The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago brought a hands-on learning experience to Racine, Wisconsin, students last week, teaching them about water pollution and microplastics in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Journal Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231222-racine-microplastics
A University of Wisconsin-Madison doctoral student lost a $10K remote controlled research craft after it stopped communicating with the controller on the west side of Lake Michigan. After a treacherous 15-day journey the craft was recovered 120 miles in the other direction. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231220-research-vessel
Many species of ducks, geese and swans migrate from as far north as the Arctic tundra to the Great Lakes during the winter when the waterfowl’s usual northern waters freeze. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231220-weird-ducks
Experts are asking people to do their part to prevent the spread of invasive species in northern Ontario after the province added 10 new species to its restricted and prohibited lists. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231220-invasive-registry
As a father-daughter duo chugged along the shoals of Green Island, Michigan, their boat’s sonar delivered images of a pattern far too regular to have been fashioned by erosion or waves. Read the full story by The New York Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231220-1871-shipwreck
The Line 5 oil pipeline that snakes through Wisconsin and Michigan won a key permit this month allowing a new section of pipeline to be built underneath the Great Lakes despite widespread Indigenous opposition. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231220-line5-tribal-opposition
At the Michigan Department of Environmental, Great Lakes, and Energy’s fourth annual Great Lakes PFAS Summit, attendees shared information regarding all aspects of PFAS pollution. This year’s event broke attendance records with over 2000 participants representing all 50 states and nine countries. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231220-pfas-crisis
Officials from Michigan want to reduce phosphorus pollution going into Lake Erie, but they’re not exactly sure how or when they’ll reach their goal. At a conference this week, state government leaders, researchers, and not-for-profits outlined a strategy to lower Michigan’s share of phosphorus feeding Lake Erie. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231220-phosphorus-reduction
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the lakes, not a creature was stirring, not even a drake; The poles were all strung by the river with care, in hopes a big salmon went cruising by there… Read the full poem by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231220-fishmas-poem
The Great Lakes may contain 84% of North America’s fresh surface water, but experts caution against thinking about dipping into them as a thirsty continent’s salvation from drought as the climate warms. Read the full story by the Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-diversions
The U.S. Brig Niagara, based in Erie, Pa., will get maintenance and upgrade work in the coming year in preparation for sailing Pennsylvania’s northwest coast in 2026 when the United States and the Commonwealth celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. Read the full story by the Patriot News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-niagara
Once considered a promising location for offshore wind development, no commercial offshore wind turbines have yet to be installed in the Great Lakes region. Will this change? Read the full story by the Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-offshore-wind
Giant goldfish are happily living in Lake Erie and other bodies of water crowding out native fish and wildlife. Here is why it is never okay to release the pet into the wild. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-the-peoria
The Peoria, a cargo ship that ended up returning to the scene of its accident, and sinking yet again, is the most recent shipwreck in Door County, Wisconsin to be recognized and protected by the state. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-the-peoria
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is seeking landowners in the Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay watersheds willing to add wetlands to their property. The DNR is hosting a webinar on Friday, Jan. 12 to talk with property owners interested in helping restore wetlands. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-wetland-restoration
Ice-covered lakes are used for recreation during the winter. No matter whether large or small, many waterways are experiencing ice coverage that is below normal. The Great Lakes usually have around 3% ice coverage in mid-December, but data from NOAA indicates coverage is just above 0% this year. Read the full story by FOX Weather.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-thin-ice
Lifeguards at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania play a crucial role in making sure people can enjoy the park without harm but staffing those beaches has been difficult. The Lifeguard Association at Presque Isle, they’ve been doing everything they can to stay competitive with those other organizations and offer a unique experience. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-presque-isle-lifeguards
The United States Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Northeast Lakeshore Total Maximum Daily Loads for Total Phosphorus and Total Suspended Solids study. The study will investigate ways to reduce the amount of nutrients entering waters within the Lake Michigan watershed. Read the full story by the Door County Pulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-tc-phosphorus
TC Energy has an ambitious plan for Georgian Bay: to draw water up through a clay escarpment, store it in a reservoir, then send it down back into the bay past underwater turbines to create power for southern Ontario when it’s needed. To make this happen, the Calgary-based oil and gas behemoth wants the greenlight from multiple groups, including the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-tc-energy
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine plans to include the health of the state’s large rivers in the ongoing H2Ohio program aimed at water efforts. The H2Ohio program will expand to research PFAS contamination, remove eroding dams, conserve forest buffers and more. Read the full story by the Cleburne Times-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-h2ohio
An annual survey by New York’s Thousand Islands International Tourism Council shows that nearly 80% of tourism operators were either satisfied or pleased with the 2023 tourist season, a large increase from how operators felt in 2020. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231218-thousand-islands-tourism
Researchers documented two baby lake sturgeon in the Grand River in 2022, indicating that the species is successfully reproducing in that river. During the 2023 research season, the team documented an additional 15 sturgeon in the river. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-lakesturgeon-grandriver
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is investing $4 million to advance wetland restoration and reduce harmful algal blooms in both Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay watersheds to improve drinking water and wildlife habitat. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-dnr-michiganwetlands-investment-habs
Wisconsin archaeologists are crediting a man and his daughter with discovering the remains of what could be George L. Newman, which sank more than 150 years ago. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-lakemichigan-sonar-shipwreck
The EPA has chosen the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps (GLCCC) to receive a grant to recruit and train workers for community revitalization projects, including multiple green infrastructure initiatives and monitoring PFAS contaminants. Read the full story by the Journal Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-greatlakes-communitycorps-epa-grant
In a crucial step toward reintroducing Arctic grayling to Michigan waters, 2,000 young, healthy fish were stocked in three Michigan lakes last month. The initiative has been underway since the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources partnered to reintroduce the “iconic” species to Michigan waters in 2015. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-michigan-cherishedsalmon
The Welland Canal, running between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, will close Jan. 7, which has typically been the case since 2019, when a canal “optimization program” was started. Read the full story by the Niagara-on-the-Lake Local.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-canal-close-january
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently awarded a contract for the dredging of Erie’s harbor in 2024. The Corps’ Buffalo District awarded the $682,000 contract to Michigan-based Ryba Marine Construction Co. on Dec. 6 for the work on the federal navigation channel in Erie Harbor. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-us-armycorp-erieharbor-dredging
Since 1964, the Niagara River of Lake Erie has installed an ice boom for each winter. The New York Power Authority could install the ice boom as-early-as December 16 for the 2023-2024 ice season. When it is installed, the ice boom will be near the outlet of Lake Erie where crews plan to reduce the amount of ice entering the Niagara River. The boom helps to strengthen the formation of a naturally made ice arch. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-lakeerie-iceboom
In July 2010, one of the largest U.S. inland oil spills struck Michigan’s Kalamazoo River. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated the spill was upwards of 4.5 million gallons. As part of a wildlife rescue, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services relocated more than 700 northern map turtles to similar habitats along the Kalamazoo River. Over a decade later and researchers are learning just how far map turtles will move in response to environmental disasters. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231215-turtles-slowandsteady-race
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says a record amount of invasive silver carp have been pulled from an Illinois River impoundment using seine nets, marking the single largest fish removal ever undertaken by the agency. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-carp-harvest
Tens of thousands of acres within a remote forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will become part of the state’s forestry program after grant funding from a national nonprofit. The vast, non-fragmented forestland includes hundreds of miles of streams and rivers, nearly 100 lakes and ponds, and dense boreal forest critical to climate resiliency. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-michigamme
The director of Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development says Michigan’s efforts to curb the farm pollution that fuels Lake Erie’s toxic green algae are not working. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-farm-czar
This week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer cleared the way for federal Superfund status for a contaminated groundwater plume that has spread for decades in the Ann Arbor area. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-annarbor-superfund
Port Washington, Wisconsin, will get nearly $1 million to stabilize Valley Creek, which is prone to flash flooding and has been experiencing harsh erosion, threatening key infrastructure. Read the full story by WDJT-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-port-washington
Mackinac Island Tourism says Great Lakes cruise passenger spending generated nearly $2 million for the island in 2023, and about 20,000 passengers visited Mackinac Island aboard cruise ships. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-cruise-ship
In 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Great Lakes Compact into law. A National Wildlife Federation official says the agreement has shown how states can work together to manage their water resources. Read the full story by WDET – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-diversion
A company that owns a Superior, Wisconsin, shipyard is moving ahead with plans to secure up to $40 million in financing to expand its operations, a move its chief executive says will create hundreds of jobs. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-shipyard
A University of Wisconsin-Madison doctoral student’s missing research boat has been found on the opposite shore of Lake Michigan – six weeks after the boat went missing on the water. Read the full story by WITI-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-wisconsin-boat
Michigan officials are urging the Flint City Council to approve a plan to secure American Rescue Plan Act funds, and a loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, with the purpose of repairing and replacing two outdated city sewer lines. Read the full story by WNEM-TV – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231213-flint-pipes
According to an annual report by the Great Lakes Commission, water use from the Great Lakes basin dropped 3% in 2022 compared to the year before. Water usage from the Great Lakes may have declined, but it was still a staggering amount — more than 40 billion gallons per day — nearly all of it returned to the basin. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-water-use
The Icebreaker Wind Project, a pilot project to put six wind turbines in Lake Erie about eight miles off Cleveland, Ohio, has been put on hold amid rising costs and other challenges that have delayed progress and dimmed its chances of success. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-erie-wind
London, Ontario residents and downstream communities may soon be able to see in near real-time when wastewater is being dumped during high rainfall events into the Thames River, which drains into Lake St. Clair. The city hopes to have a website with overflow and bypass event data online early next year. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-thames-overflows
Despite opposition from local environmental justice advocates, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has approved an air pollution permit for a new slag grinding plant near Zug Island on the Rouge and Detroit rivers, in River Rouge, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-slag-grinder
The Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin cleans wastewater and returns the clean water back to Lake Michigan. Milwaukee was a pioneer in this, becoming the first city in the country to do so in the 1920s. Read the full story by WDJT-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-water-reclamation
Though western Lake Erie’s 2023 algal bloom season is finally over, a Wisconsin researcher points out that the public view on algal bloom seasonality needs to change as scum formations continue to form earlier, hang around longer, and become more prominent throughout the Great Lakes region and the rest of the world. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-algal-blooms
Some of the people who worked to draft a binational agreement to protect the Great Lakes gathered at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan in December to mark the 15th anniversary of the approval of the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact which governs how the states manage the Great Lakes basin’s water supply. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-water-compact
Researchers from Central Michigan University surveyed native mussels in the upper reaches of the Tittabawassee River watershed in mid-Michigan and found declines in populations since the last survey performed in the region 40 years ago. Read the full story by The Morning Sun.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-mussel-survey
Two townships on Beaver Island, Michigan, Lake Michigan’s largest island, are exploring the feasibility of building solar power generation to provide electricity for the island’s roughly 600 year-round residents and the thousands who visit during the summer tourism season. The overall goals are better energy security and to transition away from fossil fuels. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-island-solar
Released into the wild, the humble goldfish can grow to a monstrous size and destroy habitats for native species. Canadian researchers are tracking the fish, so that they might be culled. Read the full story by The New York Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231211-giant-goldfish
