The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated a National Estuarine Research Reserve bordering Green Bay on Lake Michigan. It is the 31st national site along the Great Lakes, coastal states, and territories. Read the full story by Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-green-bay
A cross-border collaboration between stakeholders on both sides of the St. Mary’s River aims to further protect the Great Lakes by bolstering research into oil spills and their impacts upon freshwater environments. Read the full story by Soo Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-oil-spills
3rd Coast Cruising, a sailing academy, has helped hundreds of Chicagoans, many over the age of 50, discover new adventures on the lake. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-sailing-academy
A new study by researchers at the University of Indiana has broken down how PFAS circulates through the Great Lakes and shows that the so-called forever chemicals are building up in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-pfas-study
Before you head out, check this list of Michigan beaches closed or under contamination advisories for water quality that’s unsafe or questionable for human contact. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-michigan-beaches
Both state and federal organizations are working to keep Lake Erie and surrounding streams healthy, but an invasive species called the sea lamprey threatens local ecosystems. Many groups are involved in making sure sea lampreys are held in check and they’re bringing in more measures to combat them in west Erie County, Pennsylvania. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-invasive-species
Yellow perch used to be a common catch in Saginaw Bay and people would come to Michigan’s Thumb from all over to fish for them. Now, the population is dwindling and the DNR is working to boost their numbers. Read the full story by the Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-perch-numbers
The David R. Obey Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center near Ashland, Wisconsin, will be closed to the public from June 3 to June 29. During this time, the Center parking lot and entrance drive will be re-paved. Read the full story by the Ashland Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-visitor-center
It will likely be a few more weeks before anything is physically done on site about the Black River Canal gate since winter floods damaged it and rendered the waterway impassable to boaters this season. However, city officials in Port Huron, Michigan, said that a host of preparations are going on behind the scenes. Read the full story by the Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-canal-gate
The state of Michigan said it’s willing to step in and oversee property repairs at 1,900 homes in Flint where water pipes have been inspected or replaced but the grounds remain a mess. In March, the City of Flint was found in civil contempt by a judge after blowing past deadlines to get the work done, years after a water switch in 2014 caused lead to leach off old pipes, spoiling the drinking water system. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240531-flint-properties
Officials in Toronto and many residents ask why the province of Ontario is turning a Lake Ontario waterfront park over to an Austrian spa operator. Read the full story by the New York Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-ontario-place
Kayakers and boaters heading out to the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior will soon be able to check on real-time wave and temperature conditions on the water with the help of solar-powered smart buoys. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-smart-bouys
It’s no big secret that there’s a pollution problem in the Great Lakes. Plastic containers floating in the water or washed up on shore. However, the bigger threat to the lakes comes from the smaller plastic pollution — some of it smaller than you can see with the naked eye. Read the full story by Yahoo! News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-plasitc-pollution
Despite the decline in Lake Sturgeon populations in the Great Lakes caused by overfishing and dam construction which limited access to spawning grounds, these fish have been able to recover in the Detroit River with the help of stocking programs and other regulations. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-sturgeon-recovery
A public-access beach in Arenac County, Michigan, is going on its fifth day of being closed for high bacteria levels. This is the eleventh time this has happened since 2003. Read the full story by WNEM – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-beach-bacteria
In New York state, SUNY Oswego has announced the formation of a new institute to promote a greater understanding and awareness of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Oswego County News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-oswego-institute
Great Lakes maritime transport brings in thousands of tons of crucial materials for infrastructure projects, but massive freighters also carry a threat to the health of the waterway. Read the full story by Bridge Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-invasive-species-transport
The combination of heat and storms is increasing Great Lakes basin residents’ exposure to a host of health threats, from waterborne pathogens that formerly couldn’t survive this far north, to bacteria-laden sewer overflows and toxic algae blooms. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-warming-threats
Researchers and bird enthusiasts are working to better understand and limit bird causalities in the Great Lakes region. Some reasons for the recent increase in causalities include diseases like bird flu and botulism in addition to collisions with buildings and cars and outdoor cats. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-great-lakes-birds
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be hosting an information session for residents to learn more about the recommended plan to create a barrier against the invasive sea lamprey in Conneaut Creek in Albion. The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 30 from 5:30-7 p.m. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240529-sea-lamprey-barrier
The warmer than normal air temperatures in April and so far in May are boosting most of the Great Lakes’ water temperatures. While the southern Great Lakes are really heating up, Lake Superior remains amazingly cold. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-water-temperature
A massive underground project in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, will protect Lake St. Clair by preventing raw sewage from being diverted directly into the lake to avoid flooding. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-flooding-prevention
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences has made its mark on Great Lakes research as the only graduate school of freshwater sciences in the United States. The school’s main research vessel, the Neeskay, is the only one out on the Great Lakes year-round. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-research-vessel
The Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s newest exhibit, “Wisconsin’s Shipwreck Coasts,” features more than 100 artifacts from Wisconsin shipwrecks dating back to the mid-1800s, including personal items, family heirlooms and cargo salvaged in the 1970s. Many of the treasures in this 3,000-square-foot permanent exhibit are on public display for the first time. Read the full story by the Herald Times Reporter.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-shipwreck-exhibit
Hundreds of cruise ship passengers will once again have the chance to explore the northeast Wisconsin city of Algoma when the cruise ship Viking Octantis makes its first of eight stops there on May 29. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-cruise-destinations
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that this year’s muskellunge, or muskie, fishing season for Great Lakes waters — which include Lake Erie, the Upper Niagara River, the Lower Niagara River, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and tributaries to these waters — will begin on June 15. Read the full story by North Country Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-muskie-season
A Tulane University professor explored the idea of Duluth being an ideal location for climate migration in a 2019 study that has been receiving greater attention recently. Duluth’s proximity to Lake Superior, among other social and environmental factors, made the city stand out. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-climate-migration
Cruise season will officially get underway in Cleveland during Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday, ships from Viking and Pearl Seas will dock at the Port of Cleveland, giving passengers a full day’s worth of opportunities to explore the area. Read the full story by WKYC-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-cruise-season
A Michigan man who holds 53 world records has set the new state record for catching a white perch in Lake St. Clair last month. It weighs 2 pounds, 5.92 ounces and measured 16.25 inches, beating the previous state record white perch – 2 pounds, 13.57 inches, that was caught in 2015. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-fishing-record
In Wisconsin, Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline crosses sovereign lands of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Enbridge seeks to construct a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, keeping the pipeline running for the years it will take for approval and construction. Michigan and the tribe are fighting to shut down the pipeline and prevent the tunnel. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240524-pipeline-concern
More than 700 freshwater researchers and practitioners are attending the International Association for Great Lakes Research’s 67th annual conference in Windsor, Ontario. Presentation topics include algal blooms, climate change, the emergence of PFAS chemicals, and pollution caused by microplastics. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-iaglr-2024
Michigan’s most popular state park is launching a new electronic beach warning system that can automatically alert authorities of a drowning. The system is the latest effort to keep swimmers safe amid a spate of drowning deaths. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-beach-tech
Over 20,000 individual cruise passengers are expected on the Great Lakes this year—double the number from 2014. There will be six cruise lines operating in the Great Lakes that are expected to make about 600 port visits this year. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-cruising-expectations
The Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority has reached an agreement with the owner of the decommissioned Somerset Generation Station to build a new Lake Ontario “short sea shipping corridor” and port at the 1,800-acre site in Barker, New York. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-ontario-port
Concrete and steel casks storing spent nuclear fuel rods await relocation to a permanent underground chamber for indefinite cooling. Until that facility is built, they slowly accumulate on concrete pads along the Michigan coast. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-nuclear-waste
Bald eagles are back in a big way: after 50 years of conservation efforts, the Ontario government made the bald eagle’s recovery official in 2023, announcing them no longer at risk. What’s happened to bald eagles is a story of recovery, but only if we actually learn from it. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-bald-eagles
Scientists have been discovering small changes on Lake Michigan that could lead to big impacts on fishing, tourism and those who make their livelihood on the water. A slightly warmer, windier, and wetter climate has already begun to change the footprint of the lake and its impact on West Michigan. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-michigan-changes
The impact of maritime trade is multifaceted, from affecting the air quality of the surrounding Detroit River corridor to the arrival of invasive species. A series of initiatives are in motion to assess carbon emissions from port operations and bolster efforts to protect the waterway. Read the full story by Bridge Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-detroit-maritime
This year, a joint effort by various non-profits and government organizations raised over 11,500 coho salmon to combat invasive alewives. Over the past 50 years they have released over 1 million coho salmon into the Manitowoc River in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Read the full story by WFRV-TV – Manitowoc, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-wisconsin-coho
A judge is limiting development near the shoreline on Carleton Island in the St. Lawrence River near Cape Vincent, New York. The Thousand Islands Land Trust filed a lawsuit earlier this spring to stop a neighboring property owner from development that it argues violates a conservation easement. Read the full story by North Country Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240522-carleton-island
Each year, the Great Lakes attract several million tourists from the U.S. and around the world. The Great Lakes hold one-fifth of all the fresh water on the Earth’s surface with a combined coastline extending for over 10,000 miles. However, those are some rather basic facts – whether it’s pirates, shipwrecks, or Babe Ruth’s first official home run, these fascinating tidbits are a bit less straightforward. Read the full story by Classic City News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-greatlakes-facts
A Lake Erie documentary series produced in Erie is up for a prestigious award. ‘Lake Erie, Our Kin,’ a two-part series produced by Erie-based filmmakers John C. Lyons and Melissa A. Troutman has been nominated for two Emmy Awards in the Societal Concerns category in the 55th annual Central Great Lakes Emmy Awards. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-lakeerie-documentary-emmyawards
Dog owners beware, harmful algal bloom season could be near. The first blooms that exceeded the threshold for dog swimming advisories last year were discovered in late May. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-lakeerie-bloomseasoncoming
The S.S. Badger is back in service after a longer-than-expected offseason. It’s a sound that people in Manitowoc have waited 10 months for; the blowing horn of the S.S. Badger. The ferry, which is the largest one to cross Lake Michigan, arrived in Manitowoc at noon Friday. Read the full story by WTAQ-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-ssbadger-lakemichigancrossings
A new robot meant to save lives is coming to the shores of Lake Michigan. The high-tech tool is a battery-powered and remote-controlled boat, which can be used at beaches for drowning prevention and water rescue. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-lakemichigan-lifesaving-robot
Michigan Clean Water Corps organization held its annual Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program on Saturday in Crystal Falls, Michigan. The purpose of the program is to help volunteers monitor indicators of water quality in their lakes. The program aims to teach attendees how to do things like measuring the clarity of the water. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Negaunee, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-michigancleanwatercorp-lakemonitoringefforts
More than $77 million in infrastructure and expansion projects are now being developed at Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor as a record construction season kicks off in the Lake Michigan port. Read the full story by Maritime Logistics Professionals.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-maritime-projects-lakemichigan
Fourth and fifth-grade students from Rogers City, Michigan Elementary took a field trip to the Carmeuse calcite operations quarry on Monday to release the Chinook salmon they’ve taken care of since November. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240520-releasingsalmon-lakehuron
The toxic algae blooms that befoul Lake Erie and other regional waterways each summer are stinky, ugly and dangerous. They’ve killed dogs, sickened boaters and triggered rashes and respiratory problems for beachgoers — and there’s little doctors can do to help. However, there’s hope that medicine will eventually be available for people who are regularly exposed to the toxin. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-greatlakes-algae-sickness
It’s taken over 30 years to restore Michigan’s Muskegon Lake and while many Muskegon residents are excited about the revitalized lake, others are concerned that the restored areas will attract high-end development and lead to less public access of the water. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240517-pfas-in-rain
