To minimize crowd size walleye fishing, Governor DeWine has banned the sale of non-resident fishing licenses. Individuals fishing are expected to still follow social distancing guidelines. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-walleye-run
Lakewood Councilman-at-Large Tom Bullock recently presented a letter he initiated to the Ohio Power Siting Board, which shows regional support among elected officials in favor of the Icebreaker Wind project. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-lakewood
Read how journalist Abigail Diaz retraces her family roots to a Great Lakes ship captain. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-captain-blaney
At a time when western Lake Erie is likely holding more walleye than it has in decades, and at a point in the fishing season when those highly-prized sportfish are hitting baits like crazy, often filling each angler’s six-fish limit in an hour or two, the charter fleet remains moored at the docks. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-charter-fleet
Things are looking up — and up and up — for water levels for Lake St. Clair this spring. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday released its projections for the spring season for the Great Lake and predictions call for continued high water levels. Read the full story by the Macomb Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-StClair-levels
Beleaguered Lake Ontario shoreline residents aren’t out of the woods yet but damaging high water seems less likely than it did several months ago. Read the full story by the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-ontario-floods
The City of Marquette, Michigan is moving forward on a project to reconstruct parts of Lakeshore Boulevard. Erosion continues to be a problem on portions of the road closest to Lake Superior. Read the full story by WLUC-TV-Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-reconstruction
The competitive fishing season is arriving, but not to Detroit with the cancellation of the Detroit River walleye tournament near Trenton, Michigan last week. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-sports
Vandals are to blame for 30,000 gallons of sewage that seeped into Michigan’s West Fork of Portage Creek between the dates of March 28 and 30, according to Kalamazoo Public Services Director James Baker. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-sewage-vandals
Water levels on Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake St. Clair broke records that were set in 1986 last month. These levels are expected to stay high and rise toward their peaks. The peaks are expected in late spring or summer. Read the full story by WDIV-TV-Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-water-levels
Cyanobacteria can’t grow in the Great Lakes Basin without NASA knowing. Green or reddish-brown streaks popping up in the region’s freshwater can be a problem. But satellites high above Earth keep an eye on their growth. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-sky-eye
Travel may not be an option for people right now, but there are many ways to still take in the sights – including through photos of hard-to-find views of the massive freighters that cross the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200408-freighter-photo
Anglers are at risk of contracting E. coli while fishing in Michigan’s Pine River, according to a recent study. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-pine-river-fish
Researchers who need help monitoring the flow of Lake Superior tributaries in and around the Duluth-Superior area in Minnesota are seeking volunteers to text in their observations. Read the full story by Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-stream-flow-monitoring
Wisconsin environmental regulators say they’re still moving forward on work to address so-called forever chemicals, known as PFAS, during the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources acknowledges some work is being postponed. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-wisconsin-pfas
The great outdoors are about the only thing open amid the coronavirus pandemic. Fishing is allowed under Michigan’s Gov. Whitmer’s stay home order, as long as people can follow social distancing guidelines. Read the full story by The Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-anglers-still-casting
Lake Superior water levels went up by eight tenths of an inch in March, a month that normally sees a decline. Read the full story by KDAL – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-lake-superior-high-water
The biggest city in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is closing its parks amid the outbreak of COVID-19. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-marquette-closes-parks
Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior is delaying its annual opening from April 15 until at least June 15 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full story by Post Bulletin.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-isle-royale-delays-opening
Deciding exactly how far to travel during the Minnesota’s social distancing efforts is left to individuals, and some anglers are sticking close to home. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-stay-at-home-outside
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the U.S. and globally, threatening the health and economic prospects of many, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has suspended enforcement of broad swathes of its own regulatory policies. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-epa-lightens-regulations
For untold generations, Indigenous people traversed North America’s interlocking waterways by canoe which often required portaging when moving between watersheds. One of the most important portage routes in Minnesota, known today as the Northwest Trail, connected the Mississippi River to Lake Superior. Read the full story by Minneapolis Post.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200407-lake-superior-portaging
Six-month forecasts predict the Great Lakes to break current water level records in July and August, giving Lake Michigan and Lake Huron 4 trillion gallons more water than when the highest water level was in the fall of 1986. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-high-water
The National Museum of the Great Lakes is expanding its free virtual education initiatives to provide visitors with new history-based, home-learning opportunities. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-museum-virtual
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy extended the comment period on the status of water quality in the Lake Erie Adaptive Management Plan until June. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-mi-erie-lamp
The International Joint Commission is allowing deviations from the Lake Ontario lake level management plan and permitting the release of more water from to lake to offset rising water levels. Read the full story by WXXI – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-ijc
Once abundant along Lake Superior’s north shore and islands, only 50 caribou remain in the region as populations dwindle from wolf predation and habitat loss. Read the full story by the Post Bulletin.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-caribou
Lake Erie water levels are three inches about 1986 record water levels, and a foot higher than 2019. Read the full story by the Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-lake-erie-levels
Door County, Wisconsin, has joined the growing ranks of tourist destinations that are closing resorts and turning away visitors, hoping that shutting their doors now will help them open sooner in the coming months. Read the full story by the Wausau Pilot & Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-closed-door
Video footage of the Lake Huron shoreline in Michigan reveals the extent of damage caused by high-water levels to property and infrastructure. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-helicopter-footage
The state of Michigan formed the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team to coordinate action across seven state departments to detect and mitigate PFAS contamination. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-mpart
Families in Kent County, Michigan, have 300 times the recommended limit of PFAS coming out of faucets in their homes. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200406-pfas
Theodore J. Karamanski’s sweeping maritime history, Mastering the Inland Seas: How Lighthouses, Navigational Aids, and Harbors Transformed the Great Lakes and America, demonstrates the far-ranging impact that the tools and infrastructure developed for navigating the Great Lakes had on the national economies, politics and environment of continental North America. Read the full story by the Door County Pulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-navigation
The United States Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District announced in early March that Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie all set new monthly records for their levels, beating records set in 1986 for Superior, Michigan, and Huron and 1987 for Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-lake-levels
Scientists have created a lake thermal classification system and noted that a significant proportion of lakes could be reclassified as warmer types as global temperatures rise. Read the full story by Eos.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-lake-classification
Enbridge Energy will not delay submitting permits for its controversial Great Lakes Tunnel Project because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-enbridge
Members of the Michigan Congressional PFAS Task Force sent a letter outlining their priorities to address in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act to address harmful PFAS chemicals. Read the full story by WNEM – TV – Bay City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-pfas
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, announced that an agreement has been signed that will help them directly assist Detroit neighborhoods in fighting against flooding events expected during this upcoming spring and summer seasons. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-detroit-flooding
The Presque Isle Conservation District plans to restore fish and wildlife habitat at the Trout River Dam in Rogers Township, Michigan. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-trout-river-dam
The Essex Region Conservation Authority on Thursday issued long-term flood watch for the entire region. The flood watch includes all shorelines along Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and Detroit River. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-flood-watch
Lake Michigan buoys that operate off Port Sheldon and South Haven, Michigan were placed on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Read the full story by WHTC – Holland, MI
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-buoys
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Thursday announced that it has extended the public comment deadline for a plan on battling algal blooms in Lake Erie until June 19. Read the full story by Patch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200403-algal-blooms
The cruise ships that typically dock in Muskegon, Michigan, each summer have postponed some of their visits due to COVID-19, a sign that the region’s tourism industry may take a hard hit this summer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200402-tourism
The portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway that includes the north country opened Wednesday morning. The section from Montreal to Lake Ontario opened eight days later than the Seaway’s Welland Canal section. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200402-seaway
Residents surrounding Lake Ontario feel that high water levels are due to IJC’s plan 2014, which allows for water levels in Lake Ontario to fluctuate. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200402-flooding
This week is a great week to reel in some walleye around Lake Erie, but also make sure to keep your social distance while doing so. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200402-walleye
Michigan farms are prohibited from applying animal waste as cropland fertilizer in winter unless the farms meet certain conditions under a new general permit for factory-sized agribusiness operations. The new restriction is intended to prevent nutrients from entering waterways. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200402-manure
Ontario’s Port of Thunder Bay is anticipating a very strong month with increasing demand and a backlog of grain waiting to be shipped. Read the full story by Thunder Bay News Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200402-grain-shipping
The Essex Region Conservation Authority announced on Wednesday an indefinite flood watch for all of shoreline areas within Ontario’s Essex region, including Pelee Island. Read the full story by CBC Canada.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200402-Essex-flooding
New research has suggested that water levels in the Northwoods lakes of Wisconsin and even the Great Lakes can predict the mercury level in fish. Read the full story by WXPR – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200402-mercury
