The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced a first-ever $575 million competitive funding opportunity to help coastal and Great Lake communities increase their resilience to extreme weather and rising sea levels. Read the full story by American City & County.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230626-climate-funding
A photo posted by the Interlake Steamship Company shows mayflies swarming a freighter in Toledo. Read the full story by WXYZ – TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230626-mayflies
Criminal charges are being brought by the Michigan attorney general against the owner of an industrial barge authorities said remains abandoned in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230626-abandoned-barge
The television show Expedition Unknown discovered an uncatalogued tugboat in their most recent episode. Read and listen to the full story by WRKR – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230626-tugboat-shipwreck
A new study proposes reducing the reliance on trucking in transporting goods between the U.S. and Canada by increasing short-sea shipping on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Maritime Executive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230626-shipping
NOAA is now in the process of seeking public comment about the proposed Lake Erie Quadrangle National Marine Sanctuary. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230626-marine-sanctuary
Though forecasts are projecting a mild bloom, scientists are learning more about how the toxin found in western Lake Erie algal blooms has the ability to become airborne and travel long distances, potentially miles. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-algal-forecast
Potentially record numbers of lake herring born last spring seem to have survived their first year of life, according to state and federal biologists. The boom will help sustain both the ecosystem and Minnesota’s commercial fishing industry for years to come. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-herring
Newly proposed federal regulations would affect coal ash ponds situated around the Great Lakes shoreline, many in communities of color. Read the full story by Grist Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-coal-ash
Researchers from SUNY Oswego and SUNY Cortland in New York will work with the U.S. Geological Survey and other entities on a conservation and restoration project focused on native fish species in the Great Lakes, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by The Citizen.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-suny-students
In New York, a high school teacher is about to embark on a Great Lakes journey as she was selected nationally among 15 other teachers from Great Lakes states to participate in the Federal EPA’s research vessel on Lake Ontario for a workshop on board the Lake Guardian ship. Read the full story by WKBW-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-biology-teacher
Steel production ticked up by 4,000 tons in the Great Lakes region last week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Read the full story by the Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-steel-production
For the past few months the city has been entertaining the idea making Buffalo, New York, a port city for Great Lakes cruises and has commissioned a study to determine whether that option is viable. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-buffalo-cruises
The Ohio Division of Wildlife’s brand-new fish cleaning stations in Marblehead, Huron and Avon Lake are up and running, and so is one constructed by the Cleveland Metroparks at Cleveland Lakefront State Park in Cleveland Harbor. Read the full story by the Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-fish-cleaning
Although there is no schedule for the traffic through the Soo Locks, which connects Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes, there are several ways to find out which freighters will pass through the Poe and MacArthur locks, traversing between lakes Superior and Huron. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-soo-locks
For the past two years, a multi-institutional collaborative research team has worked on developing new technology to collect data and make discoveries in the ocean and the Great Lakes. The researchers will present that work as part of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Lecture Series. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230623-sonar-data
An emerging Indigenous leader aims to compile the Indigenous knowledge of climate change adaptation throughout the country, and share it with tribal and non-tribal people to create the next Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-indigenousknowledge-climatechange
In a project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Exploration Program, three universities have teamed up to explore the depths of Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay near Alpena, Michigan. Their goal is to develop methods to deploy autonomous underwater robots to search for shipwrecks, and then survey shipwrecks with their sensors. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-autonomousvessels-thunderbay
Michigan’s drought conditions have put increased demand on water providers, stressed vegetation and sharply increased the risk of wildfire. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-drought-wildfires
Residents of Paradise, Michigan, say a legacy dump site has been ignored for decades. The site is slowly releasing toxic chemicals into Lake Superior, and there doesn’t appear to be a plan to stop it. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-contaminatedsite-lakesuperior
Today marks the summer solstice and the official start to summer, but scientists warn Lake Erie beachgoers to beware of harmful algae blooms that grow extremely fast this time of year. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-summer-lakeerie-habs
Those in Michigan who want the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline shut down believe a recent ruling from a federal judge in Wisconsin could impact a pending legal case against Enbridge and disrupt company plans. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-wisconsin-line5-shutdown-disruptpipelinefight
There is a lot of dredging work to be done in Lake Michigan harbors after an uptick in severe storms and a drop in shoreline ice during winter. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers currently is overseeing 24-hour dredging in Grand Haven, Michigan, when weather is favorable to remove sand shoaling that blocks the harbor from commercial vessels. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-strongstorms-lakemichigan
It’s finally starting to feel like summer in Michigan, but officials are reminding residents and visitors that it will still be a bit before water temperatures are considered safe. U.S. Coast Guard officials took to social media to remind the public about the risks of cold water, including hypothermia and “cold shock.” Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-greatlakes-coldshock-summer
Summertime means beach time, and in Michigan that means the freshwater beaches of the Great Lakes. But which kind of beach is better: lakeside or oceanside? Read and listen to the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230621-greatlakesbeaches-oceanbeaches
U.S. District Judge William Conley has ordered Canadian energy company Enbridge to shutter portions of an oil pipeline that runs through Bad River Band land in Wisconsin within three years and to pay the tribe nearly $5.2 million for trespassing plus a portion of its profits until the shutdown is completed. Read the full story by Reuters.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-pipeline-ruling
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling to significantly reduce Clean Water Act wetlands protections has caused alarm among environmental advocates who fear it will endanger crucial habitats and human health and safety. Michigan’s wetlands may fare better than other states because of strong state regulations, including part 303 of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act that regulates wetlands not covered by federal law. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-wetland-protections
On Friday, Drew Gronewald, an associate professor with the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, delivered his annual presentation on the current state of Great Lakes water levels. After a couple years of record highs, followed by a marked dip, Lake Michigan-Huron in 2023 is relatively unchanged from 2022; however, two factors that influence lake levels, evaporation and precipitation, are increasing in intensity. Read the full story by WTTW-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-water-levels
The Lincoln Township Beach on Lake Michigan in Stevensville, Michigan, has been closed for almost three years after high water levels in 2019 made for unfit parking conditions and eroded half of the parking lot and pavilion. In an effort to save one of its only public beaches, Stevensville city officials say they’re putting together plans to revive it. Read the full story by WNDU-TV – South Bend, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-beach-restoration
After years of leasing Lady Michigan to the Friends of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary for the shipwreck excursions, the owner of the boat decided not to lease it any longer and intended to move it to another location or sell it. On Thursday, Alpena developer Jeff Konczak announced that he and his wife, Tina, purchased the Lady Michigan, ensuring its long-term future in Alpena. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-shipwreck-boat-sale
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has made awards ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 available for local communities to restore and protect water quality in the Finger Lakes watershed. The grants are supported by the state’s Environmental Protection Fund and administered through the DEC’s Finger Lakes Watershed Grant Program. Read the full story by Finger Lakes Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-water-quality-grants
On May 18, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the Lake Erie Quadrangle was officially under consideration for designation as a National Marine Sanctuary. This nomination has been in the works since 2015 and has the potential to transform Erie, Pennsylvania, economically and environmentally. Read the full story by The Erie Reader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-sanctuary-designation
The Viking Polaris arrived Friday in Algoma, Wisconsin, making its only stop in the state on the ship’s 15-day Great Lakes excursion tour between Duluth and Toronto. Since last fall, the community has been preparing for passengers on the city’s first cruise ship and those that will come on the eight other ships of the summer. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-cruise-stop
The Front Range Lighthouse in downtown Cheboygan, Michigan, has been an active aid to navigation since it was built in 1880. Now owned by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA), the lighthouse is being restored to the 1940s time period, when bright red daymarks were added to the tower. Read the full story by Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-lighthouse-restoration
An iconic fixture on the Welland Canal in Port Colborne’s north end, the former Robin Hood Multifoods flour mill has a new owner who has plans to keep the existing workforce and expand the facility. London Agricultural Commodities (LAC) recently announced the purchase of Ceres Global Ag’s Port Colborne terminal (formerly Robin Hood) for $4 million (U.S.). Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230619-grain-elevator-ownership
Teachers in the Lake Ontario region have a chance to board an EPA research vessel for a week on the lake. Read the full story by WWNY – TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-great-lakes-education
Great Lakes shipping is down slightly through the end of May as compared to the same time last year. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-shipping
Mayflies have begun to emerge in the western Lake Erie basin. Read the full story by WJBK – TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-mayflies
Invasive, parasitic sea lampreys continue to hunt and kill Lake Superior fish above the levels biologists would like to see, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic caused parts of two summer seasons to be lost in the never-ending battle against the eel-like creatures. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-lampreys
Gray wolves are thriving at Isle Royale National Park five years after authorities began a last-ditch attempt to prevent the species from dying out on the Lake Superior island chain, scientists said Wednesday. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-wolves
The University of Minnesota – Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute has partnered with Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve to take over 300 water samples from eight different locations in the St. Louis River estuary. Read the full story by WDIO – TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-st-louis-river
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have reported that the New Lock at the Soo project remains on schedule. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-soo-locks
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently revoked the PolyMet Section 404 wetlands destruction permit, a necessary permit for the project to move forward. Read and listen to the full story by the Minnesota Reformer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-loon
More than a month after one of the world’s oldest common loons was injured and vanished from a wildlife refuge in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the bird was spotted back in the refuge this week – and he might not be swimming alone. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-loon
Seventy-three parcels of publicly owned shoreline along Lake Erie in Norfolk County, Ontario have been identified as being threatened by erosion. Read the full story by The Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230616-erosion
It was 2010 when federal funding in the U.S. to restore the Great Lakes, via the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, began to flow to the tune of $475 million. Fast-forward to 2023 and a program focused on coastal wetland restoration has been renewed twice by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has received a total of $30 million since 2010. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230614-coastal-wetland-program
One of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s research vessels, the Lake Guardian, departed Monday afternoon to start an annual mission to monitor and collect samples of trout, small organisms, and more in Lake Huron. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230614-lake-huron-research-survey
In conjunction with its upcoming exhibit “The Maritime History of Charlevoix,” the Charlevoix Historical Society will present the program “Documenting Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes” on Wednesday, June 28. Read the full story by the Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230614-shipwreck-program
Surprised onlookers got a glimpse of a deer swimming for hours in the Straights of Mackinaw. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230614-swimming-deer
Legal experts and state officials say it’s business as usual for wetlands protection in Michigan following a U.S. Supreme Court decision which significantly narrows federal authority to regulate wetlands. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230614-michigan-wetlands
