An $800,000 pilot project to remove large mats of algae build-up from three locations on Lake St. Clair is set to begin this fall. The field trial will allow two contracting groups to remove the mats with researchers studying what happens after. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260902-algae-mat-removal
Researchers with the Great Lakes Center for Freshwaters and Human Health are currently studying the different harmful aspects of algal blooms. The algal bloom in the western basin of Lake Erie is just under 400 square miles, with the highest concentrations in Ohio’s Maumee Bay. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260902-algal-bloom-research
The Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota, is expanding its lake sturgeon restoration efforts into a new building and exhibit set to open in fall 2027. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Superior, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260902-sturgeon-restoration
The cruise ships that stopped in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, this summer generated nearly $63,000 in economic impact, according to estimates from the area’s tourism center. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260902-cruise-economic-impact
Howard Allen Tanner, the groundbreaking conservationist who revolutionized the fishing landscape of the Great Lakes in the 1960s, has died. As chief of Michigan’s Fisheries Division, Mr. Tanner spearheaded the introduction of Pacific salmon to the Great Lakes, fundamentally reshaping Michigan’s fishery and establishing a robust fishing economy that remains a major force today. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260902-fisheries-pioneer
Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division has received one-time funding of $350,000 for whitefish recovery. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-michigan-whitefish-funding
Officials with Enbridge said that a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision is delaying a controversial project to encase the Line 5 pipeline. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-enbridge-line5-delay
There is still an ongoing battle to bring western Lake Erie’s algal blooms under control, but reducing algal blooms will be only one of the Lake Erie issues confronting Ohio’s next governor. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-lake-erie-future
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has asked Enbridge to halt pipeline rerouting work after a natural gas liquids spill near Saxon, Wisconsin. The department also asked for Enbridge’s timeline for controlling the release, plans for mitigation, groundwater information and updates on air monitoring data. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-enbridge-spill
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ recent discovery of juvenile invasive carp closer than ever to the Great Lakes sent shockwaves through the region. With the threat to the region’s vital fishing and recreation industries, the Brandon Road Interbasin project is the best chance to hold invasive carp at bay. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-brandon-road-commentary
Consumers Energy is advancing its plan to curb water flow to a popular section of the Manistee River next month so it can inspect damage at one of its 13 hydropower dams, although company officials say they have not settled on a “final path forward.” Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-manistee-dam-inspection
The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi (Gun Lake Tribe) will be releasing 21 lake sturgeon into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan on September 1. The release will take place during the annual Nmé Celebration where hundreds of community members gather for the release of the fish, known as nmé in the Pottawatomi language, which were raised through the tribe’s lake sturgeon rehabilitation program Read the full story by WWMT-TV – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-sturgeon-release
On Thursday, Superior Watershed Partnership led a beach grass planting event at McCarty’s Cove in Marquette, Michigan, alongside 13 Michigan Healthy Climate Fellows from across the state. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-superior-beach-grass
As an Up North resort works to build a glamorous camping, or “glamping,” complex near the Boyne River — complete with luxury cabins, a spa, a restaurant, equestrian center and more — it’s also working to restrict the public’s access to that area of the water and shoreline. That doesn’t float with some locals, river advocates or the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260831-glamping-river-access
The Great Lakes Commission has launched an online database to help buyers and sellers comply with regulations on aquatic plants and animals sold online, with a goal of preventing invasive species from spreading to the Great Lakes region through online commerce. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-invasive-species-sale-prevention
The bipartisan Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, state agencies in Illinois and Michigan, and environmental organizations have all sent requests to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to resume construction on a critical barrier project after work stopped without explanation, even as invasive carp have been found closer to Lake Michigan than ever before. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-invasive-carp-barrier-construction
Researchers say the findings from a new study suggest that temporary merlin translocation could become a promising non-lethal management tool for reducing predation pressure on Great Lakes piping plovers. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-piping-plover-study
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) hopped on his motorcycle for his last state tour, stopping Thursday to see how the FishPass construction project was coming along in Traverse City, Michigan. Sen. Peters recently secured $22.7 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding, which helped make the project possible. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-fishpass-project
The United States Department of Agriculture announced Monday it would be purchasing $20 million of Concord grape juice, which is mostly all grown right here along the shores of Lake Erie. Some growers say it’s only going to help the farmers with existing contracts and does not address the 126 farmers who still don’t have a home for their grapes. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-grape-growers
More than 100 feet below Lake Michigan’s surface, the Jennibel, a schooner that sank in an 1881 storm, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Read the full story by WBAY-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-shipwreck-registered
A Huron County, Ontario, program that has helped fund thousands of projects aimed at keeping contaminants out of local waterways and Lake Huron will come to an end this year following County budget cuts. Read the full story by Sarnia News Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-budget-cuts
Two lake sturgeon were rescued last weekend in Baraga County, Michigan, by state officials after getting stranded in an isolated spot away from the Ontonagon River that was dried by drought conditions. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-sturgeon-rescue
A remarkable chapter in Great Lakes maritime history will be commemorated Tuesday as the Keweenaw Historical Society marks the 100th anniversary of the wreck of the City of Bangor and the extraordinary rescue of its cargo of brand-new automobiles. Read the full story by The Iron Mountain Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-shipwreck-commemoration
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update Lake Ontario’s name to “Lake America” in the U.S. geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow along, however. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260828-lake-ontario
DuPage and Cook County, Illinois, leaders announced details of a seismic project Monday that could shift control of supplying Lake Michigan water into suburban hands and cost Chicago one of its largest customers. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-water-supply-control
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said a report released Tuesday on the Flint water crisis is the final step her office can take toward accountability, years after a state Supreme Court ruling shut down criminal cases against a former governor and eight other people. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-water-crisis-report
Under sweeping changes, Ontario’s local conservation authorities are being amalgamated into nine regional entities. Although there continues to be a great deal of uncertainty about how the amalgamations will impact the operations and services provided by local conservation authorities, local leaders are proceeding as close to business-as-usual as possible. Read the full story by CollingwoodToday.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-conservation-authority-merger
A lifelong passion for hunting, fishing and conservation has led a Tecumseh, Michigan, resident to invest millions of dollars in programs that support Great Lakes research and student learning at Lake Superior State University. Read the full story by The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-research-donation
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday that a pair of piping plovers nested on Wisconsin Point in Superior, Wisconsin, for the first time since 1977. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-plover-return
Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute will demonstrate the Laker Raker—a fully electric drone that removes plastic debris from beaches by sifting sand, raking seaweed and leveling sandy areas—in Norton Shores, Michigan, in September. Experts will also discuss the Great Bubble Barrier, a microbubble system that diverts plastics from rivers to shorelines for collection. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-plastic-pollution-prevention
A new initiative by Michigan State University Extension is seeking to protect northern Michigan shorelines by strengthening shoreline conservation across the upper and lower peninsulas and creating a shoreline educator position to support conservation efforts of local waterways. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-shoreline-conservation
The National Parks Service announced Monday that crews will soon remove the 42-foot Chequamegon Point Light Tower on Long Island, Wisconsin, in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore because it can no longer be preserved and is causing safety issues. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-light-tower-removal
Federal officials have indicted a Traverse City man after allegations that he impersonated a Coast Guard officer while he interacted with a boater in a distress situation, and that he dumped sewage near a Lake Michigan lighthouse. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260826-sewage-discharge
An angler reported the first sighting of a rare, yellow-billed loon in Wisconsin waters. The species is rarely spotted outside of the Arctic at this time of year. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260824-rare-loon
Long-running research at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario is geared toward persuading leaders in the United States and Canada to combat the growing, unchecked threat of microplastics to the Great Lakes, the source of drinking water for 40 million people. Read the full story by the Mason County Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260824-tracking-microplastics
Wildlife officials will be releasing lake sturgeon into several Ohio rivers in the upcoming months, but it will take time to see if efforts are successful for these long-lived creatures. Read the full story by the Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260824-sturgeon-releases
A hands-on children’s program at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo uses Lego building to introduce kids to Great Lakes maritime history, engineering, and storytelling. The program is part of the museum’s Capt. Scupper’s Kid’s Club, a summer series designed to get children learning about the Great Lakes through play. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260824-lego-building
The Michigan Steelhead & Salmon Fishermen’s Association has presented is honoring Congresswoman Debbie Dingell for her work to protect the industry. Read the full story by WEMU – Ypsilanti, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260824-fisheries-support
From sailing programs to trips on lab research vessels and Metroparks beach camps, hands-on experiences on the water are turning Ohio students into scientists and Lake Erie advocates. Read the full story by the Cleveland Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260824-stem-students
At the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, more than 60,000 square feet of exhibit space tell the stories of Great Lakes shipping, shipbuilding, and preserved World War II submarines. Read the full story by the Mason County Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260824-submarine-history
For decades, four species of invasive carp have been working their way toward the Great Lakes. What started as a faraway threat, slowly creeping up the Mississippi River, is now demanding urgent attention. Read the full story by WTTW – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-delays
For over a decade, Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 has been the center of a political and environmental battle in Michigan. The legal conflict included state officials, federal agencies, tribal nations, environmental groups and the Canadian energy company fighting over what the future of the aging pipeline should look like. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-line5future
The effort to strengthen the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet in the Great Lakes continues after shipping industry leaders say they lost 82 days of their latest season because of the lack of icebreaking capacity. Read the full story by WCMU Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-icebreaker
Ohio’s U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Dave Joyce, along with Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell and Bill Huizenga, are asking the Trump administration to resume work on a project in Illinois that is designed to keep invasive carp from spreading into the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-carpbarrier
Construction is starting on a new 1.1-mile accessible trail that will connect campers to a unique Lake Michigan overlook, a picnic area and three epic disc golf courses near Ludington, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-trail
Federal foresters are teaming with tribal experts on a plan to seed wild rice in remote lakes deep within the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula. Wild rice is considered important to the Great Lakes region’s ecological and cultural heritage, forest officials said. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-wildrice
If you want a Lake Superior experience that feels a little wild, a little secret and a lot more dramatic than a typical beach day, Little Presque Isle near Marquette, Michigan, is ready to deliver. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-rocks
The Great Lakes are overrun with invasive zebra and quagga mussels. But is another invader, the round goby, helping fight them? Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-mussels
Yellow-billed loons are native to Arctic waters. They’re rarely spotted outside of the Arctic at this time of year, but one was recently spotted in Lake Superior near Douglas County, Wisconsin. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-loon
A proposal to turn Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands into a national park has been met with a range of opinions from locals in the Bayfield, Wisconsin, area. Some think it’s a great idea, while others worry a new influx of tourists would compromise the relaxed atmosphere and strain the region’s infrastructure. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260821-apostleislands
