The Trump administration’s purge of federal workers at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office in Chicago included a half dozen attorneys who bring enforcement cases against polluters and staff who mobilize rapidly to respond to hazardous spills and environmental disasters. The cuts may inhibit the EPA’s ability to protect drinking water, safeguard air quality and clean up toxic sites in Michigan, part of a five-state region headquartered in Illinois. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250224-trump-epa-workers

Hannah Reynolds

With the weather outside frigid, a fishing enthusiast wouldn’t necessarily be thinking about the walleye run just yet unless you’re  the proprietor of Maumee Tackle — Fishing, Kayak, and Shooting Outfitters in Maumee, Ohio. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250224-fishermen-ice-walleyerun-soon

Hannah Reynolds

Nearly five years after the final scoop of contaminated sediment was taken from the Lower Fox River in Wisconsin, the river is improving, but it’s still not safe for fishing. And it won’t be for quite some time. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250221-fox-river-pcb

Autumn McGowan

Ice fishermen around Northeast Ohio rejoiced earlier this week as the wind chill plummeted and ice thickened on ponds and small lakes all around the area. While the safe ice will support a few days of hard water fishing, it may not last. Read the full story by the Plain Dealer.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250221-ice-fishing

Autumn McGowan

The data that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) produces contributes to Great Lakes recreation, shipping navigation, coastal management, and a variety of other research, all of which may be at risk with impending cuts to NOAA.  Read the full story by the Wisconsin Examiner.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250221-noaa-funding

Autumn McGowan

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is reminding anglers that lake sturgeon are protected, cannot be targeted while ice fishing, and must be released as quickly as possible if caught by mistake. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250221-sturgeon-protections

Autumn McGowan

Nonprofit managers worry that a large federal grant to help Michigan farm and forest owners preserve their lands may fall victim to a vast Trump administration funding freeze that’s being litigated in federal court. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250221-forest-farm-funding

Autumn McGowan

Scores of water mains throughout Chicago are too close to sewer lines, according to a new report that cautions the potential risks to public health could cost taxpayers millions of dollars to fix. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250221-chicago-water-pipes

Autumn McGowan

Two of the biggest threats to the Great Lakes region’s $7 billion fishery — invasive carp and sea lampreys — will get worse if the Trump Administration’s federal cuts and hiring freezes are not done more methodically, officials said Monday. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250219-funding-hiring-impacts

James Polidori

Travelling for international meetings or even joining a call with Canadian counterparts has become impossible for some U.S. government scientists, under new directives since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Given that the Great Lakes — and their aquatic life — straddle both sides of the border, having American scientists suddenly barred from meetings has had deep impacts. Read the full story by CBC News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250219-binational-coordination

James Polidori

U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin introduced the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2025 to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through 2031 and increase the program’s annual authorized funding levels from $475 million to $500 million. Read the full story by Record & Clarion.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250219-great-lakes-bill

James Polidori

Rolling back clean water protection, gutting agencies and defunding science, research and monitoring is a non-starter for the Great Lakes region, said the director of the Healing Our Waters coalition in a recent interview. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250219-great-lakes-priorities

James Polidori

The patchwork of research that’s been done on microplastics in the Great Lakes has revealed gaps that need to be filled, a scientific panel reporting to the U.S. and Canadian governments stated in a recent webinar. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250219-microplastics-research

James Polidori

A $110,000 grant will go toward a training program in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District that helps prepare students for the maritime and aviation industries. The grant, approved by the Port of Cleveland, will be given to Argonaut, the nonprofit that provides the hands-on training at Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250219-maritime-training-grant

James Polidori

In 2024, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued permits to Canadian energy company Enbridge to reroute its Line 5 pipeline, prompting a lawsuit from the Bad River Band. The tribe is asking an Ashland County judge to stay the Wisconsin DNR’s environmental impact statement for the reroute proposal and reverse state construction permits. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250219-pipeline-litigation

James Polidori

Citizens for a Safe and Clean Lake Superior is rolling out a new program to protect wetlands in Marquette County, Michigan. The organization is offering $750 to four landowners in the county who are willing to enter into a conservation easement to protect wetlands on their property. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250219-wetland-conservation-program

James Polidori

A project to keep invasive carp species from reaching the Great Lakes could be in jeopardy as the state of Illinois halted its work, seeking assurances from the Trump administration that federal funding for the more than $1.1 billion project will not be revoked. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250217-carp-barrier-halted

Nichole Angell

The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has objected to permitting Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 reroute under the Clean Water Act, saying the project will violate the tribe’s water quality standards. Read the full story by the Superior Telegram.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250217-line5-tribal-opposition

Nichole Angell

Waves of Yemeni immigrants came to the United States in the 1950s and 1960s settled in Michigan to work in the Great Lakes shipping industry. Today, around 30,000 people of Yemeni heritage are believed to live in Michigan. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250217-great-lakes-sailors

Nichole Angell

The sea lamprey nearly destroyed fishing in the Great Lakes. The new 90-minute film “The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery,” tells the story of the people who tackled the mystery of why lake trout, one of the most prized fish in the Great Lakes, nearly vanished. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250217-sea-lamprey-documentary

Nichole Angell

Michigan’s Great Lakes are 33.19% covered in ice, the highest coverage so far in 2025 with Lake Erie in the lead, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration said. Altogether, the Great Lakes are seeing more ice this year compared to 2023 and 2024. Read the full story by Lansing State Journal.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250217-ice-cover

Nichole Angell

New York state lawmakers announced a group of five bills aimed to reduce PFAS exposure. The five bills would: ban the use of PFAS in consumer and household products, cosmetic products, and menstrual products; regulate PFAS as an air pollutant; and require the disclosure of PFAS levels in all permitted facilities discharging waste. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-new-york-pfas

Taaja Tucker-Silva

In a sweeping proposal, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced Tuesday that his budget will include more than $145 million to address PFAS contamination. The bulk of the money would fund PFAS testing for municipal drinking water systems, but it would also help private well owners test for the chemicals. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-wisconsin-pfas

Taaja Tucker-Silva

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources gets a good chunk of its budget from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. But licenses aren’t selling like they used to, and some are wondering: even if fees go up, how long will this system work? Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-dnr-funding

Taaja Tucker-Silva

Last year, Vice President J.D. Vance, then an Ohio senator, was part of a bipartisan coalition calling to increase funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Advocates hope he hasn’t changed his mind. Read the full story by WBEZ Chicago.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-glri-funding

Taaja Tucker-Silva

Aamjiwnaang First Nation and the Canadian federal government will work together on a pilot project to address environmental racism and contaminants in the air, water, and soil. The nation, located in Sarnia, Ontario, has spent decades fighting to stop pollution from a cluster of petrochemical plants known as Chemical Valley that surround it. Read the full story by The Narwhal.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-aamjiwnaang-pollution

Taaja Tucker-Silva

The Palisades nuclear plant, which sits on the Lake Michigan shore near South Haven, Michigan, stopped operations in 2022. The unprecedented proposal to bring the shuttered nuclear plant back online reached a new level Wednesday as a panel of federal administrative judges heard arguments over the regulatory process for the proposal. Read the full story by Michigan Public.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-palisades-restart

Taaja Tucker-Silva

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has proposed additional water quality protections in Oakland County, Michigan, amid a years-long dispute with neighboring Macomb County over accusations of sewage discharged into the Red Run Drain, contributing to beach closures and the growth of large masses of algae in Lake St. Clair downstream. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-county-sewage

Taaja Tucker-Silva

Lake Erie is more than 90% covered with ice but that doesn’t mean it’s safe to be walking on the frozen water. Conditions are particularly hazardous for fishermen at least for the next few days, as winter weather is expected to bring shifting winds that will blow the ice around. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-erie-ice

Taaja Tucker-Silva

Several Metro Detroit water systems exceeded the previous lead limit of 15 ppb in 2024, with more communities nearing the new 12 ppb standard, while Republican lawmakers in Congress aim to repeal Biden’s lead regulations via the Congressional Review Act, potentially barring federal mandates on lead service line replacement or stricter lead limits in water. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-michigan-lead

Taaja Tucker-Silva

More than 300 dead wild birds have been discovered in five Michigan counties, including Allegan, Shiawasee, Ingham, Eaton and Washtenaw. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources doesn’t expect serious impacts to Michigan’s duck, goose or swan populations statewide, although areas where waterfowl concentrate in the remaining ice-free water may see more die-offs. Read the full story by WDET – Detroit, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250214-avian-flu

Taaja Tucker-Silva

Minnesota is giving its water quality standards a fresh look. With public input in their hands, officials are under pressure to add language about nitrate levels, a move some said is long overdue. Read the full story by Public News Service.  

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-minnesota-nitratestandards

Hannah Reynolds

Winter surfing in Sheboygan, Michigan, sometimes called the Malibu of the Midwest, is unique in that it’s not as particular about which way the wind blows. The Great Lakes surf season peaks in fall and winter when the wind creates some of the biggest waves of the year. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-wintersurfers-embrace-cold

Hannah Reynolds

The Port Authority recently began requesting proposals from entrepreneurs/individuals interested in both operating the bayfront landmark and bringing new business/activity — such as a retail shop or a restaurant — to the iconic waterfront landmark and its surrounding area. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-bicentennialtower-erie-portauthority

Hannah Reynolds

A recent study has found dozens of previously unknown “forever chemicals” in the fish, mussels and waters of Lake Huron, revealing more contamination than previously realized. Now researchers are scrambling to understand the health and environmental effects of these chemicals. Read the full story by Capital News Service.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-researchers-chemicals-pfas-greatlakes-fish

Hannah Reynolds

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said it stocked the state with more than 46 million fish in Ohio’s lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. That’s 6 million more than what was stocked in 2023. Read the full story by Spectrum News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-ohio-restockedwaterways-fish-2024

Hannah Reynolds