Maritime history is sailing into Lake Michigan this week and inviting guests onboard to step into the past. The 80-foot schooner, When And If, and the 115-foot schooner, Liberty Clipper, will be docked Aug. 7-10 in Grand Haven, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250806-grand-haven-sailing
Cleveland-area beachgoers can enjoy the water at Edgewater, Villa Angela, and Huntington beaches Wednesday, with all reported to be in good condition for swimming. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250806-cleveland-area-lakefront-beaches-swimming
The south end of Lake Michigan is currently about one-half foot higher than the rest of the lake, due to a seiche that occurred early Thursday morning. Read the full story by MLive
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-seiche
Invasive quagga mussels are one of the greatest threats to fish in recent Great Lakes history, but experts say funding for research to keep them at bay is woefully inadequate. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-whitefish
Two Ohio state lawmakers want to ban any drilling for oil and gas under public state lands or the bed of Lake Erie. In early 2023, Ohio governor Mike DeWine signed a law clearing hurdles for drilling companies to obtain leases to extract resources from public lands and parks, although drilling under them has been legal since 2011. Read the full story by WOUB-TV – Athens, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-drilling-legislation
According to researchers, last month’s temporary hypoxic and anoxic conditions at the bottom of western Lake Erie, caused by rapid warming of the water column’s upper layers, will most likely kill off a lot of mayfly nymphs that would have emerged in 2026. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-mayfly-impacts
The SS Keewatin at the Great Lakes Museum in Kingston, Ontario, has been selected as the Museum Ship of the Year for 2025 by the Steamship Historical Society of America. The ship – the world’s oldest surviving Edwardian-era passenger steamship – received this honor for its distinguished accomplishments and significant contributions to preserving the historical importance of engine-powered vessels. Read the full story by OrilliaMatters.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-ship-honors
The 29th Biennial Trans Superior International Yacht Race officially started Saturday August 2 in Whitefish Bay, Michigan. It is the world’s longest known freshwater sailboat race at 350 miles across Lake Superior. Read the full story by SooToday.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-yacht-race
Nine volunteer Coastal Conservation Youth Corps spent time identifying and removing invasive plants and removing plastic waste and tires along the Lake Huron shoreline in Goderich, Ontario. Read the full story by CKNX News Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-shoreline-cleanup
While docked after studying algae blooms in lakes Erie and Superior, the crew of the Great Lakes research vessel Blue Heron noticed a black, tar-like substance oozing from the rudder shaft. Scientists at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory were surprised to find that the material was teeming with life-forms, some of which were unknown microorganisms. The mysterious substance was informally named “ShipGoo001.” Read the full story by CNN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250804-goo
Ottawa County, Michigan, is experiencing a groundwater shortage as wells dry up amid moderate drought conditions. Despite the fact that Ottawa County is surrounded by lakes, rivers, and streams, its growing population relies heavily on wells for water. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-groundwater-shortage
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) confirmed a recreational angler reported finding a dying grass carp – a massive invasive fish – floating in Baie du Doré on Lake Huron on July 14. The DFO collected the fish and confirmed it was a triploid (sterile) female. Read the full story by InsideHalton.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-grass-carp-detection
This year’s Manure Expo, held at the fairgrounds in Fulton County, Ohio, showcased the high-tech transformation of manure management. New tools on display at the expo aim to solve the issue of nutrient runoff that contributes to harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie’s western basin. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-manure-tech
On late Tuesday night, a 1,000-foot tugboat, Presque Isle, was travelling along the southeast side of Neebish Island on the St. Marys River when it had maneuverability issues before dropping anchor to investigate the problem. According to public health officials, around 14-20 liters of hydraulic oil were spilled in the incident, though the oil sheen is no longer an issue. Read the full story by Soo Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-oil-spill
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released the 2024 fish stocking numbers for inland waterbodies and the Great Lakes. The Wisconsin DNR stocked more than 3 million fish in lakes Superior and Michigan, including more than 1,000 lake sturgeon. Read the full story by The Star News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-fish-stocking
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District will start a maintenance dredging project at Manistique Harbor in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as early as August 7. The $1.865 million project will remove 92,500 cubic yards of sediment and place it along the west breakwater beach area below the ordinary high-water mark. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-dredging-project
More than 70 volunteers joined Save the River’s Trash Free River Days Weekend to remove 1,501 pounds of trash from the Upper St. Lawrence River last week. The volunteers retrieved a variety of trash which would otherwise contribute to rising microplastic levels in the St. Lawrence River or be consumed by fish and birds. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-river-cleanup
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) completed more than 280 fisheries surveys across the state in 2024. Collecting key data on Michigan’s fisheries is critical for successful management of the state’s diverse fisheries, though critical fisheries management activities are at risk of reduction due to funding shortfalls, according to the Michigan DNR. Read the full story by the Iosco County News Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-fisheries-surveys
A business in Sheboygan, Wisconsin’s “Malibu of the Midwest” is known for being the state’s first surf shop. People have been surfing on Lake Michigan since the early 1950s, and Sheboygan surfers began forming surf clubs by the ’60s, though the city did not have a surf shop until 1998. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-surfing-great-lakes
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) shared a video of freshwater jellyfish at Presque Isle Bay in Lake Erie. The incredibly rare jellyfish is super hard to find, according to the DEP. Read the full story by KDKA-TV – Pittsburgh, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250801-freshwater-jellyfish
The Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe-Anishinaabe’s team of biologists are keeping Lake Superior’s waters clean — while sounding the alarm on harmful algal blooms and climate-driven water threats. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-clean-local-water
The federal government recently stopped approving offshore wind projects in the ocean, but the Great Lakes may provide another option for producing clean energy in the region. Read the full story by The Conversation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-greatlakes-wind
Michigan environmental officials found a toxic chemical coming from the Gelman Plume, a contaminated plume of groundwater underneath the Ann Arbor area, in six residential water wells in Scio Township during annual state testing. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-gelman-plume-chemical
The fourth annual Mackinac Bridge Swim began just after sunrise on Saturday, July 26. Over 250 swimmers participated in the 4.5-mile swim across the Straits of Mackinac. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-mackinac-bridge-swim
Six swimming beaches at state parks in New York are closed, according to state officials. Four of the beaches are closed due to harmful algal blooms and two beaches tested high for E.coli, according to the latest water quality report. Read the full story by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-ny-beaches-closed
The SS Alpena, built 16 years before the ill-fated SS Edmund Fitzgerald and launched in 1942 under the name SS Leon Fraser, was built in Ecorse, Michigan, and has been hauling bulk cargo ever since. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-ss-alpena
A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection summer intern was at the docks of the Presque Isle Marina when he found a rare invertebrate, Craspedacusta sowerbyi, swimming through Marina Lake, part of Presque Isle Bay. Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-freshwater-jellyfish
Nearly 70 volunteers were out at Station Beach in Kincardine, Ontario, with buckets, sieves and trash pickers in hand, as part of a beach clean-up organized by the Lake Huron Coastal Centre. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-microplastics-clean-up
The Trans Superior Yacht Race, created in 1969, is one of three races that draw in members of the sailing community from near and far to test their mettle on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-superior-race
In Ohio, work is nearing completion on the Upland Sims Park Extension Project, which would add 5.33 acres of serene natural greenspace to Euclid’s growing waterfront along Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-euclid-park
Environmental groups gathered over the weekend to mark the 15th anniversary of an oil spill into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. Attendees warned that the 15-year-old oil spill foreshadows what could happen if an oil pipeline that runs through the Great Lakes is not shut down. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-historic-oil-spill
In Ohio, Toledo’s newly expanded maritime museum includes a fully accessible historic pilothouse and an experience that humanizes the legacy of the inland seas. The 5,000 square foot space surprises, challenges, and reimagines maritime storytelling. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-maritime-museum-expansion
A dashboard created by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy keeps track of which beaches contain unsafe bacteria levels for swimming. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-beach-closures
Ohio lawmakers are trying to reel in a catch by making walleye the official state fish with a bipartisan bill. If passed it would make Ohio the second Great Lakes state to give the species that title. Read the full story by the Ohio Capital Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-ohio-walleye
A professor of geology and team of researchers at Hope College are studying the source of high levels of nitrates in well water at Oval Beach along the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. The research team has been working in the area for over a decade. Read the full story by the Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-michigan-dunes
A new documentary examines the impact of invasive mussels on the Great Lakes. The film is scheduled to be released in 2026 on PBS in the U.S. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-great-lakes-documentary
At an event on Friday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell and Great Lakes advocates and researchers cautioned against funding cuts to a critical research institute, warning that the loss of staff and funding could have dire consequences for keeping the Great Lakes clean and healthy. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-funding-advocating
Michigan officials recently reported six new detections of a toxic chemical spread through Ann Arbor but have not yet concluded whether the detections mean the chemical plume is still moving. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-chemical-plume
Seiches can happen in any of the Great Lakes, but they’re much more dramatic in Lake Erie because of its unique shape and shallow depth. Read the full story by WTVG – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-erie-seiches
Total cargo shipped on the St. Lawrence Seaway is up 496,000 tonnes of goods in June mostly due to increases in the transportation of grain and dry bulk goods. Read the full story by The Sault Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-seaway-cargo
Michigan state officials on July 24 said an invasive crayfish species that has been found in several Michigan counties was discovered in a rearing pond at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-invasive-crayfish
A group of long-distance swimmers will begin a journey this weekend to complete the voyage the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald started 50 years ago. They will swim more than 400 miles from where the ship sank in Lake Superior to Detroit, Michigan. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-swimming-journey
Port Huron officials requested $6.5 million from a Michigan House subcommittee to restore the city’s Black River Canal which has been closed since 2014. Officials argue reopening this vital waterway would help revive waterfront tourism and better protect boaters during emergency situations. Read the full story by the Port Huron Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-canal-repair
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy have investigated reports of high and discolored water on Lake Angeline, located south of Ishpeming in Marquette County. Read the full story by the Marquette Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-discolored-water
A bill with bipartisan support instructing the U.S. Coast Guard to develop a plan for the design and building of a new Great Lakes icebreaker was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this month. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-icebreaker-bill
The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s freshwater acidification monitoring project is working to improve understanding of freshwater acidification and its potential impact on Great Lakes food webs. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-lake-acidification
A new photography book, The Third Coast, was published earlier this month by a Michigan-born photographer and author. The book explores all five Great Lakes through a mix of landscapes and human-centered stories. Read the full story by WZMQ – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-photo-book
The National Wildlife Federation wants the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to look at whether drilling a tunnel to house Enbridge’s Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac could cause damage. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-line5-damage
Since 2012, a total of 34 grass carp have been captured in Canadian waters. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada crews are documenting the native ecosystem, as the entire Great Lakes watershed may be on the brink of irreversible change. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-invasive-carp
There has been evidence for a few years that PFAS levels in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River were higher than the national average, but not high enough to cause immediate alarm. But what is considered safe is evolving, as recommended drinking water limits have been lowered by Health Canada and research increasingly links PFAS to potential health risks. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-greatlakes-pfas
