Daily News (Page 177)

Study shows aquatic landscape changes, human impact on Chicago-area plants, animal life

On: November 17, 2020

Over the decades, wetlands and other water bodies in Cook County, Illinois, have decreased by a third, while swamps and marshes have been drained or converted into lakes and ponds, causing havoc for wildlife, according to a recent study by a group of graduate students and their professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-chicago-landscape

Canadian officials displeased with Whitmer’s call to shut down Line 5 in Straits

On: November 17, 2020

Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement Friday that she will revoke the 1953 easement allowing the controversial Line 5 twin oil and gas pipelines to continue operation on the Straits of Mackinac lake bottom isn’t winning her fans among Canadian officials. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-line5

Booker slams CAFOs, calling them ‘grave threat to public health’ in Lake Erie region

On: November 17, 2020

The policy debate over algae-forming farm nutrients in the western Lake Erie region drew a familiar face from the national political scene on Monday when U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) appeared as a featured speaker on a virtual seminar sponsored by the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-cafo

So Great, So Fragile: Episodic series focuses on issues impacting the Great Lakes

On: November 17, 2020

WLS-TV Channel 7 in Chicago, Illinois, has partnered with National Geographic as they release a special cover story on “Saving Our Great Lakes” to discuss some of the challenges facing this precious natural resource. Read and hear the full story by WLS-TV- Chicago, IL.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-natgeo

Court reserves judgment in SBP plover appeal

On: November 17, 2020

South Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada went to court Monday to argue it shouldn’t have been convicted of twice violating the Endangered Species Act by its 2017 raking and reshaping endangered piping plover beach habitat. Read the full story by The Sun Times.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-plover-esa

Canadian company marketing dog food made from invasive Asian carp

On: November 17, 2020

A Canadian company has launched a new dog food product that provides pooches with protein while removing an invasive species from North American waterways. Read the full story by Seafood Source.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-carp-dog-food

Great Lakes Commission to grant Fort Wayne 200K for flood protection and draining improvements

On: November 16, 2020

The Great Lakes Commission is granting Fort Wayne $200,000 for the Colonial Heritage improvement project. Read the full story by WANE-TV – Fort Wayne, IN.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-oil-pipeline

Ontario tries to keep Great Lakes oil pipeline flowing, despite Michigan’s planned shutdown

On: November 16, 2020

Ontario minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines says the province is “profoundly disappointed” with the Governor of Michigan’s decision to shut down the Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straight of Mackinac and will work to keep the pipeline flowing. Read the full story by CBC.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-oil-pipeline

Line 5 shutdown order ‘creates a scenario’ for stopping Enbridge tunnel

On: November 16, 2020

The days may now be numbered for the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, but state regulators say permitting for the company’s proposed tunnel project is not affected by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s move to shut down the pipeline by terminating the easement that allows it to cross the lakebed. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-line-5-shutdown

Turning toxic lemons into lemonade, from algae to biofuel

On: November 16, 2020

An algal turf scrubber could be the solution to a problem that threatens to suffocate the ecosystem of the Great Lakes: algal blooms. The algal turf scrubber filters water over a designated area for algae to grow and eventually be harvested for use as biofuel. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-algae-biofuel

COMMENTARY: GTA’s workhorse wetlands are under threat

On: November 16, 2020

Urban wetlands in the Greater Toronto Area are under threat by a recent warehouse building proposal. Read the full story by The Toronto Star.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-wetlands-under-threat

Renewed calls to bolster protections for MN’s water supplies

On: November 16, 2020

The Great Lakes region contains one-fifth of the world’s freshwater supply. Environmental groups say that abundance will make states such as Minnesota a high priority for other regions wanting to bolster their dwindling supplies. Read the full story by Public News Service.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-minnesota-water-supply

Cost-sharing funds available for LaPointe Drain watershed in south county

On: November 16, 2020

Area growers can take their farm management to the next level and help improve Western Lake Erie Basin water quality by taking part in a new cost-sharing funding opportunity to achieve nutrient and sediment reduction goals outlined in the S.S. LaPointe Watershed Management Plan. Read the full story by The Monroe News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-lapointe-drain

CSI Great Lakes: genetic material helps researchers find invaders

On: November 16, 2020

Environmental DNA is a genetic material Great Lakes researchers have used to detect the presence of species for about the last 10 years. Now it’s playing an increasingly important — but sometimes controversial — role in monitoring invasive species. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-edna

Former Guam serviceman discovers shipwreck in Lake Ontario

On: November 16, 2020

Daniel Gildea didn’t set out to find a shipwreck. But when he deployed his underwater equipment to Henderson Bay in Lake Ontario, New York, there it was: a three-masted wooden schooner that dated back to the mid-18th century. Read the full story by Pacific Daily News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-shipwreck-discovery

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa debuts fishing company

On: November 16, 2020

It was a historic day on the Red Cliff Reservation Saturday as the band opened their first fishing company to share the fish caught in Lake Superior with the rest of the Northland. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Bayfield, WI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-red-cliff-band

Whitmer to revoke Enbridge oil pipeline easement in Straits of Mackinac

On: November 13, 2020

Canadian oil transportation giant Enbridge may soon lose its permission to operate a controversial, aging, oil and gas pipeline on the Straits of Mackinac lake bottom. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Eichinger on Friday notified Enbridge that a 1953 easement allowing it to operate dual pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac to transport petroleum and other products is being revoked and terminated. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-michigan-line-5

Patrick Canniff

Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP seeks to reduce polystyrene pollution through private bill

On: November 13, 2020

Parry Sound-Muskoka’s MPP Norm Miller has introduced a Keeping Polystyrene Out of Ontario’s Lakes and Rivers Act at Queen’s Park. This is a private member’s bill designed to reduce polystyrene pollution by requiring any polystyrene foam used in the construction of docks and rafts to be fully encapsulated. Read the full story by Parry Sound North Star.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-pollution-plastic-ontario

Patrick Canniff

ERCA receives $500K for river clean up; faces $200K shortfall at John R. Park Homestead

On: November 13, 2020

The Essex Region Conservation Authority will receive nearly $660,000 in funding from the Great Lakes Protection Initiative for habitat restoration in the Detroit River, listed as one of 43 Areas of Concern showing severe environmental degradation in the Great Lakes Basin. Read the full story by Windsor Star.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-detroit-river-aoc

Patrick Canniff

Learn about The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin

On: November 13, 2020

The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin aims to make Wisconsin a global leader in water science and technology through its work on climate change, pollution and over demand in the water industry. Read the full story by NPR.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-freshwater-collaborative-wisconsin

Patrick Canniff

Evanston constructs stabilization project along lakefront, implications of shoreline destruction

On: November 13, 2020

Due to shoreline erosion caused by high lake levels, the Illinois city of Evanston hired a coastal engineering group to assess lakefront damage and start construction. View the full story by The Daily Northwestern.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-erosion-construction-illinois

Patrick Canniff

Controlling light could leave toxic algae dead in the water, researchers find

On: November 13, 2020

A University of Missouri researcher is conducting studies to figure out a way to reduce the amount of light that is reaching toxic algae in waters like Lake Erie using glacial rock flour. Read the full story by Phys.org.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-algae-light

Patrick Canniff

Sewer separation project nearly done after years of work

On: November 13, 2020

More than 10 years and nearly $60 million after the city of Oswego, NY and environmental regulators reached a settlement to resolve persistent problems with unpermitted sewer overflows, the three-phase sewer separation effort is coming to an end. Read the full story by Oswego County News Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-sewer-overflow-new-york

Patrick Canniff

DNR asks Tyco to expand sampling of fish for PFAS

On: November 13, 2020

Wisconsin environmental regulators are asking Tyco, a Marinette Wisconsin manufacturer of firefighting foam, to expand sampling of fish for chemicals known as PFAS. The move comes after sampling in private ponds near Tyco’s fire training facility showed fish had PFAS concentrations that would trigger restrictions on eating fish. Read the full story by NPR.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-wisconsin-pfas

Patrick Canniff

Work to stabilize damaged Edenville Dam site could start next week

On: November 13, 2020

Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy unveiled plans Thursday, Nov. 12, for an emergency project to stabilize the Edenville Dam site, located on the border of Midland and Gladwin counties. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-dam-michigan

Patrick Canniff

Hamilton shipyard agreement expected to create at least 50 jobs in Ontario

On: November 13, 2020

Hamilton’s Heddle Shipyards will be the primary supplier for ladders, gratings and hand rails for Vancouver-based Seaspan Shipyards, which has been awarded a contract to build joint support ships (JSS) for the federal government. The agreement is expected to create at least 50 jobs and “tens of millions of dollars” in economic activity in Ontario, the province announced on Thursday. Read the full story by the Hamilton Spectator.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-shipyard-ontario

Patrick Canniff

DNR makes decisions on Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement project

On: November 13, 2020

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has made decisions granting the remaining eight of 10 required DNR permits, licenses and approvals for the proposed Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement project. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-line-3-pipeline

Patrick Canniff

Editorial: Water levels recede, but lakes remain high

On: November 13, 2020

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ most recent update suggests that the big lakes will continue to float at above-average water levels for the foreseeable future. Read the full story by Record-Eagle.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-high-waters

Patrick Canniff

COMMENTARY: Let’s have wetlands rather than wastelands

On: November 13, 2020

Ducks Unlimited Canada has announced purchase of the now-protected 197-hectare St. Luke’s Marsh which is adjacent to the federally protected St. Clair Wildlife Area; these coastal wetlands are part of the most important wetlands south of James Bay. Read the full story by Chatham Daily News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-ducks-unlimited-wetland-conservation

Patrick Canniff

Health officials recommend groundwater standards for 22 substances, including some ‘forever chemicals’

On: November 12, 2020

State health officials in Wisconsin are recommending groundwater quality standards for 22 substances found in Wisconsin waters, including pesticides and PFAS chemicals. These recommendations initiate a multi-year rulemaking process before the proposed standards become law. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-wi-gw-health

Invasive Asian carp used for pet food

On: November 12, 2020

An innovative Canadian company is launching a dog food made from the invasive Asian carp that currently threaten the Great Lakes. The Montreal-based company expects to import 50 to 100 tons of Asian carp over the next year from fishers in Illinois. Read the full story by Radio Canada International.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-carp-to-kibble

Q & A: The Great Lakes are stressed. Climate change is making it worse.

On: November 12, 2020

A new report by a binational group of scientists found that climate change has a compounding impact on multiple environmental stressors in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-climate-stress

MDNR: High water levels force continued dredging at Grand Traverse Harbor

On: November 12, 2020

High lake levels and storms on Lake Superior are pushing toxic sands into Grand Traverse Harbor on Lake Superior, forcing operators to continue to dredge these sands to prevent them from covering important whitefish spawning habitat in the lake. Read the full story by the Daily Mining Gazette.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-dredge-sand

Lawmakers want more federal help for Great Lakes erosion problems

On: November 12, 2020

Bipartisan members of Congress from the Great Lakes states are advocating for increased Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to address coastal erosion in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Michigan Advance.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-erosion

COVID-19 Compliance: Agencies grapple with environmental protection in the COVID-19 era

On: November 12, 2020

The disruption from the coronavirus pandemic forced environmental regulatory agencies to modify operations and temporarily allow looser compliance with regulations. As the pandemic has continued, agencies have adjusted to resuming normal enforcement actions. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-covid-compliance

Great Lakes shipwreck: Schooner Pathfinder was plagued by bad luck prior to 1886 sinking

On: November 12, 2020

The gales of November are known to be treacherous for ships out on the Great Lakes, including the Schooner Pathfinder, which sank off the coast of Wisconsin near Manitowoc in 1886. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-pathfinder

Detroit Bulk Storage, city settle with $15,000 fine over last year’s dock collapse

On: November 12, 2020

The company responsible for illegally storing limestone on a riverfront property that partially collapsed into the Detroit River last November will pay the city of Detroit $15,000 in damages. Environmentalists believe the settlement is insufficient to deter future reckless actions. Read the full story by Crain’s Detroit Business.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-dock-settlement

Study to examine long-term health impacts of PFAS in West Michigan

On: November 12, 2020

Michigan health officials plan to study the potential long-term health effects of PFAS exposure on people in West Michigan communities. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-pfas-study

How one new business is making a splash in their community

On: November 12, 2020

After years of fishing companies closing, Lake Superior is adding on a new fishery this month in northern Wisconsin. The new company, Red Cliff Fish Company, will work with tribal fisherman to sell sustainably caught fish. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201112-new-fish-co

Loved to death: Iconic Michigan lakeshores battered by crowds, waste

On: November 11, 2020

Across Michigan and throughout the nation, cherished landmarks are threatened by record crowds as budgets and staffing at properties managed by the National Parks Service have failed to keep up with their skyrocketing popularity. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-shorelines

Lorain County’s lakeside cities exploring special improvement districts

On: November 11, 2020

A plan that has addressed coastal erosion in multiple Ohio counties with frontage on Lake Erie through the creation of special improvement districts could be coming to Lorain County. Read the full story by The Chronicle.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-lorain-improve

Is groundwater always drinking water? Minnesota Supreme Court considers Minntac permit case

On: November 11, 2020

The Minnesota Supreme Court is weighing whether the groundwater around U.S. Steel’s leaking Minntac tailings basin should be regulated as drinking water, and Minnesota regulators say the outcome could have vast impacts on other water permits throughout the state. Read the full story by the Duluth News-Tribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-water

Proposed vertical rocket launch site near Marquette evokes emotions amid unanswered environmental questions

On: November 11, 2020

On stretch of Lake Superior shoreline between Marquette and Big Bay, Michigan, deep emotions surrounding economic viability and environmental sustainability are colliding. A feasibility study is being conducted to build a vertical rocket launch site. Read the full story by the Upper Michigan Source.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-rocket-launch

Plastic trap: New project pulls plastics out of the lakes, one floating garbage can at a time

On: November 11, 2020

An estimated 9,887 metric tonnes (22 million pounds) of plastics make their way into the Great Lakes every year. Now a new project aims not only to suck out some of that plastic but stop it from getting into the lakes in the first place. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-plastic-pollution

Pollution pushed by high water, storms threatens whitefish habitat in Lake Superior

On: November 11, 2020

In Michigan, after a $3.9 million dredging project to protect a Lake Superior fish habitat was completed over the summer, workers are back at it as high-water levels and forceful fall storms push mining pollution back toward Buffalo Reef. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-whitefish-superior

Federal government invests $5.1 million in Great Lakes restoration projects

On: November 11, 2020

In Ontario, the Royal Botanical Gardens is receiving a chunk of funding from a $5.1 million federal investment in protecting and restoring the Great Lakes. The money will go toward 46 projects that aim to improve the quality of the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes Protection Initiative. Read the full story by Y108 – Hamilton, Ontario.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-restoration

The gales of November

On: November 11, 2020

This year, “the gales of November came early.” In his haunting ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Gordon Lightfoot sang of a very real phenomenon: 40% of all Great Lakes shipwrecks have occurred during the month of November. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-gales

Great Lakes shipwreck: Schooner Pathfinder was plagued by bad luck prior to 1886 sinking

On: November 11, 2020

The most notable Great Lakes ship to go down during the gales of November is the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. There is another ship, however, that was taken down in November — the Schooner Pathfinder. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-pathfinder

The Great Lakes are stressed. Climate change is making it worse.

On: November 11, 2020

A new report by a scientific committee of the International Joint Commission examines seven problems plaguing the Great Lakes to learn how they interact with one another. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201111-climate

Church to honor 45th anniversary of Fitzgerald shipwreck

On: November 10, 2020

Mariners’ Church of Detroit will observe the 45th anniversary Sunday of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald during its yearly memorial service for those who have died in Great Lakes shipwrecks. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201110-fitzgerald-shipwreck

Patrick Canniff