Local communities are issuing drought declarations and urging residents to conserve water in response to a drought warning for the Western Lake Superior Watershed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by the Mesabi Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-superior-watershed-drought
Following the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling striking down state energy regulators’ decision to permit the Line 5 tunnel project, pipeline opponents convened to celebrate the decision and talk about the next steps. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-line5
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s largest research vessel began a month-long survey Monday to assess water quality and food-web conditions across all five Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-epa-water-quality
Lake Michigan has been named the best fishing lake in the United States for 2026 by FishingBooker, a website that helps people book fishing trips. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-lakemichigan-fishing
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy hired GEI Consultants this year to chart a path for the aging Au Train Dam in Alger County, which lost its hydropower license in December following years of unresolved safety violations. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-mi-hydro-dam
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced that Milwaukee’s beaches are closed due to poor water quality and a “sewage spill” from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Read the full story by WISN-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-wilwaukee-beach-closures
Swarms of mayflies have been observed across Northwest Ohio this season, and experts say the abundance of mayflies in this region owes its thanks to the current health of Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Ohio Newsroom.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-mayflies-erie-health
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will hold two public meetings this week to discuss ongoing walleye research in Sodus and Irondequoit bays. Read the full story by the Finger Lakes Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-dec-walleye-research
The Elberta Heritage Center in Elberta, Michigan, will present a free screening of “The Wreck and Rescue of the Schooner J. Hazard Hartzell” at 7 p.m. on Sunday, August 16. Read the full story by the Benxie County Record Patriot.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260805-elberta-maritime
Four U.S. congressional representatives from Ohio and Michigan joined political leaders from around the Great Lakes in calling for the reversal of a work stoppage order at the Brandon Road Interbasin Project near Joliet, Illinois, which aims to keep invasive carp from moving into the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-work-stoppage-reversal
The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered state regulators to reconsider a key permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry an oil pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move forward. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-permit-rejection
Great Lakes Piping Plovers have tallied 99 pairs this mating and breeding season, which is 11 more couples than last year’s record total; it’s the most piping plover pairs counted since the birds were listed as federally endangered in 1986. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-plover-record
Lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes could live more than four centuries – far exceeding previous estimates of their lifespan – according to a new study by researchers from several Michigan and Wisconsin agencies and universities. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-sturgeon-research
The city of Yorkville, Illinois, is going ahead with a $35 million financing bridge for its Lake Michigan water project while it awaits a $170 million federal loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The total project cost for transitioning to Lake Michigan water is around $224.4 million. Read the full story by Shaw Local News Network.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-water-infrastructure-financing
More than four years after the Lakewood, Ohio, City Council created the Shoreline Special Improvement District using a mechanism under Ohio law that allows lake or riverfront property owners with a common shoreline issue to work together to finance large-scale erosion control projects, the city is moving ahead with Lake Erie erosion control projects. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-erosion-control
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will apply lampricide to the Dead River and Carp River in Marquette, Michigan, from Aug. 11-20 to control invasive sea lamprey populations. Read the full story by the Keweenaw Report.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-lampricide-treatment
The Green Bay, Wisconsin, population of Great Lakes piping plovers has been rebounding due in part to conservation efforts led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and with support of local birding groups. This spring, the Great Lakes piping plovers returned to Cat Island, located just off the shore of the city of Green Bay, for their 10th straight nesting year. Read the full story by KFIZ – Fond du lac, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-plover-rebound
Local officials in Willoughby, Ohio, recently hosted a community event to see progress toward a project to restore and enhance Osborne Park’s Lake Erie shoreline as high water levels have caused significant erosion for many years. Read the full story by The News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-shoreline-protection
Kayaks, ecotours, food trucks and sunny weather were the highlights of the 20th anniversary of the Niagara River Greenway Commission’s Paddles Up event, held July 25 at Beaver Island State Park in Erie County, New York. Read the full story by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260803-paddle-event
Scientists are studying how smoke from increasingly frequent wildfires—especially those in Canada—can affect Great Lakes ecosystems. Wildfire smoke deposits nutrients, metals, and other particles into the lakes, potentially altering water quality, fueling algal growth, and affecting fish and aquatic food webs, though researchers are still working to understand the full long-term impacts. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260721-wildlife-smoke-clouds
The Trump administration has halted work on the $1.15 billion Brandon Road project near Joliet, Illinois, a key effort designed to prevent invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes through the Des Plaines River system. Environmental groups and Great Lakes advocates warn that delaying the project could increase the risk to the region’s ecosystem and its multibillion-dollar fishing and boating industries, while the administration has cited ongoing reviews and funding concerns. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260721-trump-administrative-greatlakes-asian-carp
Hackers have targeted water systems in several US states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin, in a coordinated cyberattack that has caused some utilities to issue boil-water notices and switch to manual mode, taking their systems offline, according to U.S. officials. Read the full story by CNN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260721-sweeping-cyberattack-water-systems
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians released more than 1 million fish into Great Lakes waters this year—including about 902,000 walleye and 278,000 whitefish—as part of a long-running effort to strengthen fish populations and support fisheries. Tribal biologists say the stocking program is especially important for whitefish, whose numbers have declined in part because invasive mussels have reduced the zooplankton they rely on for food. Read the full story by WWMT-TV – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260721-sault-tribe-greatlakes-fish-stocking
A public comment period is open through August 24 on a draft environmental permit that would allow treated wastewater to be discharged from The Barn, a hyperscale data center for OpenAI and Oracle under construction in Saline Township, Michigan, into the Saline River. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260721-openai-seeks-permit-wasteawater-discharge-saline-river
Cleanup efforts are continuing weeks after a fertilizer spill into Huston Creek in Henry County led to a major fish kill throughout an 11-mile stretch of the Maumee River in Ohio. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260721-maumee-river-fish-kill-violations
NewRange, formerly known as PolyMet Mining, has submitted the changes to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to kick off a new round of environmental reviews for their proposed open-pit mine in northeast Minnesota. The company filed a new application for a wetlands permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260721-minnesota-controversial-mining-project
The Great Lakes Grand Prix in Michigan City, Indiana, has entered its final weekend, drawing thousands of spectators to Lake Michigan to watch some of the nation’s fastest offshore powerboats compete. Read the full story by WSBT-TV – South Bend, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260721-greatlakes-grand-prix-michigan-city
A delicacy for centuries and a key part of Native tradition, the lake whitefish has seen its population crash. Researchers know why, but stopping it is another matter. Read the full story by The Guardian.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-whitefish
After a long wait, the inevitable has occurred: Western Lake Erie’s 2026 algal bloom has formed. Toxins have been detected but are presently below the recreational contact threshold for humans. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-bloom
The Bad River tribe and environmental groups are again suing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources over decisions allowing work to move forward on Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute at four waterway crossings. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-pipeline
Due to climate change, the Great Lakes region has emerged as a national hotspot for extreme precipitation. Milwaukee is fast-tracking infrastructure projects and removing homes from floodplains to increase resilience. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-milwaukee
The vast majority of Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs value environmental conservation but this support is not easily or often translated into successful, popular initiatives. One success story is the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by The Conversation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-glri
Michigan farmers and water specialists are proposing local “water districts” to collect groundwater and stream data, aiming to give regulators better information for irrigation permit decisions. Read the full story by the Cadillac News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-water-mi
In 2022, a pilot project called Smart Beach in Kincardine, Ontario was launched to make Great Lakes beaches safer. A network of sensors were deployed to monitor water levels, waves, currents, and pedestrian patterns. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-beaches
The preservation journey of Michigan’s historic 85-year-old submarine reached another milestone last week. The 312-foot USS Silversides, a floating museum in Muskegon, Michigan, was recently dry-docked and is now being cleaned of zebra mussels and inspected to determine needed repairs. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-sub
Two of the Apostle Island nature preserve’s popular sea caves on Lake Superior have collapsed, likely due to increased boat traffic. The caves, in addition to a section of the arch, collapsed along the Red Cliff shoreline near Bayfield, Wisconsin. Read the full story by KARE-TV – Minneapolis, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-apostles
The opening of the Gordie Howe bridge has been highly anticipated by people on both sides of the Detroit River. Some Canadians travelled hours to be among the first to cross the international span. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260729-new-bridge
A pair of bills vital to Great Lakes and human health, two versions of the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, are advancing through Congress. The U.S. Senate and U.S. House versions of the bills differ slightly, but the two chambers agree to continue funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-water-bills
The world’s newest international crossing, the Gordie Howe International Bridge over the Detroit River between the United States and Canada, is slated to open to public motorists at noon on Monday, July 27. Here’s what to expect and how the new bridge works. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-new-bridge
A pilot project to remove large mats of algae build-up from three locations on Lake St. Clair is set to begin this fall. The $800,000 field trial will allow two contracting groups to remove the mats with researchers studying what happens after. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-algal-mats
Meteorites from a large fireball that was widely documented over northern Ontario skies last month have been recovered on Cockburn Island, a mostly uninhabited island located off the western end of Manitoulin Island in the North Channel of Lake Huron. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-meteorites-found
Consumers Energy may cut flow to the Manistee River to inspect damage at the Hodenpyl Dam near Mesick, Michigan. State officials fear tens of thousands of fish could die if Consumers drains the river segment. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-dam-damage
A harmful algal bloom has been detected in Michigan’s Center Lake, the Jackson County Health Department said on Friday afternoon. Read the full story by CBS Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-algal-bloom
Lake Michigan gives Wisconsin residents a place to cool down on a hot day or get out on a boat to go after some fish. What else do we know about it? Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-lake-michigan
Five beaches at New York State Parks are closed all due to high bacteria levels, according to the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Two beaches are also under advisory for high bacteria levels. Read the full story by Democrat & Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-ny-beaches
A study found that using free satellite imagery can be used to help monitor and protect Ontario wetlands. Read the full story by The Pointer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-wetland-imagery
After bad weather caused the cancellation of a mile swim in Lake Erie last weekend, swimmers took to the water near Ashtabula, Ohio, Saturday morning to celebrate the life of a swim instructor who touched many of their lives personally. Read the full story by the Star Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260727-mile-swim
Low lying cemeteries near shorelines face threats of erosion as water levels rise. That is especially true for two cemeteries near Lake Superior. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260724-superior-erosion
A 740-foot Great Lakes freighter carrying grain ran aground and was stuck on the St. Clair River near Sarnia, Ontario. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260724-stclair-freighter
A lot needs to be done before Pewaukee, Wisconsin can solve its water concerns, but Lake Michigan water might be the best option. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260724-pewaukee-water-supply
