In June 2023, a pair of documentary filmmakers set out on their boat in Larsen Cove, Ontario, to work on a film about quagga mussels in the Great Lakes. They discovered a large wooden ship, whose whereabouts have been a mystery for the last 127 years. Read the full story by Canadian Geographic.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231009-shipwreck-discovery
According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the cleanup of the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern is now more than 50% complete. In addition, more than 900 acres of habitat are on their way to achieving or have achieved restoration goals. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231009-habitat-restoration
Holtec International, the owner of Palisades Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan, has submitted paperwork to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking authorization to bring the shuttered nuclear plant back into production, which would be a first for the country. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231009-nuclear-plant-restart
This week, a cyanobacteria bloom formed on Muskegon Lake near downtown Muskegon, Michigan, turning the water along the shoreline green with algae scum. According to a Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy map of reported algae blooms, the bloom on October 2 is the third such verified occurrence on Muskegon Lake this year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231009-algae-bloom
Michigan Department of Natural Resources staff are conducting an evaluation study on marked splake at Lake Superior ports through 2030. The study is designed to help fisheries managers understand the percentage of stocked fish caught by anglers, the home range of splake, and harvest metrics such as harvest rates and fish size at harvest by year and location. Read the full story by Up North Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231009-splake-study
The historic Cloverland hydropower plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, is among the longest standing renewable energy facilities in Michigan. Experts argue legacy facilities like this may become increasingly important as the state shifts away from fossil fuel-burning power plants. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231009-legacy-hydropower
The problem of plastics in the Great Lakes is a subject of “The Blue Paradox,” an immersive, educational exhibition on view at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The exhibition explores the pervasiveness of plastic pollution and the steps we can take to address it. Read the full story by The Chicago Reader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231009-plastic-exhibit
In Muskegon County, Michigan, an updated Watershed Management Plan is being developed by the Mona Lake Watershed Council and the Muskegon Conservation District (MCD). The MCD sent 1,029 surveys to randomly selected landowners within the watershed as planning for ongoing protection of Mona Lake and its watershed can’t move forward without critical citizen input about uses and threats. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231009-watershed-plan
Lake Erie could release another foul-smelling “burp” this weekend, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Officially called an upwelling event, the release of trapped gasses from the bottom of the lake is what DEP officials believe caused an acrid smell. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-lake-burp
The 136-year-old historic lighthouse at Tawas Point State Park in Michigan will reopen to the public in 2024 following a successful restoration effort this year. Read the full story by MLive Media Group.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-lighthouse-restoration
The city of Willoughby and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy in Ohio have partnered to preserve 105-acres of natural habitat in the Chagrin River watershed with more than $1.7 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read the full story by Ideastream Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-land-preservation
Erie Coke, which was closed in 2019 because of chronic environmental issues, left behind decades worth of pollution that pose a threat to Lake Erie. The Erie County Redevelopment Authority purchased the corporation property, tore down buildings, and completed an extensive environmental cleanup. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-erie-coke-cleanup
The Detroit River’s reputation has become notorious over the decades due to pollution, but restoration efforts are working, and scientists want to see those improvements reflected in the river’s environmental status. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-detroit-river
Michigan experts are encouraging residents to squash the invasive spotted lanternfly as the destructive insect rapidly spreads throughout the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-squish-invasive-bug
Enbridge Energy asked a state oversight panel for help as they complain that federal regulators are unreasonably delaying a key permit for the Line 5 tunnel project under the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas. Read the full story by the Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-line5
Steel production fell by 7,000 tons in the Great Lakes region last week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-steel-production
As climate change pushes the Great Lakes region’s cold water lakes and rivers to a breaking point, government officials acknowledge there simply isn’t enough capacity, time and money to save them all. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231006-climate-change
Hydrilla, called “one of the world’s most invasive aquatic plants,” by Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy officials, has been found for the first time in Michigan waterways. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-hydrilla
In Michigan, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is now a leader in softening the shoreline by using ecological principles and practices to achieve stabilization and safety while enhancing habitat and improving aesthetics. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-ralphwilson
Archeologists, historians and divers are trying to digitally capture more than 1,000 shipwrecks at the bottom of the Great Lakes before they become unrecognizable after a combination of invasive mussels and climate change have accelerated their deterioration at an alarming rate. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-ghosts
In Ohio, a donated wetlands area will benefit the Otsego Local Schools classrooms and community — but Lake Erie will get the biggest benefit. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-otsego
Thousands of water utilities across the Great Lakes region and nationwide will decide in the next three months whether to join two multibillion-dollar, class-action settlements against the largest producers of toxic PFAS chemicals that have tainted drinking water supplies. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-pfas
A water levels forecast could help coastal communities deal with the highs and lows of the Great Lakes, not only for things like habitat and ecosystem restoration, but also for navigation, infrastructure and city planning. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-waterlevels
A cyanobacteria bloom formed on Muskegon Lake near downtown Muskegon, Michigan, on Monday, Oct. 2, turning the water along the shoreline green with algae scum. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-algaebloom
More and more these days, conservationists are struggling over whether and how to intervene in the face of rapid human-induced ecosystem changes. In Michigan, the wolves of Isle Royale in Lake Superior are one example. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-isleroyale
Fall means popular splake fishing on Lake Superior. And the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking anglers to help them understand better how the fish live in the largest Great Lake. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231004-hybrid
A study by the University of Minnesota and Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa found that 117 chemicals from DEET bug spray, antidepressants, hormones, antifungals, antihistamines, antibiotics, and heart medications are found in fish and water in lakes across Northeastern Minnesota. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-minnesota-fish-chemicals
Based on 2023 trawl surveys of state waters it conducts annually, the Ohio Division of Wildlife is rating this year’s walleye hatch as exceptional. That marks the fifth time in nine years dating back to 2015 that the walleye hatch has earned the division’s highest ranking. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-ohio-walleye-hatch
In a September 6 survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detected no evidence of invasive silver carp eDNA in the St. Joseph River near Berrien Springs, Michigan, after routine testing this summer turned up a single, positive sample. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-carp-edna-update
Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan, is regarded among scientists to be one of the most ecologically pristine and biologically diverse spots in the Great Lakes region. Locals and scientists from Central Michigan University work to protect its unique habitats. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-beaver-island
The Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Plan 2014 determines how much water should be released from Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River by the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in Massena, New York. In September, the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board deviated from Plan 2014 to provide higher and more predictable water levels on Lake St. Lawrence and the upper St. Lawrence River but in October has gone back to following Plan 2014 directives as Lake Ontario levels continue their seasonal decrease. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-ontario-water-levels
The Lake Express car ferry, designed to bypass Chicago area traffic, connects Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Muskegon, Michigan. In its 20th season, the high-speed catamaran is expected to have a banner year, experiencing increased traveler volumes in spring and summer even prior to the closure of the S.S. Badger car ferry in August. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-lake-express
The Platte River State Fish Hatchery in Benzie County, Michigan has stocked over 2 million salmon weighing over 79 tons this season. Coho salmon egg take will occur at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery around the third week of October and last for several weeks. Read the full story by WPBN/WGTU-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-fish-hatchery
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources plans to stock adult Arctic grayling in select Upper Peninsula, Michigan lakes this fall as part of an effort to reintroduce the once iconic fish. The Arctic grayling was abundant in northern Michigan until the 1930s when intense logging wiped out its shaded spawning habitat. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-arctic-grayling
October 1 marks the 135th anniversary of a tragedy in the waters of Lake Huron off the shore of the thumb of Michigan that resulted in the loss of five crew members of the barge St. Clair who died despite the heroic efforts of the U.S. Life-Saving Service Station in Harbor Beach, Michigan. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-st-clair-barge
The boundaries for two mosquito species, the yellow fever mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito, are moving northward into the Great Lakes Basin, bringing with them the ability to transmit diseases of public importance including Zika, dengue, and yellow fever, according to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency. Read the full story by The Daily Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-invasive-mosquitoes
Manoomin was once widespread across Michigan and the entire Upper Great Lakes. But hundreds of years of European settlement removed it from much of the landscape as settlers trenched and drained natural waterways, destroying countless acres of natural habitat. Now Great Lakes tribes like Bay Mills are working to restore wild rice to the ecosystem not only to reclaim cultural heritage but also to build thriving beds of the native species for the future. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-wildrice-greatlakes-anishinaabe
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved a plan Thursday to reduce the amount of phosphorus flowing into the Maumee River and eventually into Lake Erie, where the farm nutrient is considered the main contributor to the creation of harmful algal blooms. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-usepa-passesplan-habs
Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) levels are high in 13 areas around Erie County as of Sept. 27, according to the Erie County Beach Water Testing Results website. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-habs-highlevels-eriecounty
A beloved Windsor landmark’s tenure in Reaume Park has come to an end after 45 years of shooting water jets in the air and covering visitors with refreshing mist from the Detroit River. The Charles Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain — the biggest floating fountain in the world — was disconnected and barged to Lakeview Park Marina for the last time on Thursday. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-floating-peace-fountain
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed state officials from a lawsuit related to past lead contamination in a small southwestern Michigan city’s drinking water but said the case could proceed against city officials, including the mayor. Read the full story by ABC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-lawsuit-michigan-bentonharbor
The $7 million project, part of the massive Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, first dredged tons of muck out of the lake that had settled there over decades. Then it deepened parts of the lake and restored aquatic habitat and fish spawning habitat. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-perch-stlouisriver
A new Michigan bill package is set to be introduced to the Senate next week regarding water affordability. The package includes creating a fund to help people statewide who are struggling to pay their water bills, but not everyone is on board. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-wateraffordability-mi
The Ports of Indiana have an annual economic impact of $8.7 million, a new study concluded. Indianapolis-based port authority the Ports of Indiana commissioned the study to determine the economic contributions of its ports at Burns Harbor, Jeffersonville and Mount Vernon. The study looked at domestic cargo, international freight, wages, taxes and the economic output of companies at the ports, such as all the steel service centers that operate out of the Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor. Read the full story by the Northwest Times of Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-portsofindiana-economicimpactstudy
The Door County Maritime Museum’s annual Maritime Speaker Series kicks off its 2023-24 season Oct. 5 with the chance for guests to watch, listen and learn both in person and online. The speakers present on a variety of topics ranging from historical to current issues affecting the Great Lakes and the economy that relies on them. The programs are held the first Thursday of each month from October through May. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-greatlakes-fringehistory-maritime
The Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center is having a golden moment. It turns 50 years old today. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230929-lakesuperior-maritimecenter-50years
A federal oversight team is criticizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its handling of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a grant program that received roughly $4 billion for environmental projects in the Great Lakes region since it launched in 2010. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230927-epa
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission says they will be treating for sea lampreys in Michigan’s Tahquamenon River on September 29. Read the full story by WWTC-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230927-lamprey
Michigan Radio takes a look at the effects invasive species are having on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230927-invasive-species
Led by the Bay Mills Indian Community, more than 60 tribal nations from Indian Country have weighed in on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s lawsuit to move the Line 5 oil pipeline from the heart of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Native News Online.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230927-tribal-support
