and its contractor, Dean Marine & Excavating, Inc., are scheduled to resume repairs of the Rochester (NY) harbor in the spring of 2021, repairing about 600 feet of the roughly 1,000-foot degraded section. Read the full story by Dvids.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-usace-harbor-repair
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will reimplement a lake trout bag limit and season for Lake Michigan beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The new bag limit and season will mirror previous lake trout regulations. The open season will now run from Mar. 1 to Oct. 31 with a new daily bag limit of two lake trout. Read the full story by Antigo Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-trout-wisconsin-fish
A Franklin County judge on Monday blocked the collection and distribution of the House Bill 6 nuclear bailout fee, which Ohio ratepayers were scheduled to start paying next month. Read the full story by Cleveland.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-ohio-nuclear-fee
A federal judge promised Monday she will hear from all Flint residents with something to say about a proposed $600-million-plus payment to partially settle claims arising from the 2014 lead poisoning of the city’s drinking water supply — even if it requires a court hearing that stretches over several days. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-flint-water-settlement
The Michigan Clean Marina Program is pleased to announce eight Michigan marinas have been named as Certified Clean Marinas. Each has been certified for three-year terms through 2023. Additionally, seven marinas have been Recertified as Michigan Clean Marinas. Read the full story by The Daily Mining Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-clean-marina-michigan
Great Lakes Towing christened two of its new ice-breaking tugboats at its own shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio on December 16th, signaling its newbuilding campaign had passed the halfway mark. Pennsylvania is the fourth of a series of 10 tugboats Great Lakes is building to replace its ageing fleet. Wisconsin, fifth in this series, was also christened during a virtual ceremony hosted from the shipyard. Read the full story by Riviera.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-shipping-tugboat
Arctic grayling have been absent from Michigan since the 1930s, but in 2016 the Michigan Arctic Grayling Initiative started the process to bring them back and hit a crucial milestone this fall when they were transferred to Marquette State Fish Hatchery. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-arctic-grayling-fish
The Trump administration’s delisting of the gray wolf is being met with criticism by wildlife conservation groups, some of which plan to challenge the decision through lawsuits against the Interior Department to prevent the removal of Endangered Species Act protections. Read the full story by Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-wolves-wildlife
After a series of intense storms over the past few years, Duluth’s Lakewalk is being rebuilt to protect the shoreline and the real estate behind it against rising lake waters, and against the more intense and frequent storms fueled by climate change. View and listen to the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-duluth-harbor-erosion
The 2020 Water Resources Development Act will be enacted as part of the omnibus appropriations legislation, and authorizes projects and programs led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study, design, and construct water transportation and infrastructure projects including the restoration and maintenance of wetlands and watersheds critically important to birds and the flood resilience of communities. Read the full story by Audubon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201222-water-restoration-wetland
Ten months after being approved in U.S. House with heavy bipartisan support, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act has passed the Senate and is headed for President Donald Trump’s desk. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-glri
Scientists recently reported pronounced reductions in both cladophora algae and quagga mussel density in Lake Michigan’s offshore waters near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore after an underwater project by the Invasive Mussel Collaborative. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-invasive-mussels-removed
Shorelines across Lake Michigan are eroding, costing Great Lakes states millions of dollars in temporary solutions to protect shorelines and near-shore areas. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-beach-erosion
Work has finally started on a new shipping lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, more than 30 years after the project was first proposed. Read the the full story by WDET – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-soo-locks
This is the second year in a row cyanobacteria has appeared on several popular northern Michigan lakes, including Au Sable, Black, and Cadillac, causing health problems for people and their pets. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-michigan-algae
An Ontario company pleaded guilty to a negligent violation of the Clean Water Act for dumping waste water into Lake Ontario. Read the full story by WKBW-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-dumping-waste-water
In the State of Michigan’s next fiscal year, there’s about $500 million available for fixing up sewer pipes and updating wastewater plants to prevent raw sewage flowing into streams and rivers. So far, municipalities have applied for $200 million. Read the full story by WUOM – Ann Arbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-sewer-loans
Google Earth imagery shows the dramatic change in Chicago beaches from 2013, when the lake was at a record low point, to this year when Lake Michigan continues to remain at historically high levels. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-chicago-beaches
When it comes to New York’s world-class fisheries across the state, the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bureau of Fisheries has performed admirably well in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic; fish were stocked, eggs were collected, and surveys were still conducted. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-fisheries-management
Michigan-native Dusty Klifman dives below their surfaces to photograph and share the stories and histories of some of the six-thousand Great Lakes shipwrecks. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201221-shipwrecks
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Hammond, Indiana, Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. laid out their proposals for delivering Lake Michigan water to Joliet, Illinois, in a special city council meeting. The city of Joliet must find a new water source by 2030, when their current water supply is expected to run dry. Read the full story by the Times Weekly.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-microplastic-pollution-plastic
National parks and public lands in the Great Lakes region, including Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota and Apostle Island National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, offer excellent winter outdoor opportunities as the COVID-19 pandemic restricts travel and gatherings. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-natl-parks
If the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline shuts down next spring, Michigan must find a new way to deliver propane to Upper Peninsula residents who use tens of millions of gallons from the pipeline annually to heat their homes. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-line-5-propane
Michigan legislators on Wednesday finalized a plan to borrow $600 million to finance the state’s proposed settlement with the residents of Flint over the state’s role in the Flint Water Crisis. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-flint-water-settlement
International cargoes on the Great Lakes has rebounding as the shipping season draws to a close. Shipments of crops and wind turbine components to Great Lakes ports like the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor and the Port of Chicago stayed steady in November, while steel shipments picked up the pace. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-shipping-up
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are seeking to restrict the ability of environmental regulators to regulate chemicals known as PFAS by rescinding parts of an emergency rule and limiting efforts to properly treat foam containing PFAS. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-wi-dnr-pfas
The National Park Service is spending $1.4 million to remove abandoned structures and roadbeds at Indiana Dunes National Park and restore natural area in the place of razed structures. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-indiana-dunes
Human remains likely dating back to prehistoric times were found at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Traverse City, Michigan. Read the full story by UpNorthLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-sleeping-bears
