The ecological success of artificial reefs in Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay could teach people how to restore fish populations across the world. Researchers observed that the number of trout eggs found indicated the fish used the constructed reefs just as much as the natural reefs. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-artifical-reefs
The Advance Shipwreck in Lake Michigan, near the town of Holland, Michigan, has been added to the Michigan State Register of Historic Places. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-advance-shipwreck
A bipartisan group of Great Lakes lawmakers introduced a resolution in Congress on Wednesday to oppose a Canadian proposal to permanently store spent nuclear fuel waste in the Great Lakes Basin. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-nuclear-waste
Macomb County, Michigan, will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study why a type of cyanobacteria, called lyngbya, is a growing problem in Lake Saint Clair. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-lyngbya
New guidance from an annual advisory issued by three Pennsylvania agencies indicates that depending on the species, many fish in Pennsylvania waterways shouldn’t be eaten more than once per week. Read the full story by Go Erie.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-pa-fish
Icebreaking in the Thunder Bay area of Lake Superior will begin this week, with the initial harbour breakout beginning on Thursday. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-thunder-bay
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre is looking for volunteer “citizen scientists” to monitor Lake Huron for changes along the lake’s 6,170-kilometer shoreline. Read the full story Owen Sound Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-coastal-centre
Recently, the International Joint Commission, which manages Plan 2014 regulating Great Lakes water outflows, completed the first phase of the study. The commission has started the second phase, which focuses on long-term impacts of extreme weather. Read the full story by Spectrum News1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-ijc-phase2
Ice conditions across the Great Lakes during the 2022-2023 season were the third-lowest on record. Although this is a widespread trend, it has had significant impacts on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by WETM-TV – Elmira, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-river-ice
In Michigan, federal, state, and tribal trustees have come up with an extensive plan to spend some of the last of the money from two huge settlements to restore land in the Saginaw Bay watershed. The drafts of the plans are up for public review. Read and listen to the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-saginaw-bay
Adam Tindall-Schlicht was appointed in November as the 11th administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. (GLS) by President Biden and is the youngest GLS administrator to date. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-seaway-administrator
Nearly a decade after completing its popular Solstice Steps in Lakewood Park, the city of Lakewood, Ohio, returns to its master plan directive offering multiple points of access to Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-lakewood-study
Several Canadian ship owners have welcomed qualified Ukrainian seafarers and other marine personnel after Russia invaded their homeland in February 2022. Read the full story by The Bay Observer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-ukrainian-seafarers
A beaver fur top hat will be presented to the captain of the first downbound vessel on the Welland Canal when the 2023 shipping season kicks off in Port Colborne, Ontario, this week. The city’s annual top hat ceremony takes place Wednesday in the pavilion at Lock 8 Gateway Park with breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by the event at 8:30 a.m. Read the full story by the Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-welland-canal
Ice has been far below average this year, with only 7% of the lakes covered and no ice at all on Lake Erie, affecting the regions’ ecosystem and lake-effect snow. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-lake-ice
Water temperatures have remained cold enough in most of Ohio to be considered dangerous should an outdoor dunking occur. Read the full story by the Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-ohio-anglers
The influx of blue-green algae in Lake Erie has been causing toxic algal blooms for decades that impact water quality, recreation and tourism, and health. “The Erie Situation,” a documentary film about the Lake Erie algal blooms, was recently screened at Bowling Green State University. Read the full story by BG Independent News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-aglae-research
In Michigan, a popular boardwalk trail at Ludington State Park will be rebuilt after nearly 45 years of offering spectacular views of Lake Michigan to visitors. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-park-boardwalk
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will open the Poe Lock March 25, marking the 2023 Great Lakes shipping season start. The operating season is fixed by federal regulation and vessels inability to operate in typical Great Lakes ice conditions. Read the full story by WILX-TV – Onondaga, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-soo-lock
The hardiest freshwater fish in America, invasive carp, could revive the Midwest’s fishing industry—or destroy the Great Lakes. So much depends on your appetite. Read the full story by Wired.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-invasive-carp
A major passenger ferry to Mackinac Island will undergo renovations to transition from gas to an electric engine. The upcoming renovations are the first step in modernizing the entire ferry system. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-mackinac-ferry
An effort to document local shipwrecks is part of a new exhibit at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc. Read the fully story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-maritime-meseum
The Niagara City Cruises, the famed boat tours that take tourists to the falls, is opening for the season on Thursday, the company announced. The “historic” opening marks the earliest point in the year that the Niagara City Cruises has ever begun operations, the company said, citing the mild winter weather. Read the full story by ABC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-niagara-falls
Water treatment facilities across the country could have to start testing for so-called ‘forever chemicals’ under a new proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency. City of Toledo, Ohio officials say they would see costs go up by about $1,000 if they had to test for PFAS but wouldn’t have to pass those costs on to customers. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-epa-pfas-ruling
After winning a pair of state grants, New York’s Thousand Islands Land Trust will soon have $5.4 million at its disposal to use in conservation efforts. The Land Trust has set its sights on safe drinking water specifically from sites along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-land-trust
Fourteen Michigan harbors would be dredged under President Joe Biden’s proposed budget that allocates more than $157 million for Great Lakes operations and maintenance, officials said. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-dredging
Activists from a Chicago neighborhood filed a lawsuit Monday that alleges that plans to expand a lakefront dump filled with polluted sediment break national environmental laws. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-pollution-dump-expansion
Escanaba, a town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, will welcome cruise ships for the first time this year, showing off its unique culture and Lake Michigan coastline. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-cruise
More than $159 million in Great Lakes projects is included in President Joe Biden’s proposed budget, including a study that would identify coastal areas vulnerable to flooding and find ways to shore them up. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-greatlakesprojects-biden-proposedbudget
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first federal limits on harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water, a long-awaited protection the agency said will save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer. The plan would limit toxic PFAS chemicals to the lowest level that tests can detect. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-epa-foreverchemicals-drinkingwater-newlimits
The Great Lakes Consent Decree, an agreement over fishing in the Great Lakes between tribal nations and state and federal officials, expired in 2020 and negotiations took almost three years before a new agreement was drafted. Its critics were among those to testify in front of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission at a recent meeting. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-greatlakesfisheries-bellaire
The 2023 Great Lakes cruise ship season is on track to be record-breaking. Officials expect an increase of 15% passenger visits over 2022 – and a total economic impact of $180 million. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-cruiseships-greatlakes-2023season
A recent study highlighting the potential dangers of “forever chemicals” in the Great Lakes has raised questions about the impacts of people consuming fish exposed to the chemicals. Indigenous nations such as the Red Cliff Band are worried that the Lake Superior advisories are misleading and branding all fish as unsafe to consume. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-fishconsumption-greatlakes-wisonsin
A new analysis found that five of the worst wastewater polluters in the American oil refinery industry are in the Great Lakes region and one of them dumps directly into Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WGN-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-toxins-oilrefinery-lakemichigan
March in Thunder Bay, Ontario, not only means the arrival of spring but the start of shipping on the Great Lakes. This year, the shipping season will begin 2 days earlier than in previous years, on March 23. Read the full story by the Chronicle Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-greatlakes-shippingseason
The Ford government’s plans for development in York Region include upgrading wastewater infrastructure to move millions more litres of water out of the Lake Huron watershed, and eventually down to Lake Ontario every day. Read and listen to the full story by TVO Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-ontario-pipe-greatlakes
Ontario has taken a variety of recent measures to reduce the prevalence of toxic hotspots and other Areas of Concern in places such as Bear Creek, Nottawasaga River and Pine River. Those measures have reduced the overall number of Areas of Concern in Canada by three, bringing the total to nine. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230315-ontario-toxichotspots
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission is seeking submissions for the 31st annual “Life on Lake Erie” photo contest. Read the full story by WTVG -TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-photo-contest
Researchers who study ice cover on the Great Lakes, and the mysterious happenings beneath, have a problem: There’s precious little of it. And that’s thwarting their ability to understand what declining ice cover means for everyone else throughout the region. Read the full story by The Globe and Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-ice-cover
Scientists believe they can now better forecast toxic outbreaks on lakes using satellites to detect the shade of green that cyanobacteria creates in water. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-algae-blooms
Members from Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project and The Lake Michigan Water Front Safety Initiative- Indiana traveled to Indiana’s statehouse to testify on behalf of the need for safety stations on all Lake Michigan beaches. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-water-safety
A ferry service that’s a lifeline for residents traveling to and from a Lake Superior island may sell its assets to new owners this year. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-superior-island
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said Star Line, which is now known as the Mackinac Island Ferry Company, will replace two 1988 diesel engines with new electric propulsion motors on the Chippewa Ferry. Read the full story by WXYZ -TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-mackinac-ferry
The Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Conservancy, in cooperation with Waucedah Township, Michigan has announced the purchase and protection of over four miles of waterfront property on the Sturgeon River in Dickinson County. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-sturgeon-river
A restoration project carried out by the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission features the installation of levees to reduce flooding and the restoration of native vegetation in an area of the West Branch of the Little Calumet River in Lake County, Illinois. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-calumet-restoration
Scientists warn that the continued misuse of phosphorous could reach a calamity termed “phosphogeddon”. Read the full story by The Guardian.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-phosphogeddon
Following the winter closure, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway is set to reopen later this month. During the winter closure the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS) and St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) have coordinated to repair and upgrade canal infrastructure. Read the full story by the Project Cargo Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230313-gls
A bipartisan group of Great Lakes lawmakers wrote Thursday to President Joe Biden ahead of his official visit to Ottawa this month, urging him to press Canadian leaders on boosting their financial support for restoring and protecting the Great Lakes. The nine U.S. lawmakers stressed that “sustained investments” from partnerships between the U.S. and Canada are needed to clean up toxic Areas of Concern in the freshwater lakes, combat invasive species, restore habitats and reduce algae blooms. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230310-canadian-funding
In 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard announced it no longer needed the lighthouse that was built in 1910 at the end of the north breakwater of Duluth’s shipping canal. Rethos, a St. Paul-based historic preservation nonprofit, was awarded the Duluth Harbor North Pierhead Light by the National Park Service last month. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230310-duluth-lighthouse
After a mild January and February, Lake Superior ice levels are lower than normal for this time of year, say Canadian federal observers. By the middle of February, Superior’s ice thickness in the vicinity of Thunder Bay, Ontario was estimated to be only 45 centimeters, about 20 cm less for the same time last year and 15 cm less than the seasonal average, according to data provided by the Meteorological Service of Canada. Read the full story by the Chronicle Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230310-superior-ice-cover
