The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority says Ontario’s plan to merge the province’s 36 conservation authorities into seven larger regional bodies would disconnect Thunder Bay’s watershed from the region it actually serves. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251201-conservation-authorities
Samples collected by researchers aboard the U.S. EPA’s Lake Guardian research vessel in 2014 and 2024 showed an increase in the volume of plastic per square kilometer, suggesting that the volume of plastic in the lake has gone up. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251201-erie-plastics
Long-polluted waterways near Chicago are part of a system of natural and manmade barriers keeping invasive crustaceans at bay, a recent study suggests. Read the full story by Inside Climate News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251201-invasive-scuds
The Beaver Head Lighthouse on the south end of Beaver Island, Michigan, was built in 1858. Today the historic landmark is undergoing restoration to prevent deterioration from time and weather. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251201-beaver-island-lighthouse
A shipwreck from 145 years ago still litters the bottom of Lake Michigan near Frankfort, Michigan, that sparked a haunting mystery that continues to be part of Great Lakes lore: a woman who died lashed to the sinking ship’s mast. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251201-shipwreck-mystery
The big cold front moving into the Great Lakes region, leading to heavy snow in some areas and high winds and gale warnings on the Great Lakes, is also expected to cause a storm surge on Lake Erie − a phenomenon that can leave shoreline locations looking like the lake drained away. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251201-erie-seiches
A pair of snowy owls spotted along Lake Michigan beach draws crowds in Chicago. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-owls
A group of Canadian divers exploring beneath the surface of Lake Ontario encountered the wreck of a British ship believed to have sunk 200 years ago. Read the full story by WPVI-TV – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-shipwreck-encounter
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reports that the annual Chinook salmon spawning run in the Door County, Wisconsin, region is proceeding on schedule and showing strong signs for the future of Lake Michigan’s fishery. Read the full story by Door County Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-salmon-run
A small houseboat navigating the waters of the St. Clair River onto Lake Huron has caught the fascination of witnesses and social media users alike as they capture the vessel’s every move. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-house-boat
In Michigan, water safety advocates applauded the promotion of South Haven’s new police chief, pointing out how he has deep experience in water safety and lifeguard training. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-police-chief
Mariners, boaters and lakeside communities are preparing across the region as strong winds from a storm system heading for Michigan are expected to create monster waves on the Great Lakes this week. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-high-waves
Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials are urging waterfowl hunters to take extra precautions this season to protect themselves from highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu which has so far been detected in 130 birds in the state. Read the full story by WILX-TV -Lansing, Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-bird-flu-warnings
Invasive species cost the United States billions of dollars and climate change could make the situation worse. Scientists say funding cuts by the Trump administration could have major long-term ecological and economic consequences. Read the full story by Inside Climate News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-invasive-funding-cuts
Waterways across the state of Michigan struggle with the adverse effects of factories. To protect the water bodies of the state, clean-up projects for waterways are essential to combat ecosystem damage and maintain human health. Read the full story by The Michigan Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-waterway-restoration
The surface water temperatures on the Great Lakes have cooled in the past few weeks after warmer weather in October. This will affect the likelihood of lake-effect snow this winter. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-temps-snow
An aquatic creature that is extinct in the wild everywhere except Mexico City was discovered in a Pennsylvania waterway. The axolotl was found swimming in Walnut Creek near Lake Erie and brought to a local pet shop. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-axolotl
Meet a maritime archaeologist who explores the historic ships and dugout canoes that lurk beneath the surface of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Smithsonian Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-shipwrecks
The Royal Canadian Navy is considering expanding its training-ship operations to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, a move that would enable it to assist in patrolling the maritime border between Canada and the United States. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-canada-navy
Great Lakes water levels are continuing to fall, which is entirely normal for this time of year. Fall and winter typically see less precipitation and more evaporation in the region. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-lake-levels
Bridge Michigan has spent the past several months chronicling the demise of the lower Great Lakes whitefish, investigating causes, consequences and potential solutions. Now, they’re teaming up with Detroit PBS to bring the story to your screens on the latest episode of Great Lakes Now. Read the full story by the Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-whitefish-race
A cruise-ship operator introducing its first Great Lakes cruises next year has scheduled Toledo, Ohio, port calls as part of its four itineraries. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-toledo-cruise
Waves on the Great Lakes are steeper and packed closer together, making them harder to read and faster to change. Experts say that volatility can make navigating the Great Lakes even more dangerous than the open ocean. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251124-ocean-danger
This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed amendments to the Clean Water Act that would leave a majority of the country’s wetlands without federal protections. Counties in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have the most to lose. Read the full story by Circle of Blue.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-wetland-protections
After a federal appeals court held that Michigan is not immune to legal action for its decision to revoke a Canadian energy company’s easement to operate a pipeline in the Great Lakes, the Whitmer Administration is seeking an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-line5-immunity
A coal plant on Michigan’s Lake Michigan shoreline which was originally set to shut down at the end of May will continue operating after the Trump Administration issued another extension. Environmentalists decried the extension, emphasizing the effects the plant has on air quality and Lake Michigan’s water quality. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-coal-plant
A new order from the Michigan Natural Resources Commission will open more of the Great Lakes to recreational spearfishing in 2026. Proponents of spearfishing say that the expanded reach will allow more people to try the sport and could spark more interest in the outdoors. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-michigan-spearfishing
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said Thursday that it’s awarding $2.9 million in grants for projects to prevent, reduce, or eliminate polluted runoff and other nonpoint sources of pollution. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-egle-grants
People walking, running or launching boats along Lake Erie’s shorelines may have noticed more exposed beach and rock than in recent years — a subtle sign the lake has dipped below its long-term water level average after a period of record highs. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-erie-water-levels
The National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, is holding its annual Christmas Tree Ship event, where the public can watch Santa Claus arrive on a tugboat filled with Christmas trees for families. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-xmas-tree-ship
After years of debates, the city of South Haven, Michigan, took a significant step toward bringing lifeguards back to its Lake Michigan beaches. Supporters of a new lifeguard program include beach safety advocates and families of drowning victims. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-michigan-lifeguards
A new book by a Michigan historian explores how Mackinac Island and the surrounding Straits region became a hub for travelers from across the country. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-mackinac-book
The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation works to preserve the visitor experience of the five national parks on Lake Superior. The nonprofit is making a major fundraising push to go up against critical headwinds the National Park Service faces. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251121-superior-parks
New research by a scientist at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University has found that using dredged material from Lake Erie in place of fertilizer for agricultural practices appears to be correlated to higher crop growth and yields. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-agricultural-research
American shippers are at odds with the Canadian government over its regulations that require all Great Lakes vessels or “lakers” to install systems to treat their ballast water by 2030. The systems are aimed at preventing the spread of invasive species through ballast water that’s taken up or discharged by ships at Great Lakes ports when they load and unload cargo. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-ballast-regulations
Two Michigan Congressional delegates have introduced bipartisan legislation that would devote $500 million over the next decade to battling invasive quagga and zebra mussels, which have destabilized the Great Lakes food web and driven whitefish populations toward collapse. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-mussel-funding
The fate of Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute project around tribal land in northern Wisconsin remains uncertain as parties submit post-trial briefs following the weeks-long contested case hearing over permits issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Enbridge faces a court-ordered deadline to get the pipeline off the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s land by June 2026 — although that decision is under appeal as well. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-pipeline-case
A Lake Superior shoreline restoration project is nearing completion in Marquette, Michigan. The Superior Watershed Partnership began the project in 2017 with $2 million in funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a $2.5 million National Coastal Resiliency grant that the city of Marquette is matching. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-shoreline-restoration
Last week, nuclear accountability organizations filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the owner of the Palisades nuclear power plant on Lake Michigan in Covert, Michigan. The lawsuit argues an exemption granted by the NRC to allow the plant to reopen was improper and asks the court to prohibit approval of the exemption. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-nuclear-restart-lawsuit
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Tuesday held its first collection of steelhead trout of the season along Trout Run at Avonia Beach in Avonia, Pennsylvania. Fish eggs from five female trout are combined with milt from three male trout, fertilizing the eggs to become the next generation of steelhead trout in Lake Erie. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-trout-spawning
A federal judge has ruled that an Elk Rapids, Michigan, food processing company illegally polluted wetlands and tributaries that drain to Elk Lake and ultimately to Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-wetland-pollution
It was 67 years ago Tuesday that the SS Carl D. Bradley sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan near Beaver Island, claiming the lives of thirty-three men. On Saturday, between 100 and 150 people attended a bell-ringing ceremony at the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum in Rogers City, Michigan, to remember the crew. Read the full story by WCMU – Mount Pleasant, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-shipwreck-remembrance
In Illinois, the City of Joliet is working to approve a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) to establish a collaborative framework between the city, labor unions, and contractors to ensure that work is completed safely, efficiently, and in the best financial interest of residents. The PLA applies to eight major work packages that include essential improvements to the city’s water system, all of which are required to facilitate the delivery of Lake Michigan water by 2030. Read the full story by WJOL – Joliet, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-labor-collaboration
A U.S.-based cruise company won’t be launching its new Great Lakes itineraries out of Cleveland next year as originally planned, opting instead to launch from Buffalo, New York. Toledo will be the cruise company’s only port call in Ohio. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251119-cruise-launch
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has several improvements underway in Erie, including a plan to increase the number of steelhead trout it produces and a new vessel. Read the full story by Erie-Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251117-pa-steelhead
Stanton Yards, a Detroit riverfront development, aims to be a gathering place where people find inspiration in art and reconnect with nature through the transformation of the former Gregory Marina. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251117-stantonyards
New research reveals how gray wolves in Isle Royale National Park, Michigan seasonally alter their habitat preferences to align with beavers’ habitat preferences, a shift that might have implications for the island’s ecosystem. Read the full story by Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251117-wolves-beavers
Chicagoans and Northwest Indiana residents are living on land that once belonged to Potawatomi Tribes. The Potawatomi Pokagon Band claims the land as where their Tribe was born. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251117-potawatomi-lands
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is taking steps to terminate Michigan’s Au Train Dam’s operating license following years of unresolved safety violations. The move marks the most serious enforcement action against the century-old dam, which is considered one of the state’s riskiest privately-owned hydroelectric structures. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251117-dam
The city of Lorain, Ohio has invested millions in cleanup and infrastructure to prepare the former steel industry site for mixed-use development to reshape its waterfront. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251117-steel-redevelopment
