Despite signs of a rebound this summer, cargo moving through the Port of Duluth-Superior is still down 30% compared to last year. Lost time can’t be made up on the Great Lakes, and we’re seeing that reflected in the port’s 2020 tonnage totals. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-cargo-lag
Despite signs of a rebound this summer, cargo moving through the Port of Duluth-Superior is still down 30% compared to last year. Lost time can’t be made up on the Great Lakes, and we’re seeing that reflected in the port’s 2020 tonnage totals. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-cargo-lag
A drone has been pulled from Lake Michigan following an aerial assault from a bald eagle. The drone was operated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-drone-eagle
Western Lake Erie’s 2020 summer algal bloom is growing along the Ohio shoreline and moving as far east as Sandusky and the Lake Erie islands. But the latest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration bulletin shows its toxicity remains relatively low for now. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-algal-bloom
Desperate measures to protect homes from erosion and high water could have lasting impacts on Great Lakes’ once-natural coastlines that have been hardened with rock and steel. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-seawalls
According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, a nonprofit that tracks drownings, there have been over 900 drownings in the Great Lakes since 2010. In 2020, there have already been 60 drownings — 34 of which took place in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-drownings
In 1959, L. David Mech arrived on the remote Isle Royale national park in Lake Superior to study the interaction between wolves and moose. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-isle-royale
The chance of a La Niña developing this fall has been increased to 60 percent. When La Niña is strong enough and lasts into winter, the weather pattern can be altered to a more harsh-winter situation. Read and view the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-la-nina
The Brecksville Diversion Dam and historic Pinery Feeder Dam have been removed and the Cuyahoga River is now free-flowing in Brecksville for the first time in over 190 years, according to National Park Service (NPS) officials. Read the full story by Akron.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-brecksville-dam
The Huron County Health Department announced the closure of Bird Creek Park and Wagener County Park beaches Aug. 19 due to high E. coli levels. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-ecoli
On Wednesday, a hydraulic excavator operator transferred dredged sands from a barge into a slurry box on the bay side of Park Point near the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth as part of a project to rebuild some of the eroding shoreline. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribute.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-park-point
Seven athletes will combine to swim, paddleboard and kayak 50 kilometres from Amherstburg, Ontario to Leamington, Ontario Saturday to raise awareness and funds for Lake Erie’s health. Read and listen to the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-erie-fundraiser
Colin Boyd Shafer, a documentary photographer working for Environmental Defence, is highlighting the strong connections area residents have with the lake. Their stories that will be presented in a documentary this fall. Read the full story by Chatham This Week.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-lake-erie
Bowling Green State University professor Dr. Timothy Davis was one of nine international researchers recently named to the Scientific Steering Committee for GlobalHAB, an international program that is jointly sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Read and view the full story by the Sentinel-Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-algal-blooms
Lake Erie fish trawls give fisheries biologists a pretty accurate picture of the strength of the most recent walleye hatch, and from that, a look at the prospects for the future of walleye fishing on Erie. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-lake-erie-walleye
A long-awaited dredging project has begun at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan with the goal of restoring visitor ferry service to North Manitou Island next year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-dredging
Recent policy changes by Ontario threaten the protection of natural areas in the Lake Simcoe watershed as aggregate extraction will soon be permitted in the habitats of endangered species and other natural features. Read the full story by Orillia Matters.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-lake-simcoe
Despite all the investments, Chicago and communities on the North Shore are once again scrambling to cope with the effects of an overflowing Lake Michigan. Read the full story by The Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-higher-lake-michigan
A doctoral student at the University of Minnesota, Wolfson is leading a multi-year study to fit about 40 trumpeter swans across the state with GPS tracking collars this summer to learn more about their movements, mortality risks and habitat use. Read the full story by the Brainerd Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-trumpeter-swans
The Tuscarawas River has become Ohio’s 15th state water trail, a designation that will help encourage recreational use of the waterway by residents of the Buckeye State. Read the full story by Coshocton Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-water-trail
Reconstruction work on Duluth’s Lakewalk features new designs like large rocks strategically placed along the shore to break up wave energy from Lake Superior. Read the full story by KQDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-duluth-lakewalk
Cleveland Water is warning some residents on the city’s west side they may see water with a slight yellow color coming out of their taps. Read the full story by WOIO-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-discolored-water
A greenish-blue ooze coming from the ground in Troy, Michigan, has residents complaining of a foul odor and worrying it might be toxic. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Troy, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-bubbling-ooze
The state of Michigan recently unveiled a new interactive map providing information on shipwrecks in Michigan Great Lakes waters. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-shipwrecks
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences scored both the Western Lake Erie basin and the Western Lake Erie watershed in a report card for the year 2018. The basin scored 58%, a C+, based on indicators in water quality, fish and algal blooms. Read the full story by Farm and Dairy.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-erie-report
A draft report suggests Norfolk County, ON should adopt a piecemeal response to a changing climate. Through hundreds of specific modifications, the report says Norfolk can fortify itself against a future which climate models suggest will be warmer, wetter and punctuated with more frequent events that include drought and extremes of heat and cold. Read the full story by Simcoe Reformer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-norfolk-ontario-climate
A free app and website, Swim Guide, was developed as a part of the Swim Drink Fish initiative by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper to help people find healthy beaches, and includes E. coli and water quality results for Kingston swimming locations. Read to the full story by Kingstonist News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-swim-guide-water-quality
More than 140 businesses in shoreline communities have received a portion of $17 million from New York State’s Lake Ontario Resiliency Program; the grants were awarded to businesses affected in the eight-county area that surrounds Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Read and view the full story by Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-ontario-business-grants
Michigan regulators have rejected a plan to convert a drainage canal in suburban Detroit to a sewage overflow treatment basin on Lake St. Clair, citing residual chlorine in the treated sewage that would have made a wetland unworkable. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-michigan-sewer-plan
Bay Mills Indian Community has developed a draft watershed management plan for Michigan’s Waishkey River which is now in a review period; over five years, partners created a watershed management plan to reduce pollutants including pathogens, nutrients, pesticides, sediment and heavy metals. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-waishkey-river-plan
The St. Mary’s River Drive Boardwalk in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario will be under repair and remediation as a construction firm was awarded a $741,795 contract. Read the full story by SooToday.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-sault-construction-funding
From the Porcupine Mountains to Lime Island and Harrisville to Tawas and Van Buren state parks, the record or near-record Great Lakes water levels have impacted Michigan forcing the closure of numerous facilities including more than 20 boating access sites. Read the full story by Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-high-water-michigan
The effect of climate change can be observed across Wisconsin’s farming landscape with more intense spring rains and resulting mud are keeping farmers from the field. Read the full story by Clayton News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200818-climate-agriculture
Engineers and biologists with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Lake County Forest Preserve District are building an artificial reef in Lake Michigan near the Illinois shoreline. The reef is designed to restore biodiversity to Lake Michigan by providing habitat for fish, salamanders, and waterfowl. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200814-eagle-v-egle
Michigan’s beaches, campgrounds, and parks are seeing record numbers of visitors this summer as COVID-19 concerns draw more people outdoors to socially distanced activities. Record crowds have strained park officials and resources as they face more littering and habitat disturbance from parkgoers. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200817-park-litter
A decade since scientists first discovered PFAS contamination at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan, Air Force officials say they will not commit to meeting the state’s tougher cleanup standards, frustrating local residents whose water is contaminated. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200817-oscoda
Scientists are trying to understand and limit the spread of invasive grass carp in order to prevent a large-scale established population of the fish in Lake Erie and the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200817-grass-carp
A recent study by the First Street Foundation shows that more than 113,000 homes and businesses in Indiana are more vulnerable to flooding than federal maps suggest. Read the full story by Indianapolis Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200817-flooding
Fisheries biologists are searching for answers as to why the remains of dead adult lake sturgeon – a threatened species in Michigan – have washed up on shores near Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore. Scientists suspect botulism as the cause but are having difficulty proving it. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200817-sturgeon
A newly constructed segment of the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline began operation under the Saint Clair River between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200817-enbridge
An oil spill from the Line 5 pipeline in the Great Lakes could destroy local economies and small businesses that rely on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200817-line5
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said Friday it had denied Macomb County’s application to convert state waters into an open-air sewage treatment lagoon. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200817-macomb
The U.S. Coast Guard warned boaters in Buffalo, New York, to avoid a stretch of the Buffalo River that had been contaminated by an oil spill. Read the full story by WYRK – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200814-eagle-v-egle
In a victory for nature and setback for machines, a bald eagle attacked an unsuspecting drone that was flying to survey shoreline erosion along Lake Michigan. The drone’s operators, Michigan EGLE, were unable to recover the drone and are considering ways to avoid further drone casualties. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200814-eagle-v-egle
Four Michigan tribes have been granted permission to participate in a regulatory case involving plans to tunnel the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. The ruling gives the tribes a new opportunity to formally assert their treaty rights. Read the full story by MiBiz.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200814-tribal-rights-line-5
The state of New York announced $17 million in grants for businesses along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to make repairs and preventative upgrades to make their properties less vulnerable to flooding. Read the full story by North Country Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200814-ny-grants
Michigan officials are investigating a fish kill on the middle branch of the Escanaba River in the Upper Peninsula. The fish kill occurred downstream of a paper mill that recently reported a pipeline rupture at its wastewater treatment plant. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200814-fish-kill
Land-use change and rising lake-levels have accelerated erosion of beaches along North Shore communities in Illinois, forcing communities to seek new solutions to restore eroding coastline. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/202008134-northshore-erosion
The Environmental Law & Policy Center accused steelmaker ArcelorMittal of continuing to violate the Clean Water Act at its northwestern Indiana facility by releasing excess ammonia into the Burns Waterway. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200814-elpc-ArcelorMittal
The Environmental Protection Agency announced it has awarded a $137 million low-interest loan to the city of Waukesha’s Lake Michigan water pipeline construction project. The loan will help offset the financial burden of pipeline construction to ratepayers. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200814-waukesha
