Climate change continues to have a profound impact on the Great Lakes region, bringing more extreme weather, declining fish populations, and subtle but profound economic transformation, according to a new report by the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-climate-report
Wisconsin state regulators say the commercial harvest of lake whitefish in Lake Michigan has reached its lowest level since 1990, and some fisheries biologists fear the species might largely disappear in parts of the lake. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-lake-whitefish-decline
Waterways in Emmet and Charlevoix counties, Michigan, will undergo sea lamprey control measures in the next few weeks to help fight the destructive invasive species. Read the full story by the Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-sealamprey-control
Cuts to a major water-quality program, H2Ohio, in Ohio’s biennial budget will likely weaken efforts to control the spread of toxic blue-green algae in Lake Erie. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-erie-algae-budgetcuts
The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa opened Frog Bay Tribal National Park — the first of its kind nationwide — in 2012. The Red Cliff Tribe’s move to create a tribal national park has inspired other tribes to follow suit. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-superior-tribal-nationalpark
In a rare show of bipartisan unity, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act. The bill directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to coordinate with state and tribal agencies to implement a standardized fish tagging system across all hatcheries in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Thumbwind.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-fisheries-marking-bill
Three agencies in western New York are receiving grants for Great Lakes basin projects through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York Sea Grant. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-wny-grants
The Great Lakes Aquarium is making history, as well as reflecting on it, by opening their time capsule from 25 years ago when the aquarium first opened in July 2000. Read the full story by KQDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-gl-aquarium
The new Lake Champlain Basin Marine Debris Coalition is made up of six organizations whose mission is to “enhance community awareness of and reduce the presence of marine debris in Lake Champlain, Lake George and their tributaries.” Read the full story by Burlington Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-champlain-debris-pollution
An updated report confirms climate change is affecting the Great Lakes region through warmer and wetter weather, greater fluctuation in lake levels and disappearing fish populations. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-report-climate-change-warmerweather-greatlakes
The Great Lakes have a rich history of ghost stories and maritime lore. Lake Superior’s “Shipwreck Coast” is known for numerous shipwrecks and ghost ship sightings. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-greatlakes-lore-ghoststories
The federal funding that pays for much of Great Lakes water, weather and ice cover monitoring is at risk in the Trump administration’s proposed NOAA budget for 2026, while the Senate has proposed keeping the funding largely in place. Meanwhile, people who work in data collection and commercial shipping grapple with the uncertainty and say sweeping budget and staffing cuts could inadvertently put ship captains and other boaters at risk. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-shipping-industry-greatlakes-programs-cuts
Invasive sea lamprey control in Michigan’s Grand River is getting a boost thanks to a $2.1 million federal grant awarded to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-grand-rapids-vampires-greatlakes-grant
On the third Sunday of July, the community in Superior, Wisconsin, shows its appreciation for the great lake with Lake Superior Day. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-lakesuperiorday-appreciation-education
The annual Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Island kicked off with strong winds this weekend, but winds turned so light that as of 9 p.m. Sunday, only two of the 285 entries had crossed the finish line. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-macrac-sailors
During the upcoming Mackinac Bridge Swim, a fundraiser for first responders, dedicated swimmers will traverse the 4.5 mile Straits of Mackinac. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-swimmers-straitsofmackinac
Harmful algal blooms have appeared in two locations in Lake Erie, including Sandusky Bay. Toxins have been detected in the Sandusky Bay bloom but no toxins have been reported yet in the western basin. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-algalblooms-lakeerie-sanduskybay
Lake Michigan is the deadliest lake in America, statistics show. Yet, there are no lifeguards at 99% of the public beaches, all while coastal towns rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in beach parking fees, and the state of Michigan collects millions more in vehicle park permits and billions in tourism dollars. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-lakemichigan-deadliestlake
NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory has released information following last month’s “significant meteotsunami and seiche” on Lake Superior. The strong low pressure system moved across Lake Superior on the morning of June 21, which caused rapid and significant water level changes. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-meteotsunami-lakesuperior-waterlevels
Need a break from Michigan’s hot and hazy weather? All of the Great Lakes are seeing warmer temperatures this week, making the water warm enough to hop in this weekend. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-greatlakes-watertemp-warm
A summer intern for the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (TBNMS) says his favorite part of Alpena, Michigan, is how connected the people are to the Great Lakes. He has spent his summer interning at TBNMS, collecting samples for the sanctuary’s freshwater acidification monitoring project, deploying mooring buoys, learning about shipwrecks, and more. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-intern-greatlakes-alpena
More research into how to stem the scourge of invasive mussels is needed if Michigan has any hope of revitalizing the collapsing lake whitefish population, fishery experts told state regulators. The experts also advised the state to take up “emergency corrective action” like transferring adult whitefish to different spots in lakes Michigan or Huron, stocking more fish or rearing them for longer. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-whitefish-crisis
Want an epic summer adventure? How about splashing in all five Great Lakes in 24 hours? It’s totally doable, and it’s been done in the past. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-ultimate-roadtrip-greatlakes
Construction will begin the week of July 21 on a new sea lamprey barrier and trap at the Little Manistee River Weir and egg take facility in Manistee County, Michigan. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will design and build the project in coordination with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-sea-lamprey-barrier-work-little-manistee-weir
For more than 130 years, the Western Reserve lay silent beneath Lake Superior — a vanished steel freighter, lost in 1892 along with nearly everyone aboard. But when researchers with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society found it this spring, they didn’t just locate a wreck. They cracked open new questions about steel’s hidden weaknesses, explored new frontiers in underwater imaging, and reconnected families still carrying the weight of its loss. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-michigan-shipwreck-lessons-depths
This weekend Anishinaabe historian Eric Hemenway will share more Indigenous history of the daily lives of the tribes who made the Great Lakes their homeland. Hemenway’s free classes will focus on the importance of Michigan’s islands. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-sleepingbeer-indigenous-history-mi-islands
Michigan is seeking comments from the public regarding a permit from energy company Enbridge to construct a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac that will replace the dual pipelines currently transporting fuel across the state. The massive construction project has been the subject of controversy from advocates concerned about a potential environmental disaster should the infrastructure be damaged. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-line-5-tunnel-public-comments
Want a free ride across the Wisconsin River? Check. A fast Lake Michigan crossing to avoid Chicago traffic, and get some work done while you’re doing it? Check. Or would you rather cross the Great Lake on a slow, relaxing and historic ship? Check that, too. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-wisconsin-ferries-free
Rising water temperatures are creating unusual “bathtub conditions” in western Lake Erie this summer, raising concerns for harmful algal blooms. Read the full story by Inside Halton.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-lake-erie-warm
A new exhibition at Toledo’s National Museum of the Great Lakes affords visitors a glimpse into the murky depths of true-crime mysteries of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-true-crime
July marks the time of year when piping plover chicks start to fledge and the adults start to get antsy for migration. Piping plover females are the first to leave the Great Lakes and head south to their wintering site. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-plover-migration
Under the USDA rule aimed at protecting wetlands known as “Swampbuster,” farmers have to agree not to drain or fill their wetlands, in order to receive farm benefits such as crop insurance, disaster relief and USDA loans. The rule is being challenged in court and could impact farmers across the country. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-wetland-protection-rule
Advocates at the Alliance for the Great Lakes believe that voluntary measures to reduce algal blooms in Lake Erie have failed to meet phosphorus reduction targets and new regulations are needed to make progress on the issue. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-algal-blooms
A federal drinking water rule required Chicago officials to warn approximately 900,000 renters, homeowners and landlords before Nov. 16, 2024, that their drinking water is at risk of lead contamination. But as of early July, Chicago had only notified 7% of the people on its list that their water may be dangerously contaminated. Read the full story by WBEZ, Grist and Inside Climate News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-lead-drinking-water
The Great Lakes Aquarium, now one of Duluth, Minnesota’s most popular attractions, was once an unlikely prospect – and weathered years of turbulence after opening in 2000. It is one of few aquariums in the United States that focuses predominantly on freshwater exhibits. Read the full story by Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-duluth-aquarium
At a time when NOAA is under assault in many ways, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin has introduced the Digital Coast Act, a bipartisan proposal to help coastal communities prepare for storms, cope with varying water levels and plan for future development. Read the full story by The Cap Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-coastal-resiliance-legislation
American white pelican sightings have been increasing in Michigan. While the state’s shorelines have been a nesting ground for the past 15 years, the species has been expanding their historic breeding range eastward. Michigan is on the current edge of that range. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-nesting-pelicans
An art gallery in Evanston, Illinois, has opened a new exhibition focused on the Great Lakes. A portion of sales will go to the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Evanston RoundTable.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-art-exhibit
Great Lakes trade has fueled the Midwest for centuries. Today, experts say its future is key to sustaining U.S. manufacturing, farming and economic security. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250716-shipping-importance
Across the Great Lakes, electricity and gas costs are rising, with utilities in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin seeking hundreds of millions in additional rate hikes. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-energy-bills
For decades the Great Lakes and their natural resources have faced the environmental crises of pollution and degradation, despite the conservation promises of elected officials. Read the full story by Michigan Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-gl-deserve-better
Fluctuations in Great Lakes water levels and ice cover broadly affect coastal communities and contribute to coastal erosion. Coastal resiliency strategies are navigating the best methods to preserve the landscape and the communities from these effects. Read the full story by Northern Express.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-coastal-resiliency
Lake Erie has warmed rapidly over the past month, with surface water temperatures now sitting about four degrees above average for mid-July. While that swift rise is eye-catching, experts say it’s not unusual. Read the full story by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-erie-temps
Man-made reefs have become a popular way to provide a habitat for fish in coastal communities. The rubble ridges, however, are also designed as a cost-effective tool to prevent erosion. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-artificial-reefs
As a result of warming waters, increasingly variable seasonal changes and lakeshore development, walleye numbers in some lakes are dwindling. Losing the species would mean losing a food source for community members, a sovereign right to fish, and a deep connection to tradition and nature for Ojibwe and other Indigenous communities. Read the full story by ICT News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-spearfishing
Barn Sanctuary in Chelsea, Michigan, hopes to make a positive impact on the region to stand as a living model where animal welfare and ecological stewardship aren’t just compatible, but linked. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-barn-sanctuary
Fifty years after the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank into Lake Superior, 68 open water swimmers will symbolically complete the ship’s failed voyage. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-fitzgerald-swimmers
The Sail Detroit Festival will showcase tall ships of various sizes and styles. They will arrive to Detroit on August 7 and tie up on the Detroit River for three days of public access. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-sailor-career
The U.S. shipboard maritime workforce is projected to turn over in the coming decades and have more than 35,000 job openings for sailors and marine oilers; 29,000 captains, mates, and pilots; and 9,500 ship engineers. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250714-sailor-career
Great Lakes piping plovers hit a record count of 85 nesting pairs this year, which is four more pairs than in the last two years. Since being put on the Endangered Species Act list in 1984, the plovers are recovering, but only with the protection and assistance of a significant coalition of people and organizations. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250711-plover-record
