Ice cover in the Great Lakes is near record lows, and federal forecasters say there’s little chance it will bounce back to normal. Meanwhile, snowfall across the state has been well below average this winter. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-climate
Quagga and zebra mussels, known collectively as dreissenid mussels, have irrevocably changed the Great Lakes ecosystem and others they’ve spread to. But signs of a new normal are emerging as regular surveys of dreissenid mussels in the Great Lakes reveal a changing community of invaders. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-mussel
The Roger Blough, a Great Lakes freighter with a special place in history caught fire overnight in a Wisconsin shipyard where it is being stored for the winter. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-roger-blough
Restoring the Great Lakes is a real-life example of how working together can deliver concrete results and perhaps even some national healing. Read the full story by The Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-great-lakes-protection
Last week, business owners and supporters of the Erie Canal were informed during an online stakeholder meeting that the canal may not open until Memorial Day this year and could close as early as mid-September. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-erie-canal
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. met with a small group of Indigenous leaders, water protectors, concerned citizens, politicians and activists on Saturday to learn more about their opposition to the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement project. Read the full story by The Bemidji Pioneer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-line-3-opposition
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host a public meeting to discuss updating the Wisconsin Walleye Management Plan for Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington, and Waukesha counties. Read the full story by the Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-walleye-management
New evidence of beaver activity has been discovered on the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River in Trenton, Michigan. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-detroit-river
Despite the freezing conditions, a couple of brave surfers went out into Lake Erie on Monday afternoon. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-lake-erie-waves
The annual sturgeon fishing season will take place on Black Lake this Saturday at 8am in the northeastern corner of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The annual harvest quota – which this year is six fish total – is often reached very quickly. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-sturgeon
Locals in the Sarnia, Ontario area are voicing concerns about the devastation that will impact their community if the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline is disrupted or shut down in May by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-line5
A major natural way of protecting the shoreline to enjoy summer on Presque Isle is the formation of ice dunes which not only preserve the environment they are around, but also help protect from sand erosion. Read the full story by WSMH – TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-presque-isle
The ongoing effort to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes has seen some recent momentum. Michigan, Illinois and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that they would collectively contribute $28.8 million to develop engineering and design plans during the next three to four years as a prelude to promised barrier construction at Brandon Road Lock and Dam in the Illinois River. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-carp-progress
After a harsh winter storm blew out a window in the very remote Stannard Rock Lighthouse in Lake Superior, a team from the U.S. Coast Guard recently traveling via Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City to make an icy repair. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-lighthouse-repair
A proposed increase in Minnesota’s watercraft registration fee would help fund additional aquatic invasive species management activities. Read the full story by the Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-ais-management
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that it has chosen 100 lakes to be part of its Quality Sunfish Initiative, aimed at improving the size of sunfish. Read the full story by the West Central Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-sunfish-regulations
During 35 years of restoration in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern, there has been gradual progress and a hopeful future ahead, according to a new study. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-aoc-cleanup
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced that it is offering grants of up to $150,000 to purchase and improve public outdoor recreation projects. Read the full story by Dayton Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-odnr-grants
Rising temperatures and the loss of ice cover is devastating the whitefish population of Lake Huron according to members of an advocacy group. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-climate-change-impact
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is proposing to increase annual state park fees in order to cover their budget deficit. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-state-park-fee
As cold temperatures persist, Lake Ontario begins to see ice formations that form over slushy waters. The rounded shapes that almost resemble lily-pads or pancakes. Listen to the full story by WROC-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-pancake-ice
According to new data released by the Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Michigan’s water level is down 4 inches in the past month and 10 inches from one year ago. Read the full story by WLNS-TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-lake-levels
Michigan regulators announced the approval of two permits that Enbridge needs to build a tunnel underneath the Straits of Mackinac that would house a replacement section of the Line 5 oil pipeline. The tunnel must receive further state and federal approval before beginning construction. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-line5-tunnel
In Illinois, the Joliet City Council voted this week to select the City of Chicago Department of Water Management to provide Joliet with Lake Michigan water by 2030. Faced with a water supply that will no longer be sustainable by 2030, the City of Joliet launched a study of alternative sources of water in August 2018. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-chicago-joliet
Record low ice formation on the Great Lakes has major consequences for the environment, including increased shoreline erosion, reduced fish spawning, and fewer ice fishing opportunities. Read the full story by the West Elgin Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-low-ice
After a challenging year of delivering limestone, coal ore, and other essential goods, the Great Lakes shipping industry finished the season strong. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-lakers
The Cholera epidemic in Chicago during the 1850s spurred a decades-long project to transform the city’s water and wastewater management, leading to the construction that reversed the Chicago River’s flow away from Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-flashback
The slow start to winter has delayed the formation of ice balls on the shore of Lake Michigan. These slushy orbs form as lake temperatures drop and larger accumulations of ice form along the shores of the lakes. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-ice-ball
City planners in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, are moving forward on a plan to increase access to Lake Erie through the construction of a public waterfront trail near the town of Euclid. Read the full story by WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-cuyahoga
The city of Port Clinton, Ohio, is advancing toward the implementation of the long-awaited waterfront walkway along the Portage River and Lake Erie through downtown. Read the full story by the Fremont News Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-port-clinton
Grand Traverse County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution on Thursday night to address PFAS contamination in East Bay Township in northern Michigan. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-grand-traverse
For the second season in a row, Lake Superior and the Great Lakes as a whole are expected to have below-average ice, which could increase shoreline erosion and threaten organisms that depend on ice cover, sending ripples through an ecosystem already challenged by warming waters. Read the full story by The Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-low-ice
The Inland Seas Education Association based in Suttons Bay, Michigan is hosting a free virtual event today, where you’ll be able to watch the documentary about a group of women that attempted to dive one historic site in all five Great Lakes within twenty-four hours. Read the full story by WOOD- TV- Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-diving
As local residents expressed concerns about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office being put into the Soo Locks Park, the Corps had a Town Hall to address some of these concerns and answered questions. Read the full story by the Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-canal-park
Pre-COVID, economic and tourism leaders in Muskegon County, Michigan were expecting nearly 50 stops from Great Lakes cruise ships. Now, 20 would be a successful season. Read the full story by WTVG – TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-cruise-stops
The Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC), a collaboration of 27 universities and colleges in New York State and Ontario, has announced an update on the five projects receiving a total of $121,907 in small grants funding in 2020. Read the full story by Oswego County Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-research-projects
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project is urging Chicago area residents to stay off of the ice on Lake Michigan after a Facebook video was published showing a man plunging into the icy lake recently. Read the full story by WMAQ- TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-shelf-ice
On Wednesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency signed a $16 million project agreement to clean up contaminated sediment in the ponds behind Erie Pier in Duluth. Read the full story by KQDS-TV-Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-sediment-duluth
Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14), whose district includes all of Ashtabula County, announced on Friday that dredging work for the Ashtabula and Conneaut harbors is included in the Army Corps of Engineers’ 2021 work plan. Read the full story by the Star Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-dredging
Florida’s Sand Dollar Island is an important wintering site for piping plovers, many of which nest on the Great Lakes, but a plan is underway to remove a huge portion of the island from the Critical Wildlife Area, threatening the species. Read the full story by Coastal Breeze News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-piping-plover
In Michigan, the Great Lakes State, we should be a leader in water quality efforts, and continuing to discharge sewage overflows, even if they’re treated and meet state permit requirements, should not be accepted. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-infrastructure
The issue of whether the Line 5 pipeline should continue its operations in the Great Lakes pits commerce against the environment. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210128-line-5
Federal regulators want to levy a $15 million civil fine against the operator of a failed hydroelectric dam that unleashed flooding in mid-Michigan last spring, but creditors and a bankruptcy case trustee are pushing back, arguing such a large penalty would upend proceedings and jeopardize a settlement fund for flood victims. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210127-dam
Ohio’s historic investment in wetlands is continuing with a $1.5 million project in Williams County and two in Hancock County totaling $1.4 million. The work is being done as part of the H2Ohio program, in which 23 sites across northwest Ohio were identified to build new wetlands or improve existing ones. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210127-wetlands
The Chicago Park District is tackling sinkholes on the South Side as part of its latest effort to bolster the shoreline as storms and erosion continue to ravage sections of the lakefront. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210127-shoreline-stabilize
The long-term impact of the Trump administration on the Great Lakes environment remains a big question – particularly when President Donald Trump was still rolling back environmental protections in the last few months of his term. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210127-compliance
The Great Lakes’ iconic freighters remained common sights on the waters – that much didn’t change during pandemic. But, like many industries, shipping was hit hard by COVID-19. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210127-shipping
In Michigan, Gelman Sciences wants a judge to pause court proceedings in a pollution cleanup case because they could end up being moot, as the city of Ann Arbor asked the EPA to step in and declare the plume a Superfund site. Gelman is responsible for a plume of contaminated groundwater that’s been spreading in the area for at least 37 years. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210127-gelman-plume
The invasive round goby has impacted fisheries in the Great Lakes and the Finger Lakes. Cornell University researchers have described a new technique in which they analyzed environmental DNA from water samples to gather information about the presence of these invasive fish. Read the full story by the Olean Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210127-edna
Ice coverage on the Great Lakes hit record lows in January and is well below the seasonal average, prompting concerns from experts about the environmental impact caused by a lack of ice. Read the full story by the Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210127-ice-cover
