An icebreaker cruise ship set sail on Friday for a frosty journey that will bring passengers along the St. Lawrence River, a new route that tourism officials hope will usher in a new era of winter cruises in Québec. Read the full story by The Canadian Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-icebreaker-cruise
While sailing up the Detroit River, Abraham Lincoln observed efforts to free a stranded steamer, which led him to whittle a wooden model of a steamboat with gear that could lift boats grounded in shallow waters. His idea was never commercially produced, but it made Lincoln the only U.S. president to have patented an invention. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-lincoln-patent
All the salt used to treat pavement during the winter ends up in our local waterways: streams, rivers, lakes, Lake Michigan, and even groundwater, which makes the water toxic for fish and other aquatic life. Read the full story by WISN-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-less-salt
Abstract, colorful ice formations, known as blue ice, are already forming in the Great Lakes near Mackinac Island, Michigan. Blue ice, typically found in glaciers, often forms in Michigan lakes during the winter season. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-blue-ice
With temperatures dropping in typical mid-January fashion, many anxious ice anglers were finally able to strap on their cleats and pop up shanties. Yet, both Ohio’s Division of Wildlife as well as Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources stress “there is no such thing as safe ice.” Read the full story by The Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-ice-safety
It is officially free fishing weekend in Wisconsin. Wet a line without a fishing license, trout stamp, or salmon stamp January 18th and 19th in most waters, thanks to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-free-fishing
Imagine a fishery where, in one year, 6 million pounds of fish were hauled in—only to plummet to a mere 400 pounds just four years later. What caused this devastation? A new documentary recounts how the Great Lakes were brought to their knees by the sea lamprey. Read the full story by Sports Illustrated.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250120-fish-thief
A new assessment of Great Lakes Lake whitefish populations indicates that even if we bring commercial fishing harvest to zero, the lakes are still headed toward extirpation. Read the full story by WCMU Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-lakewhitefish-survey-direpicture
The Great Lakes region is an ideal place to see gulls, especially during the winter months when rare gulls pass through. While they may not be a marvel to most birders, they stand out for their unique ability to adapt to their environment in the face of climate change. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-greatlakes-gulls
A film set to debut in Cleveland might be the first of its kind to provide a hyperlocal focus on the unseen impacts of the plastic materials that are floating around our the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Cleveland Scene.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-ripplesofplastic-lakeerie-plasticpollution
The American Mariner was the final ship through the Soo Locks on Thursday, marking the end of the Great Lakes navigation season. Read the full story by WCMU Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-soolocks-americanmariner-lastship
One of the largest vessels to use the Port of Cleveland — the 1004-foot-long, 50-foot-tall James R. Barker — on Thursday found itself stuck in ice as it attempted to navigate the harbor. Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-freighter-stuck-lakeerie-coastguard
Local surfer and Greenhouse Surfboards founder Ken Cole took his passion for surfing beyond getting out on the water. He’s created the world’s first leaf-based surfboard to encompass what he believes is the art, soul and sustainable future of surfing. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-milwaukee-surfer-ecoboard
Tourism leaders in East Tawas in Northeast Michigan have joined an international cruise marketing program called ‘Cruise the Great Lakes’ with the hope of becoming a stop for cruises. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-michigan-cruisestop-greatlakes
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission’s Annual Life on Lake Erie Photo Contest is now open. Photographers are invited to submit up to five images that represent the essence of life on Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Fremont News-Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-commission-ohio-greatlakes-photocontest
Trump recently referenced a “large faucet” in British Columbia, Canada that could be turned on to bring water to California, without providing supporting information or a mention of how Canada might see the venture. Canadians are taking Trump’s desire for Canada’s water seriously. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-trump-waterstatement-canadians
The Canadian petroleum pipeline company Enbridge was granted a permit by the Michigan Public Service Commission in 2023 to burrow a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. In an appeals court hearing Tuesday, tribal nations, environmental groups, and some businesses challenged the permit, saying the commission did not allow all the evidence to be heard. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-enbridge-case
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has supported a new documentary, set to be released at the end of January, about the sea lampreys’ devastation across the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-lamprey-documentary
The Great Lakes Commission recently released its annual water usage report, providing hydrological and environmental insights for the region. In total, water usage from the Great Lakes supply was down in 2023 in comparison to 2022. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-water-use
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources stocked seven species of fish at 78 locations across Michigan this past fall, bringing the year’s stocking total to 9.7 million fish. While most fish are stocked in the spring, and some in the summer, the final stocking round of 2024 included 590,504 fish during the fall. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-fish-stocked
During their winter offseason, lakers operating in the Great Lakes typically undergo maintenance. The work done after the Soo Locks close in Michigan is important for an aging fleet of lakers. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-aging-lakers
Ship enthusiasts have until Wednesday night to track the big freighters heading upbound and downbound on the Soo Locks, then the locks will close for several weeks for annual maintenance work. Once the locks close, they will remain closed to ship traffic until reopening on March 25. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-locks-closing
With its heritage buildings and cobbled streets, Montreal’s picturesque Old Port on the St. Lawrence River is destined to become the gateway to a new waterfront neighborhood. The estimated $2.5-billion project will take seven to 10 years to complete, with construction slated to begin in 2025. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-montreal-waterfront
The St. Marys River channel that handles downbound shipping traffic south of the Soo Locks closed temporarily on Sunday after a 497-foot cargo vessel briefly ran aground when it had a mechanical failure. There were no injuries reported, and no pollution seen after the grounding. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-freighter-aground
Work on the riverwalk in Manistee, Michigan, was planned for summer 2024 but was delayed when no bids came in for the work. With a $400,000 budget bump, the project is now expected to go forward this year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250115-manistee-riverwalk
Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, have developed a way to break down microplastics by genetically altering bacteria. The researchers selected bacteria often found at wastewater plants, because not all microplastics are filtered out before being released into a stream or river. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-microplastic-breaking-down-process
A startup company based in Oberlin, Ohio, has drawn $2.9 million in private investment so far to remove PFAS, often called forever chemicals, from the nation’s drinking water. The company formed in 2019 to launch and license a chemical coating process that captures PFAS and isolates them for destruction during water treatment. Read the full story by WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-pfas-removal-development
The U.S. Coast Guard has officially launched Operation Taconite, its annual icebreaking operation on the Great Lakes, for the 2024-25 winter season. It is the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation, with efforts taking place on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, the St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac, and Georgian Bay. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-icebreaker-operation
A special public hearing is being held Tuesday night for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to defend itself from accusations that it failed to do enough to protect Lake Erie with a wastewater permit it issued to the city of Port Clinton in April. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-sewage-permit-hearing
A new report from an international think tank says shutting down Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline may be a better avenue for the Canadian energy company because of increased competition from renewable energy, multiple concerns about the viability of the company’s pipeline tunnel project, and the cost of a reroute amid ongoing efforts to shut down the pipeline. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-pipeline-report
Many Michigan cherry growers are adapting to the difficult market and changing climate, planting different varieties or embracing high-density orchards with trees packed more closely together. By the time Michigan’s cherry growing season came to a close over the summer, as much as 75% of the state’s sweet cherry crop was lost. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-cherry-growing
On New Year’s Day, Superior, Wisconsin, Mayor Jim Paine proclaimed 2025 as “Year of the Fitz,” marking five decades since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior. A group called Friends of the Fitz is working to raise money for a Wisconsin Historical Society marker to honor the loss of the Fitzgerald and its crew. Read the full story by KQDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-fitzgerald-recognition
Over the centuries, the effect of ice on Lake Michigan has had an important role in shaping the economic and cultural landscape of the region. As the challenges of ice on the lake continue to evolve, Manitowoc’s enduring role in the Great Lakes maritime industry reflects both the city’s historical significance and its ongoing importance to the region’s economy and culture. Read the full story by the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-lake-michigan-ice
As the shipping season nears its end, the John J. Boland, a 680-foot long laker built in 1973, made a quick visit to Duluth-Superior on Thursday. The ship is headed to the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, with an estimated arrival for early Saturday morning. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-shipping-season-end
The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, will host the 13th annual Thunder Bay International Film Festival in January, featuring more than 50 ocean and Great Lakes films from around the world. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250113-film-festival
The Great Lakes delegation within the U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act of 2025 to reauthorize GLRI through 2031. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-glri
According to the Annual Report of the Great Lakes Regional Water Use Database, water withdrawals from the Great Lakes declined in 2023. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-water-withdrawals
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday said it completed its 2024 fish stocking program by releasing nearly 600,000 fish into Michigan waterways during the fall. Read the full story by Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-fish-stocking
Next week, the shipping season concludes at the Port of Duluth and Superior, and with it, the impending retirement of the facility’s executive director, Deb DeLuca, who reflects on her time as executive director. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-port-director
Dr. Kevin Strychar says the Great Lakes have been warming since the 1970s, gradually creating a warmer climate. Dr. Strychar explains climate change and the associated observations happening in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Muskegon, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-climate-change
Michigan’s 2024 State of the Great Lakes report underscores efforts to enhance water quality and ecosystem health in the Detroit River. This includes monitoring toxic PFAS chemicals, phosphorus, and bacteria, and implementing strategies to curb phosphorus runoff causing harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-detroit-river-cleanup
This year could be a big year for the status of two nuclear power plants around Lake Michigan, particularly shutdown plant in Michigan seeking a restart and the potential 20-year extension for another in Wisconsin. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-nuclear-power
Temperatures have been below freezing in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan since the afternoon of New Year’s Day, and that has led to widespread ice development across western Lake Erie. Forecasts for the next couple days expect ice cover to keep expanding. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-erie-ice
The Rawley Point Lighthouse, operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, is a historic landmark of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Celebrate the history and impact of this lighthouse over the last 130 years. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250110-rawley-lighthouse
In December, several First Nation members came together for the first time to plan collaborative conservation efforts around Lake Superior with representatives from Lakehead University and the International Joint Commission. One of the main goals of the collaboration was to create a co-management agreement that better combines Traditional Knowledge and experiences with western science. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-collaborative-conservation
The Great Lakes’ water temperatures have been running warmer than normal for most of 2024 and are still warmer than any January 6 in recent history. Starting January 1, most locations dipped below freezing and haven’t felt melting temperatures since, though the total ice amount on all the Great Lakes combined is now only 2.29 percent. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-ice-cover
Federal programs to protect streambanks and lake shores from erosion will get a $20.5 million boost under bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Representative of Ohio and Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chair Dave Joyce that President Joe Biden signed into law over the weekend. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-streambank-protection-funding
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s annual State of the Great Lakes report highlights issues impacting the various industries and communities that rely on the Great Lakes. On the wildlife side, experts say that one issue stands out as a particular area of concern for the near future — invasive species. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-invasive-species-risk
According to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, water levels for lakes Michigan and Huron recently dipped below the long-term average for the first time in a decade. While the water levels are over two feet above the lowest low on record, these trends stand out from just five years ago when water levels regularly hit numbers 20 inches above the long-term average. Read the full story by The Ticker.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-water-levels
The National Weather Service office in Cleveland is not reporting any significant ice cover on Lake Erie as of early January. Before the lake can freeze over, the water temperature needs to be around 32 to 33 degrees; on January 6, the water temperature for Lake Erie was recorded at 35 degrees. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250108-erie-ice
