Lake Superior is an incredible resource which appears fresh and clean. However, a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth and the Large Lakes Observatory is researching how many microplastics are floating through Lake Superior’s waters. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-microplastics-lakesuperior
The latest numbers from the Lake Superior Board of Control show that water supply conditions were slightly above average for the month of March. Read the full story by the SooLeader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-watersupply-lakesuperior-waterlevel
State and federal partners announced that conservation practices will be implemented on over 1,700 acres of Indiana farmland through the Western Lake Erie Basin Regional Conservation Partnership. The primary goal of this project is to reduce phosphorus and sediment loading into Lake Erie. Read the full story by WBIW – Bedford, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-soilconservation-fundsawarded-westernlakeeriebasin
Some community leaders say the original limestone steps at Promontory Point are functioning and don’t need to be replaced, just repaired. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already replaced much of Chicago’s shoreline barriers with concrete revetments to repair damage and erosion from the crashing waves of Lake Michigan. Promontory Point is the only spot where the original limestone steps remain. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-promontorypoint-chicago-lakefront
Lake Erie has always been a hot spot for anglers, especially when it comes to walleye fishing; but how successful were they last season? Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-anglers-lakeerie-success
The Biden administration recently announced a goal to protect 30 percent of lands and waters throughout the United States by 2030. This includes continued protection from mining impacts near wilderness areas such as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northeastern Minnesota. Read the full story by the Quetico Superior Foundation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-biden-cleanwater-efforts-historic
A bill in the Michigan legislature aims to create the Office of the Tribal Legislative Liaison, which, if passed, would make Michigan the first state with a formal legislative connection with its tribal governments. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-tribal-liaison
The first oceangoing vessel of the 2024 shipping season, the Barbro G, sailed into the port of Duluth-Superior just before noon Monday morning, marking the traditional opening of the Great Lakes shipping season in the Twin Ports. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-shipping-season
Marine traffic in the St. Marys River was reopened after an empty bulk cargo ship, The American Mariner, struck a concrete navigation aid around 12:20 a.m. on March 28. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-marine-traffic
The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a Marine Safety Information Bulletin for Lake Erie boaters regarding the April 8 total solar eclipse. According to the Coast Guard boater bulletin, the eclipse may present challenges and potential distractions for those who navigate and operate commercial vessels on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-eclipse-bulletin
Toronto’s Enwave Energy Corp. is digging deep to expand its giant deep lake water cooling system as part of a $100-million program to increase the system’s reach to even more Toronto buildings. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-cooling-system
Twenty-five years ago, several lower Detroit River islands and marshes were threatened by development. As part of a strategy to save these ecosystems, local conservationists coined the term “Conservation Crescent” to raise awareness of the value and benefits of this crescent-shaped archipelago of islands and wetlands. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-conservation-crescent
In Holland, Michigan, local explorers from the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association announced that they had discovered the remarkably intact remains of the 1886 shipwreck of Muskegon-based steam barge, Milwaukee. Read the full story by WWMT-TV – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-shipwreck-discovery
Brook trout and Atlantic salmon are native to Lake Ontario, but in 1873, the Canadian federal government began stocking the lake with non-native salmonids. Now, most of these fish are from the wild, not hatchery-raised, and while these fish aren’t native to Lake Ontario, they’re now an important part of the ecosystem. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-fish-stocking
The state of Michigan released new fishing regulations for the 2024 season, including combined possession limits for lake trout and splake in certain waters and a licensing requirement for charter boat captains and inland fishing guides. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-fishing-regulations
U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell says she expects continued bipartisan government action on improving and protecting Great Lakes water quality, despite the fact that this is a bitterly partisan election year. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240403-bipartisan-priorities
A $73 million state-funded project aims to stabilize the last stretch of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline in Illinois and help protect native endangered species. To mitigate erosion of up to 100 feet per year, the project seeks to build 22 breakwater structures along 2.2 miles of shoreline in Lake County, Illinois. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-illinois-shoreline
Minnesota has just over 100 lakes and rivers considered prime for muskie fishing, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants input on how to manage them. This week, the organization started a yearlong process to rewrite the statewide muskie management plan for the next 15 years. Read the full story by the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-muskie-plan
Advocates who hope to stop Wisconsin’s freshwater resources from being polluted by road salt are back to the drawing board after Governor Tony Evers vetoed a bill Friday creating a state-run program on safe salt use that would have shielded certificate-holders from lawsuits. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-salt-veto
Increasingly, scientists and regulators are concerned about the presence of pharmaceutical pollution in our waterways, including in the Great Lakes region. More research needs to be done to understand this issue, according to scientists who have studied pharmaceuticals and other contaminants. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-pharmaceutical-pollution
A Québec shipyard has won a first $19-million contract for the design of six new icebreakers as part of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy. These vessels will replace the Canadian Coast Guard fleet, which serves the waterways of Atlantic Canada and the St. Lawrence River during the winter, as well as the Arctic during the summer. Read the full story by the Montreal Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-new-icebreakers
In Michigan, the $80 million Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park on the western edge of downtown Detroit is actively under construction and will feature a water garden, basketball courts, fishing, a riverwalk, and more along the Detroit River. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-detroit-park
Record high water levels in Lake Erie in February and early March did not back down as the month ended with Lake Erie roughly 573 feet above sea level. That’s about two to three inches higher than the record set in 1986, and one foot higher than March of 2019. Read the full story by Cleveland Scene.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-erie-water-levels
Whitehall, Michigan, on Lake Michigan was selected to be a stop on the inaugural Kayak Adventure Series, a bass fishing tournament. Whitehall will be the second stop of six for the summer series where anglers will compete to wrangle an 18-inch bass. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-bass-tourney
A new memoir details the life of a Great Lakes activist with 50 years of experience in environmental advocacy and leadership. Stories include bringing a live cormorant to a Congressional hearing and providing politicians with a buffet of fish no one could eat because they were highly contaminated. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-activist-memoir
The 10-fish limit on yellow perch, imposed a few years ago, will again be in effect in Ohio waters in western Lake Erie. For a number of years, perch have not been reproducing with any sign of vigor within that sizable stretch of lake, and there are multiple theories why. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240401-perch-decline
In the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, it was reported that freighters on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway lost propulsion, steering, or electrical power more than 200 times between 2012 and 2022. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-freighter-power-loss
The Great Lakes shipping season started three days early this month, responding to industry calls to move more cargo amid demand for domestic steel. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-shipping-early-start
A Michigan company, Oshki, turns plastic from the Great Lakes into clothes by chopping it down and spinning it into polyester yarn. Watch the full story by WJRT – TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-plastic-recycling
On Great Lakes Day 2024, three young conservationists went to Washington, D.C. and shared their passion for the health of the Great Lakes including success stories with the Great Lakes Piping Plover Program. Read the full story by Audubon New York.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-plover-protection
The U.S. EPA announced the Sandusky-based Ohio Lake Erie Commission would receive $5.8 million to support underserved communities. These funds will be used to remove barriers and preserve the rich cultural, economic, and environmental role of the Great Lakes for communities across the basin. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-environmental-justice-funding
Michigan is slated to get its own chemical recycling facility which would use plastic pyrolysis to turn plastic into fuel. However, environmentalists are weary of the byproducts and legislative roadblocks are currently in place. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-chemical-recycling
The debate over Line 5 in both Wisconsin and Michigan could complicate election-year politics, particularly as candidates compete to win voters over on environmental issues, fossil fuel reliance, or jobs. Read the full story by The New York Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-line5-politics
The Great Lakes region, once the heart of American industry, now offers a unique capacity for absorbing climate migrants due to its ample water supply and mild climate risks. Read the full story by Environmental Health News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-climate-sanctuary
A 2014 report released by the U.S. Department of Energy gave the green light to establish wind energy projects in the Great Lakes. Despite this, nearly a decade later, wind farms have yet to become established. Read the full story by Outdoor News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-wind-energy-funding
A portion of the St. Marys River has been closed to vessel traffic after a 714-foot U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighter struck a channel light in the waterway. Read the full story by Marine Link.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240329-st.marysriver-freighter-strike
Ottawa Sands County Park on Lake Michigan near Grand Haven, Michigan, will be closed to the public until later this summer as construction continues on numerous improvements to facilities, including treehouses, yurts, and campsites for overnight stays. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-lakemichigan-park-closing
A new study suggests microscopic plastic particles are reaching corners of the world untouched by people, including remote bodies of water in Ontario north of Lake Superior. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-microplastics-greatlakes-newstudy
In the 76 days of the 2023 domestic icebreaking season, six U.S. icebreakers combined to deliver 719 hours of icebreaking assistance to the benefit of 52 vessel transits; 18 of these movements required direct icebreaking assistance to ensure commercial vessel safety. Read the full story by WWTV- Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-coastguard-greatlakes-icebreakers-52vessels
Every fish studied recently in two southeast Michigan watersheds contained at least one of 14 PFAS health-threatening chemicals. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-toxicchemicals-lakemichigan-fish
Lake Zurich, Illinois, village officials approved new measures last week for a $154 million project that will transition the town’s water source to Lake Michigan, but it comes at a price for its residents. The project will be the most expensive infrastructure project in the village’s history. Read the full story by the Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-lakezurich-150million-project-lakemichiganwatersource
Navigating vessels in the Great Lakes might seem a lot easier than spending weeks on the open ocean. However, that doesn’t mean Great Lakes crews are any less vigilant, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-greatlakes-shipping-safety
Environment and Climate Change Canada says ice cover on the Great Lakes reached a record low this winter. Experts say that ice cover on the Great Lakes has declined about 75 percent in the last 50 years. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-icecover-low-greatlakes-environmentcanada
Tribal communities have long faced barriers to clean drinking water and testing. The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center, based in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, aims to help tribal schools, childcare centers and after-school programs across the Great Lakes region ensure their water is safe through its free drinking water testing program. Read the full story by WUMW – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240327-freewatertesting-tribalschools-greatlakesregion
The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, opened the Poe Lock to all marine traffic at 6 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 22, marking the start of the 2024 Great Lakes shipping season. Read the full story by the Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240325-shipping-season
The owner of the decommissioned Palisades nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Michigan about five miles south of South Haven, Michigan, is better known for decommissioning nuclear plants. Its endeavor to restart the plant is one that has never been attempted in the United States. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240325-nuclear-plant-restart
Alongside the lack of ice coverage, unseasonable winter temperatures in the Great Lakes region are creating the conditions for the proliferation of invasive species, strain on the lakes’ natural, temperature-driven stratification process, and the rise of toxic algal blooms. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240325-climate-impacts
The regional grid operator that oversees electric reliability in 15 states, including nearly all of Michigan, recently released a series of proposed transmission projects aimed at stabilizing the power grid in the future as more renewables come online and coal plants retire. However, the up to $23 billion plan left out one notable project: an underwater cable across Lake Michigan connecting the lakeshore with eastern Wisconsin. Read the full story by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240325-power-supply
On World Water Day, the Canadian government announced $800,000 in funding to improve water in the Saint Lawrence River. The money from is being used for initiatives that are part of the Saint Lawrence Action Plan that began in 2011 and runs until 2026. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240325-water-quality-funding
Explorers from the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association have discovered and identified the remains of the steam barge Milwaukee, which sank in 1886, about 40 miles west of Holland, Michigan. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240325-shipwreck-discovery
