On:
In: Featured, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research

By Vivian La, IPR

This coverage is made possible in part through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

Some groups that do research and collect data on the Great Lakes face existential threats as the federal budgeting process for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gets underway.

A proposed budget request from President Trump would zero out programs that scientists say are the foundation of weather observations, water quality, maritime safety and recreation on the Great Lakes. The President wants to cut NOAA’s budget by $1.3 billion, or one-third of current funding levels to better match priorities related to halting climate research.

“The investment that we make pays off in terms of safer water, public safety, public health, as well as economic activity,” said Gregory Dick, director of the Cooperative Institute Lakes Research (CIGLR), a partnership between the University of Michigan and NOAA.

Researchers at CIGLR work closely with NOAA to conduct work on lake water levels, ice dynamics and harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie. Data is used by state managers, fishermen, boaters and the regional shipping industry.

“That’s the kind of data that you want at your fingertips,” Dick said. “That’s what’s at risk with cuts like the ones we’re talking about.”

Beyond this data, Dick is worried about long-term research on how climate change is affecting the Great Lakes. Water levels are fluctuating and Dick said understanding those dynamics is important for future planning around development and the economy.

Another at-risk program is the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), a regional network collecting data on wave heights, water temperatures, ice, wind and more. The network makes real-time data available to the public, and it’s often used by boaters, fishermen and people who recreate on the lakes.

“If you want to visit a beach, if you want to take your dog and let it run in the lake, it’s really important to know beforehand if there’s a bloom there or dangerous surf conditions,” said Jennifer Boehme, CEO of GLOS.

In a memo released with the budget proposal, the White House stated that “President Trump is committed to eliminating funding for the globalist climate agenda while unleashing American energy production.” The proposed NOAA budget will cut climate research and save taxpayer money, according to the memo.

NOAA programs in the Great Lakes are already adapting to cuts from the previous year. The Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (which houses CIGLR), for example, lost about 40% of its staff last year after rounds of layoffs and early retirements, according to Dick.

GLOS is also in a more vulnerable position this year, Boehme said. The program is up for a contract renewal with NOAA, which happens every five years. And the system hasn’t received all of its appropriated funds from last year.

“Each lapse makes the next one worse, and rebuilding isn’t just a matter of writing another check. The relationships and the seasonal schedules that make the network function can take years to reconstruct,” she said.

Still, the President’s budget is more a signal of priorities than binding, said Alex Eastman, the Great Lakes program manager at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, a nonprofit policy research group. Appropriations are ultimately decided by Congress, which is in the middle of that process.

This year, the House Appropriations Committee has passed a bill that would fund NOAA at levels similar to last year, largely ignoring the President’s budget proposal. But the bill is $300 million short of last year’s funding. The Senate hasn’t passed their version of the appropriations bill yet.

Congress funded these Great Lakes programs last year after the President proposed similar cuts, likely because they know the value they provide for the region and country, Eastman said.

“I do think that the more that Congress pushes back, I think the more the executive branch and the President will see that they’re not gaining anything by continuing to try to impose draconian cuts,” he said.

The post Great Lakes scientists worry about federal cuts to NOAA appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/06/02/great-lakes-scientists-worry-about-federal-cuts-to-noaa/

Interlochen Public Radio and Grist

On:
In: Enbridge Line 5 and Other Pipelines, Latest News, line 5, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio

By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

Canadian energy firm Enbridge can keep building a new stretch of its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in northern Wisconsin except in waterways where the company needs additional permits, a Bayfield County judge ruled Friday.

The decision is largely a win for Enbridge and its embattled project to reroute Line 5 around the Bad River Tribe’s Reservation in northern Wisconsin. The judge, however, granted a partial victory to the tribe and environmental groups who sued for review of a decision upholding state approvals for the reroute. In February, an administrative law judge upheld permits issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for the project.

In Friday’s order, Bayfield County Circuit Court Judge John Anderson said the tribe and groups failed to persuade him that he should pause approvals for the project altogether.

“Enbridge’s permits previously granted are stayed only in relation to work areas along Line 5 for which Enbridge is required to obtain additional permits,” Anderson wrote.

The tribe and environmental groups argued Enbridge was ineligible to obtain permits to install structures in certain rivers and streams because the company didn’t own the land next to those waterways. The judge agreed the practice under which the company is now obtaining permits at four waterway crossings “may be on tenuous legal footing.”

Both sides see wins


In a statement, Bad River Tribal Chairwoman Elizabeth Arbuckle said she is happy with the judge’s decision to halt some work on Enbridge’s reroute of Line 5.

“We are bound by a need and desire for clean water to drink, a clean environment for animals and plants to thrive in, and a commitment to the highest quality of life for our people,” Arbuckle wrote. “We hope the Court will keep the stay in place and hear us out fully in the weeks to come.”

Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner called the ruling an important decision that allows the company’s work to continue, saying Line 5 delivers fuel that’s critical for Midwest refineries.

“State permits for the project were approved after an exhaustive four-year review by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and then upheld after a year-long independent review by an administrative law judge. Federal permits have also been received from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” Kellner wrote.

Under the ruling, Enbridge can’t move ahead with construction of permanent structures to stabilize banks in four creeks where erosion could threaten water quality or exposure of new pipe that would be installed. The company and landowners applied for permits that have not yet been issued by the DNR.

Enbridge’s Line 5 carries up to 23 million gallons of oil daily from Superior across northern Wisconsin and Michigan to Ontario. The company proposed a 41-mile reroute of Line 5 after the Bad River Tribe sued in 2019 to shut down the pipeline on its lands. The project would cross about 200 waterways and affect around 100 acres of wetlands in Ashland and Iron counties.

The $450 million project has undergone years of review, protests, tens of thousands of comments and legal challenges. Proponents say the project would employ 700 union workers and contribute $135 million to Wisconsin’s economy. Opponents point to multiple spills on Enbridge pipelines including the release of almost 70,000 gallons of oil in Jefferson County in 2024.

In 2023, U.S. District Court Judge William Conley ordered Enbridge to shut down or reroute Line 5 around the Bad River reservation by mid-June this year and ordered the company to pay $5.15 million for trespassing on roughly 2 miles of tribal lands. Both the tribe and Enbridge appealed the decision. In March, Conley paused his shutdown order until a federal appeals court issues a ruling, citing potential “devastating” impacts of a sudden shutdown.

The post Judge halts some work on Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute in northern Wisconsin appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/05/21/judge-halts-some-work-on-enbridges-line-5-reroute-in-northern-wisconsin/

Wisconsin Public Radio

On:
In: chemical recycling, Inside Climate News, Latest News, New York, plastics, Policy, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, pollution

By Lauren Dalban, Inside Climate News

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Legislation that would reduce plastic waste in New York is advancing in the state Legislature amid a contentious debate over chemical recycling.

If it passes, New York would have one of the strongest controls on plastic packaging in the country and could reduce the amount of non-recyclable packaging in the state by 30 percent over the next 12 years. It would also require that packaging producers contribute funds to recycling and disposal efforts. 

The bill, the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, stalled during the previous two legislative sessions. Among the sticking points for plastics producers is chemical recycling, an umbrella term for a variety of processes that use heat, pressure and chemicals to break down plastics after they’ve been used.

Under the law, chemical recycling would not be classified as recycling, despite its name—much to the dismay of organizations such as the American Chemistry Council, a trade group that represents producers of plastic packaging.

“It’s sort of just a big polluting behemoth everywhere it goes,” said state Sen. Pete Harckham, a co-sponsor of the bill, referring to chemical recycling. “That has been one of the major stumbling blocks.” 

In a 2025 memo, the American Chemistry Council, along with business representatives and plastics producers such as ExxonMobil, said that the mandatory packaging reductions are “unreasonable” and that the bill “inappropriately” excludes chemical recycling. The council declined to respond to questions from Inside Climate News.

Chemical recycling, also called advanced recycling, differs from mechanical recycling, which shreds used plastic into small pellets and reuses them in new packaging. Most chemical recycling in the United States breaks down plastic using pyrolysis, an energy-intensive, high-heat process that produces oil and chemical components for new plastics. 

It can also produce tons of what the Environmental Protection Agency terms “hazardous waste,” meaning it can harm human health or the environment. Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator and now the president of the nonprofit organization Beyond Plastics, which targets plastics production and pollution, said the process doesn’t produce much new plastic. 

While the bill faces an uphill battle in the final three-and-a-half weeks of this session, lobbyists will keep advocating for chemical recycling in the legislation—even though it’s a “red line” for environmentalists, Harckham said. 

Is It Recycling?

Around 15 percent of municipal solid waste in New York is plastic. In 2022, research showed that less than 10 percent of plastic waste was made from recycled material. Plastic also degrades when it is reused, which means that it can’t be recycled infinitely like glass or metal. 

Recycling plastic is complicated, said Helene Wiesinger, a chemist and science communication officer with the Food Packaging Forum, a nonprofit that researches food packaging. She studies plastic recycling in Switzerland. 

Though the industry touts chemical recycling as a solution because it can break plastics down and reuse the building blocks, Wiesinger said, it’s not always possible. Some of these chemicals in plastic “don’t get broken down,” and much of it ends up burned as fuel.

The few chemical recycling plants in the United States typically use pyrolysis. Veena Singla, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council who studies chemical recycling, said pyrolysis is often inefficient. It is energy intensive, requires extreme heat and produces relatively few usable components for new plastics, she said. Pyrolysis also produces an oil from plastic, which can then be used as a fuel—though it must often be diluted with fossil fuels to be used effectively, Singla said.

A still-pending 2024 lawsuit by California’s attorney general against a pyrolysis-based chemical recycling operation alleges that just 8 percent of the plastic waste accepted there gets converted to feedstocks for new plastic.

EPA documents show that the roughly one dozen chemical recycling plants across the country are classified as “large quantity hazardous waste generators.” This hazardous waste often contains benzene, a chemical that can cause certain types of cancer and negatively affect the bone marrow, which produces red blood cells.

Alterra Energy, a chemical recycling facility in Akron, Ohio, released 130 pounds of benzene to the air through piping or smokestacks in 2024, the company reported to the EPA. The prior year, it reported shipping 60 tons of benzene—the cumulative weight of around 27 cars—to be incinerated off site.

Alterra Energy did not respond to requests for comment.

The facilities, regulated by multiple EPA programs, are classified as incineration facilities under the Clean Air Act. But the Trump administration has proposed a rule to change that. 

In a recent opinion piece in The Hill, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin wrote that the EPA will move to classify pyrolysis as manufacturing, limiting the pollution regulations that facilities would be subject to. 

Enck, the advocate for the New York plastics bill, has said she expects “significant concessions” will be made to pass the bill, but argued that chemical recycling should not be one of them.

Last year the bill passed the state Senate but never made it to the Assembly floor. If it passes both chambers this year, it must clear a final hurdle: Gov. Kathy Hochul could veto it or amend it through an informal agreement with bill sponsors. 

Hochul uses that “chapter amendment” process in one out of every seven bills on average, New York Focus reports. Enck worries that the plastics bill may get diluted that way. 

When asked about this possibility, Harckham said: “You can compromise on details, but you can’t compromise on values.” 

The bill also bans certain toxic chemicals from plastic packaging, like PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” Harckham’s staff said that recent legislative amendments to the bill removed some toxic chemicals from the banned list and extended timelines for compliance with the new program and recycling requireEnvironmental advocates join state legislators and health care professionals to urge the passage of the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act on Monday in Albany, N.Y. Credit: Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Imagesments. 

The bill is “central to New York’s waste management strategy and our climate strategy,” Harckham said.

The post New York Plastics Law Advances Amid Debate Over ‘Chemical Recycling’ appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/05/21/new-york-plastics-law-advances-amid-debate-over-chemical-recycling/

Inside Climate News

On:
In: bridge michigan, Featured, Latest News, Michigan, monsanto, PCBs, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, pollution, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts

By Isabella Figueroa Nogueira, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work HERE.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced a $108 million settlement with Monsanto Co. to address longstanding environmental contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) across the state.

States, including Michigan, filed lawsuits against Monsanto over long-term environmental contamination caused by PCBs, a toxic industrial chemical the company manufactured for decades before it was banned in the United States in 1979. The states allege that PCBs persist in waterways, soil, and wildlife and continue to pose risks to public health through environmental exposure and fish consumption. 

The cases seek to hold the company financially responsible for cleanup costs and damage to natural resources.

The settlement funds will support cleanup and restoration of PCB-impacted sites across Michigan, with oversight shared by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Officials said the money will be used to reduce contamination risks, improve water quality, and restore damaged natural resources.

Under the agreement, Monsanto will pay Michigan $32 million in June and another $32 million in March 2027. Additional contingency payments tied to related litigation could range from $44 million to $176 million, bringing the total potential value of the settlement to as much as $240 million.

EGLE officials said no specific cleanup projects have been selected yet, but the agencies will work together to determine where funding can remediate PCB-contaminated sites and restore impacted natural resources. The agencies plan to consult with local governments, tribes, and environmental organizations, and may distribute some funds through grants and matching programs.

Nessel said the settlement ensures accountability for longstanding pollution tied to the chemicals. 

“Despite being banned for years in the United States, PCBs leave a toxic legacy that continues to threaten our health and environment,” she said in a statement.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced a $108 million settlement with Monsanto Co. to address longstanding environmental contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) across the state.

States, including Michigan, filed lawsuits against Monsanto over long-term environmental contamination caused by PCBs, a toxic industrial chemical the company manufactured for decades before it was banned in the United States in 1979. The states allege that PCBs persist in waterways, soil, and wildlife and continue to pose risks to public health through environmental exposure and fish consumption. 

The cases seek to hold the company financially responsible for cleanup costs and damage to natural resources.

The settlement funds will support cleanup and restoration of PCB-impacted sites across Michigan, with oversight shared by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Officials said the money will be used to reduce contamination risks, improve water quality, and restore damaged natural resources.

Under the agreement, Monsanto will pay Michigan $32 million in June and another $32 million in March 2027. Additional contingency payments tied to related litigation could range from $44 million to $176 million, bringing the total potential value of the settlement to as much as $240 million.

EGLE officials said no specific cleanup projects have been selected yet, but the agencies will work together to determine where funding can remediate PCB-contaminated sites and restore impacted natural resources. The agencies plan to consult with local governments, tribes, and environmental organizations, and may distribute some funds through grants and matching programs.

Nessel said the settlement ensures accountability for longstanding pollution tied to the chemicals. 

“Despite being banned for years in the United States, PCBs leave a toxic legacy that continues to threaten our health and environment,” she said in a statement.

Officials with Monsanto, now owned by Bayer AG, said the settlement resolves PCB-related claims without any admission of liability or wrongdoing. The company said PCBs were a legacy product it stopped producing in 1977 and noted that additional payments are tied to a separate lawsuit over whether former industrial customers must help cover PCB-related legal and cleanup costs.

Michigan is among a growing number of states that have reached settlements with Monsanto over PCB-related claims. According to the company’s litigation update, it has settled with 12 states, including Michigan and Rhode Island.

The post Michigan gets $108M in Monsanto settlement to clean up PCB contamination appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/05/20/michigan-gets-108m-in-monsanto-settlement-to-clean-up-pcb-contamination/

Bridge Michigan

On:
In: Agriculture, Featured, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, Michigan, Policy, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Traverse City

When Brain Neff retired from the Air Force, he had his eyes on a farm on the outskirts of Traverse City, Michigan. 

The land was once operated by his wife’s grandparents before it was leased out for years after her grandparents stopped tending to it. In 2021, the Neffs bought the property back with plans to transform it in retirement. 

“We had it in mind that we were going to turn it into more of a destination farm akin to the types of things that we saw when we were in the military, out in California and other places in the country,” Neff said.  

Neff says he was anticipating 2026 to be their first profitable year, but because of the financial issues they, and many other farmers are facing, he no longer thinks so.  

“My projection would be that we will not turn a profit this year,” Neff said. 

Neff’s story is not an isolated one.  

An April survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation found nearly 70% of American farmers say they cannot afford fertilizer. It also found almost half of Midwestern farmers report they cannot afford all the supplies they need.  

Credit: American Farm Bureau Federation

The survey drew from 5,400 farmers in each state and Puerto Rico. According to the responses, 94% of respondents reported their financial situation has worsened or remained the same since last year, while only 6% reported improvement. 

The survey shows Midwestern farmers reported slightly stronger purchasing plans, but nearly half still said they could not afford all the supplies they needed. While farmers in the other parts of the country are less likely to purchase fertilizer ahead of planting season, this could sharpen stress on America’s “breadbasket” which a 2026 report from the Future of Food Coalition described as “one of the most intensively farmed agricultural regions globally.”  

For many farmers across the Great Lakes region, those numbers are not abstract statistics but are shaping what gets planted, harvested and what is profitable. 

Neff says the cost of urea, a chemical used as a fertilizer, went up from $612 to $892 from April 2025 to April 2026, changing the decisions he is making this year.  

“I chose to forego putting urea down on our grass hayfields this spring,” he said. “Any additional growth I expected to see from the hay would have just been eaten up in cost.” 

The decision to forego the urea will likely impact the outcome of production, Neff said he will “have a reduced first cutting because of it.” 

“We’re continuing to put our own equity into this farm to establish it and hope that things turn around next year,” he said.   

Causes  

National policy decisions have continued to impact farmers.  

Bob Thompson, president of the Michigan Farmers Union, said the first ”hammer” to farmers was “the implementation of tariffs” that “has had a real detrimental effect at the local farm level.”  

Credit: American Farm Bureau Federation

As part of a larger implementation of sweeping tariffs, in February 2025, the Trump administration announced a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum products. Economists warned the tariffs could raise costs for farm equipment, replacement parts and transportation. 

As these tariffs are still in effect, the Iran conflict has only exacerbated these issues, with the Strait of Hormuz being closed. 

In the survey, Farm Bureau wrote: “The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is keeping critical fertilizer supplies and crude oil from reaching global markets, putting a squeeze on supplies around the world.” 

Roughly 25% of the world’s oil supply travels through the Strait of Hormuz.  

As gas and oil prices continue to rise, the blockade has been felt immediately by farmers.  

“I was spending below $3 for agricultural diesel, and I just called to get my tanks filled, and I was told it was going to be $5.98 a gallon,” Neff said.

Credit: American Farm Bureau Federation

And the effects of the Strait of Hormuz being closed will not just be felt by farmers but “consumers are going to continually feel the pinch because virtually all goods move by truck in this country,” Thompson said.   

Farmers are stuck playing the waiting game, Dennis Kellogg, who sits on the Michigan Farmer’s Union Board of Directors, said. 

“It’s very difficult to plan for a future with these unknowns,” Kellogg said.   

For organizations looking to help farmers, like employees at Michigan State University’s Extension program, they are also seeing these effects.  

“This is heightening what’s already a bad situation for many farms,” Jon LaPorte, a Farm Business Management Educator at MSU Extension, said. 

LaPorte said that many farmers are still experiencing loss from the previous years, “Everyone’s worried about it because 2024 and 2025 weren’t the most profitable years either” which is forcing farmers to ask the question of “What’s the bare minimum that we would have to put out (money) to ensure a crop?”  

Outcomes  

Through these difficulties, farmers are forced to make short-term decisions that may have long-term consequences.  

Thompson warned the long-term consequences could extend beyond one growing season. 

“The outlook is pretty bleak right now, right across the board,” Thompson said and later added. “The end result is that there will be fewer farmers. There will be bankruptcies.”  

Though farmers may be resilient, Thompson warned of the mental stress these families are going through, which can include increased drug use and in the worst cases, suicide.  

“We need to try to be aware that our friends and neighbors might look good on the outside, but be torn up on the inside, and we need to try to be friends,” Thompson said.  

The post ‘The outlook is pretty bleak’: Farmers brace for a difficult season appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/05/15/the-outlook-is-pretty-bleak-farmers-brace-for-a-difficult-season/

Julia Roeder

On:
In: boundary waters, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, Minnesota, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio

By Beatrice Lawrence, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

Johnson Bridgwater celebrated his 50th birthday by spending a full month in the wilderness, paddling and camping in the hundreds of thousands of acres that make up the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota.

It’s a place that reminds him of his father, whom Bridgwater lost when he was in his 20s.

“My father, who was a zoologist, considered it one of the last places in North America that you could truly get to some place pristine that had not been impacted by settlers or industry,” Bridgwater said.

He’s not alone. Among the more than 150,000 visitors the region sees each year, a significant portion of them come from Wisconsin. 

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed a bill overturning a 20-year mining ban in the area surrounding the Boundary Waters. The decision paves the way for the Chilean company Twin Metals to build a copper and nickel mine in the area, which is the world’s largest known undeveloped copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group metals deposit. Supporters of the idea hope for a boom in jobs, but critics worry about pollution and contamination, and an economic impact on tourism and recreation.

Wisconsin lawmakers in both chambers of Congress voted on the bill along party lines — Republicans voted to overturn the ban, Democrats to sustain it.

Bridgwater, who is the water advocates organizer for River Alliance of Wisconsin, said that the decision doesn’t only affect Minnesota.

“All water is connected, and I’m not sure that the general population truly understands how big that connection is,” Bridgwater told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “Up north — northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan — they carry (one) water identity. It also has very busy state lines. People are traveling across all three of those states daily.”

Economic boom or environmental disaster?

After Congress designated the Boundary Waters as a wilderness area in 1964, a robust outdoor industry sprung up in northeastern Minnesota as people flocked there every year to paddle, camp, fish and enjoy nature in the uniquely pristine and remote setting.

Critics of the Twin Metals mining project say that the recreation economy of the area will be put at risk if companies are allowed to mine nearby.

“This area is beloved,” said Minnesota Public Radio reporter Dan Kraker, who has been covering mining projects near the Boundary Waters for 15 years. “People are extraordinarily concerned about the potential pollution impacts on this amazing landscape. … They argue, even without the pollution concerns, that these mines surrounding the wilderness area could be a detractor to investment and recreational development.”

But advocates for the projects say that these mines will instead boost the area’s economy by creating thousands of jobs in both mining and construction, and will provide the U.S. with vital resources. 

“This progress ensures our state remains competitive when it comes to workforce and jobs, not to mention the global impact of reducing foreign dependence for these critical minerals,” Dave Lislegard, Jobs for Minnesotans executive, said in a statement. 

A 2020 Harvard study compared the projected economic impact of a 20-year mining ban in the area with a scenario in which the Twin Metals mine is developed. That study found that introducing copper-nickel mining would likely have a negative overall effect on the regional economy.

Northern Minnesota has a rich mining history. But copper and nickel mining carry different environmental risks than the traditional iron ore mining in the area.

“When sulfide-bearing ore is brought up from under the ground, and it reacts with air and water, it can create sulfuric acid and result in what’s known as acid mine drainage, and this can leach heavy metals out of the ground and potentially into the water,” Kraker said.

In 2023, the Biden administration enacted a 20-year ban on mining in the 225,000 acres surrounding the Boundary Waters. Twin Metals claimed this “locked up” necessary resources and negatively impacted communities in the area. The new law repeals that ban.

Twin Metals said that the protections already in place are sufficient enough to prevent significant environmental impact.

“Projects must prove they can meet the stringent environmental standards that have long been in place in Minnesota before moving forward,” said Kathy Graul, director of public affairs and communications for Twin Metals. 

But Bridgwater pointed to a report assembled by mining researcher Steven Emerman for the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, which found that even “model” sulfide ore mines have extensive records of environmental contamination.

Bridgwater is concerned not only about recreation in the Boundary Waters, but also the wild rice economy that exists in the region and how it intersects with the hunting and gathering rights of tribes in the Midwest.

“What you’re looking at is this overlay of uses that have been functioning and doing what they were intended to do for hundreds of years,” Bridgwater said. “We would like to see anything that can be done to stop metallic sulfide mining that could potentially impact these water environments.”

Even with the mining ban being repealed, it’s not clear if or when the mine will be approved, Kraker said.

“The state will have ultimate say on whether this goes forward, in addition to federal regulators also having to sign off on any potential mines in this area,” Kraker said. “So there is a long story yet to be written.”

The post Why mining in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters matters to Wisconsin appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/05/08/why-mining-in-minnesotas-boundary-waters-matters-to-wisconsin/

Wisconsin Public Radio

On:
In: Agriculture, bayer, chemicals, Latest News, lobbying, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, pollution, roundup, supreme court, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts

By Lauren Cross, Investigate Midwest

Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Visit us online at www.investigatemidwest.org.

Bayer increased its federal lobbying spending in the first quarter of 2026 ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments on Monday, April 27, in a case involving Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018.

New federal disclosures show Bayer reported just over $2 million in lobbying expenses from January through March, up from $1.75 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. The increase follows a drop in spending during the second half of last year after Bayer’s quarterly lobbying peaked at $2.95 million in early 2025.

While 2025 filings showed the company “monitoring” broad issues like pesticide regulations and biotech innovation, the new 2026 report reveals a laser-focus on specific legislation designed to provide the company with a legal shield against ongoing lawsuits.

Chart: Lauren Cross, Investigate Midwest. Source: Congressional lobbying disclosure filingsGet the data. Created with Datawrapper

Across nine quarterly filings since the start of 2024, Bayer reported spending nearly $19.7 million on lobbying, or about $2.2 million per quarter on average.

The case Monsanto Co. v. Durnell could shape pesticide litigation nationwide. The main question is whether federal pesticide labeling laws can override some state lawsuits claiming companies failed to properly warn people about the risks.

“Failure to warn” is a common argument in such liability cases. Plaintiffs argue a company did not give clear enough warnings or safety instructions about a product.

Bayer has faced years of lawsuits over Roundup, its glyphosate-based weedkiller. Plaintiffs say exposure caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bayer denies those claims and says Roundup labels follow federal law.

Monsanto has pointed to past Environmental Protection Agency findings that glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer. But in a recent court filing, Food & Water Watch and other advocacy groups told the Supreme Court that the EPA review Monsanto relies on was thrown out by a court four years ago.

Bayer’s latest lobbying disclosure filing shows a more focused agenda on issues including  “uniformity of pesticide labeling,” EPA budgetary issues, and USDA funding. The company also reported lobbying the White House and the National Economic Council, which advises the president on global economic policy.

According to the filing, Bayer reported lobbying on H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026. The bill includes pesticide labeling requirement language, which relates directly to the arguments at the center of the Supreme Court case. If approved, such protections could help companies defend against some state-level warning-label lawsuits.

Federal law requires quarterly lobbying reports that disclose lobbying activity and total spending, but filings do not break spending down by each specific issue lobbied. However, the timing of Bayer’s spending rebound comes as the company faces one of the most closely watched ag legal cases of the year.

The post Bayer Increased Lobbying Amid Roundup Supreme Court Case appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/05/01/bayer-increased-lobbying-amid-roundup-supreme-court-case/

Investigate Midwest

On:
In: Books, Authors, Art and Music, Chicago, Featured, Fish, Birds and Animals, Forests and Plants, History and Culture, Illinois, PBS, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research

This Earth Day, Detroit PBS programming is focusing on turning land back into something wild. Better known as “rewilding,” a large-scale conservation effort that usually involves reintroducing keystone plant or animal species to reestablish the health of a local ecosystem. 

In the Great Lakes region, Illinois recently made history by being the first state in the nation to make rewilding part of its official strategy. As of January 1, 2026, the “Illinois Rewilding Law” is now in effect. According to the Chicago Tribune, the law empowers the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to go after projects that restore land to its natural state.

“The law could encompass the reintroduction of keystone species that improve ecosystems, like beavers and bison. But officials and environmentalists say closing the federal gaps in wetland protection is their focus right now,” wrote Christiana Freitag at the Chicago Tribune. 

After the Supreme Court case Sackett v. EPA rolled back federal wetland protections, Illinois became especially vulnerable considering it already lost 90% of its swamps. Chicago was built on wetlands, which are important when considering water quality and flood prevention — this is especially significant, as Chicago has dealt with severe flooding. 

An international effort

British author and conservationist Isabella Tree joins our Detroit PBS colleagues to discuss her non-fiction book “Wilding: Returning Nature to Our Farm.” On April 29, be sure to check out their live event with PBS Books Readers Club, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET. 

Tree’s book details her process of rewilding her 3,500 acre estate in Sussex, England. After visiting an arborculturist to save their oak trees, Tree and her husband were inspired to change everything they were doing with their land. After it was depleted by centuries of farming, they transformed it into a healthy haven for the littlest bugs and grazing animals, all by planting native flora and fauna. 

“I think the only answer to eco anxiety is to get your hands dirty and do something,” said Tree. “And the joy that can come from even transforming a window box… so that you’re now attracting night flying moths and hoverflies and all the forgotten pollinators, you’re making a difference. And that feels just so fantastic.”

Be sure to also check out the upcoming documentary, Wilding (inspired by the book) that premieres on PBS, on April 22. 

What you can do

For those who would like to feel more involved in helping our ecosystem, Doug Tallamy wants private property owners to know they have a role in the conservation movement. Tallamy calls this the Homegrown National Park movement. 

“Most people have too much lawn,” said Tallamy. 

According to the author, entomologist, biologist and conservationist we have 44 million acres of lawn in this country. When there’s a storm event, most of those pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides run off into the watershed. He said, if we’re going to put plants in our yards, why not use ones that do everything we need to conserve and protect our environment? Native plant alternatives to grass help guard our watershed, help the food web, support pollinators and are often better at sequestering carbon.

(Credit: National Wildlife Federation)

 “The point is, what you’re doing is creating connectivity,” said Tallamy. “If you and a bunch of other people do it, then outside of the parks and preserves it’s not no man’s land, there is some habitat.”

For more information, watch Great Lakes Now’s latest interview: 

The post Rewilding, a new way to heal the land this Earth Day appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/04/22/rewilding-a-new-way-to-heal-the-land-this-earth-day/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Equity and Environmental Justice, Featured, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Michigan, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, The States, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments

By Paula Gardner, Kelly House and Ron French, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work HERE.

CHEBOYGAN — Local, state and federal officials were aware of the dangers posed by the Cheboygan Lock and Dam for years before floodwaters pushed it to the brink of collapse, records show.

Yet they failed to compel private owners to repair the nonfunctional hydro plant connected to the publicly-owned dam —  a critical piece of its ability to pass floodwaters downstream. 

The facility that houses the plant, once a Charmin toilet paper mill, changed hands repeatedly over decades as it fell into disrepair. 

Now taxpayers are helping bankroll a desperate effort to bring the plant back online before the dam fails and sends a wall of water toward downtown Cheboygan.

“I’m very concerned that this was not handled properly,” said Richard Sangster, a Cheboygan County commissioner and former Cheboygan mayor, about federal regulatory actions over several years.

The property is now owned by Hom Paper XI, LLC, a business controlled by former NFL linebacker Thomas Homco. He did not return voicemails left by Bridge Michigan. 

State and local officials did what they could, Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd Ross said Thursday.

“We didn’t wait ‘til the last minute,” Ross said. “It’s privately owned. There’s only so much we can do.”

A public tally of taxpayer costs associated with the round-the-clock repair wasn’t available Thursday, but estimates from a few years ago indicated the plant needed at least $1 million in repairs.

‘Safety concerns have been raised many times’

Records show the agency that primarily regulates hydropower dams, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, sent warning letters for years to a shifting cast of owners while granting multiple extensions.

Among the issues they cited: missing inspection records and malfunctioning equipment that was crucial to passing water in the event of a flood.  

As far back as 2019, regulars warned about cracked concrete and damaged retaining walls and gates that could help the dam manage flooding, records show.

In 2021, FERC told the plant’s then owners that “multiple items are overdue and completion dates are rapidly approaching.”

The plant was cited 16 times in 10 months for safety violations by Occupational Safety and Health Administration before a fire closed it altogether in September 2023, records indicate.

That prompted more orders for repairs and more extensions from FERC. Records indicate state officials said they were aware of the issues but had no role in enforcement.

“Safety concerns have been raised many times,” Sangster said, adding “you wouldn’t even be able to measure how detrimental” a dam failure would be. 

“In my eyes, it appears like total neglect on their behalf,” he added about FERC.

‘No simple answer’

FERC spokesperson Celeste Miller did not respond to detailed questions from Bridge about oversight of the hydro plant property and instead put out a statement noting the agency’s role in the ongoing emergency response in Cheboygan.

“Above all, our priority is to coordinate with all involved partners to safeguard both the community and the environment,” Miller wrote.

The crisis comes six years after the privately-owned Midland dams failed following a similar pattern of regulatory delay. Michigan legislators vowed to make dam safety a priority after Midland, but ultimately didn’t act on proposed reforms.

A solution “keeps getting kicked down the road …  now we’ve got a whole community in peril because it was mismanaged by (private owners),” state Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, said after touring the dam with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“This is a problem that could happen all over the state,” Damoose said. “‘It got our attention a few years ago in Midland, but now we’re seeing that it was not an isolated thing and we need to take some serious looks at how we allow this to go on.”

Whitmer said “there’s no simple answer” due to a “complicated web of privately owned and publicly owned (dams.)”

“We have made some long overdue investments in some of our infrastructure,” she said.

Complicated history

Like many dams in Michigan, the Cheboygan complex was once owned by utilities to generate power for the region. 

By 1967, when Consumers Energy sold it to the state of Michigan for $1, it was no longer generating power but the deeper Cheboygan River created by the dam had become a valued link between Lake Huron and the Inland Waterway, a 40-mile-long network of popular rivers and lakes.

In 1983, Procter & Gamble took over the hydroelectric side of the facility, securing a licensing exemption from FERC and striking a deal to give the state some continued say over water flows through the now-privatized portion of the complex. 

But soon after pouring millions into upgrading the hydro facility, the company shuttered its Cheboygan operation in 1990, eliminating 300 jobs and commencing the slow decline of the historic mill. 

Eventually, a company named Great Lakes Tissue bought the plant and was urged by FERC for years to make repairs.

It sold the business before a June 2022 deadline to ensure the gates that allowed water to flow through the hydro plant were functioning properly.

It’s not clear whether the work was ever completed. Nor is it clear whether federal regulators were aware of subsequent ownership changes.

Great Lakes Tissue Company was still the listed owner on FERC’s license exemption well into 2025.

Tug-of-war

While the hydro side of the dam complex sat idle following the fire, state Department of Natural Resources officials in charge of the rest of the dam publicly warned its closure would make it hard to manage water levels in the Cheboygan River.

The plant had accounted for about 30% of the river’s flow to Lake Huron, they said.

“Boaters and residents … may experience larger water level fluctuations,” stated a 2024 agency announcement.

Bridge Michigan was not able to discern what steps, if any, DNR officials took to try to compel action.

Agency spokesperson Ed Golder said he was not able to immediately answer related questions from Bridge Michigan while the agency deals with emergency response in Cheboygan.

Josef Greenberg, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which regulates dams in the state that are not regulated by FERC, said state officials had communicated with federal counterparts about the issues at the dam, but did not play a regulatory role.

In the fire’s aftermath, federal officials continued issuing letters flagging unresolved safety issues at the hydro plant, some of them dating back years.

They pressed current and past owners for clarity about who was in charge, a process complicated by a flurry of legal disputes between parties with a stake in the floundering business.

Eventually, Hom Paper emerged as the rightful owner in FERC’s eyes, and the agency ordered the company to either restore the hydro plant to working condition or risk losing the license exemption that allows it to generate hydropower.

Company lawyer Tyler Tennent initially responded that doing so was no longer economically feasible: “Hom Paper XI, LLC no longer intends or desires to operate the hydroelectric machinery,” Tennent wrote in August 2025.

Then Hom Paper found a potential buyer, asking FERC for repeated extensions of time to repower the plant while it worked to finalize the deal.

The would-be buyer: HydroMine Cheboygan LLC, a Wyoming-based corporation spearheaded by Roy Davis, a self-proclaimed  “blue-collar mechanic that fixes things,” who has restarted power operations at other aging dams in Eaton Rapids and Hubbardston.

“Hom Paper and HydroMine are very near to having a signed agreement,” Hom’s lawyer, Tyler Tennent, wrote to FERC in January.

Tennent told regulators HydroMine was negotiating water management agreements with the DNR and working with Consumers Energy to repower the site.

“We appreciate FERC’s continued patience,” he wrote.

Three months later, the plant remained nonfunctional Thursday night, reducing the Cheboygan dam’s ability to pass floodwater that had climbed within five inches of its crest.

Residents in the floodzone have been urged to prepare for evacuation in case of dam failure.

Looking ahead

An estimated 75 Consumers Energy workers have been at the dam to get the privately owned hydroelectric power plant running, Michigan State Police said Thursday. 

By Thursday evening, signs pointed that restoration would be imminent, said Bruce Straub, Consumers’ incident commander.

Preserving dam integrity across northern Michigan will be important to the region once the crisis abates, said Sharen Lange, a Cheboygan business owner active in economic development, including on Cheboygan Commons.

Many in the area keep talking about who should own the hydro plant, Lange said. Others are saying that the city or county could take action. 

“We know that it being in private hands has produced a really bad result,” Lange said. 

The post Michigan feared Cheboygan Dam danger for years before rains pushed it to brink appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/04/17/michigan-feared-cheboygan-dam-danger-for-years-before-rains-pushed-it-to-brink/

Bridge Michigan

On:
In: Energy News Roundup, Energy, Clean Energy, Ethanol and Fracking, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Ohio, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice

Catch the latest energy news from around the region. Check back for these monthly Energy News Roundups.

Ohio prosecutors are back to square one in their corruption case against two former FirstEnergy executives. Prosecutors accused former CEO Chuck Jones and senior vice president Mike Dowling of paying a state energy regulator a $4.3 million bribe. But the high-profile case ended in a mistrial after the jury couldn’t agree whether Jones and Dowling were guilty, even though others (including Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder) have been convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with the energy bribery scandal. A retrial is expected.

The Trump administration ordered two aging Indiana coal plants to be kept open another 90 days, through mid-June, at a cost utilities say is climbing into the hundreds of millions. The U.S. Department of Energy first moved to block the plants’ planned retirement in December, citing a need to prevent electricity shortages. Days after the administration extended its order, the Illinois and Minnesota attorneys general sued, arguing in separate filings that keeping the plants open would increase costs for ratepayers in their states.

A Wisconsin coal plant’s retirement is being delayed — again. Utility We Energies said it will continue operating the Oak Creek Power Plant’s two remaining coal units through the end of 2027 to ensure energy reliability and affordability. The utility previously pushed back the units’ retirement from 2024 to 2025, then to 2026, citing high energy demand. Groups opposed to extending the plant’s life said it will have negative environmental and health impacts and lead to higher costs for ratepayers.

The Trump administration and Japanese partners plan to build a massive data center in Ohio powered by its own gas plant, at a cost in the tens of billions of dollars. If completed as planned, the Pike County technology campus would be the largest single private-sector investment in state history, Cleveland.com reported. There are already questions, though, about the kinds of delays a project of this scale could face.

And northwest Indiana could lose 12,000 jobs by the mid-2030s if the steel sector continues business as usual, according to a new report from the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute. If companies instead adopt cleaner technologies, the state could gain jobs while reducing carbon emissions and negative health impacts, the report found. Steelmaker, U.S. Steel, challenged some of the findings in the report that comes as Cleveland-Cliffs, another steelmaker, appears poised to recommit to coal at an Ohio steel mill.

More energy news, in case you missed it:

The post Ohio energy corruption case goes nowhere after jury deadlocks over bribery charges appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/04/08/ohio-energy-corruption-case-goes-nowhere-after-jury-deadlocks-over-bribery-charges/

Nicole Pollack, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Featured, Forests and Plants, Latest News, Milwaukee, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Research, Data and Technology, Science, Technology, Research, The States, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, Wisconsin

By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

A union leader representing federal Forest Service employees in Wisconsin says workers may have to move as part of the Trump administration’s plan to shutter regional offices.

The Forest Service announced Tuesday that the agency is moving its headquarters to Salt Lake City and closing nine regional offices, including in Milwaukee. Administrative and technical support in those offices will shift to six operational service centers, one of which will be located in Madison. The overhaul will also include 15 state directors to oversee operations in one or more states.

Brian Haas is president of the National Federation of Federal Employees Local 2165. The union represents employees in the Milwaukee regional office and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. He said the restructuring mostly affects Milwaukee-area employees. Union officials estimate around 50 employees may be affected.

“The regional office actually already was hit a lot harder by people leaving, retiring, taking the different buyouts,” Haas said. “They’re already really down in their numbers.”

Haas said workers have been told they can continue working for the service as long as they’re willing to relocate or change job descriptions. When the reorganization was first announced last year, he said many employees transferred or relocated amid Trump’s return-to-office order.

The number of Forest Service employees in Wisconsin dropped from 645 to 539 between federal fiscal year 2025 and 2026, according to federal workforce data.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which houses the Forest Service, has been shifting thousands of employees out of Washington. Around 260 employees in the nation’s capital will be expected to relocate to Salt Lake City, according to the Associated Press.

“This is about building a Forest Service that is nimble, efficient, effective and closer to the forests and communities it serves,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a statement.

Trump administration officials said the move will improve forest management, save taxpayer money and boost employee recruitment.

“The official stance from the administration is that it is not a reduction in force, but the reality on the ground is that it is going to continue to drive people to leave the agency,” Haas said.

A USDA spokesperson said employees will receive information about relocation timelines, options and resources to support their decisions. The agency said the number of staff that will be moved beyond the nation’s capital is unknown at this time.

Current and former Forest Service employees say the Trump administration’s actions over the past year have created chaos and uncertainty with few answers. The elimination of regional offices and shift to state-based hubs will take place over the coming year.

No changes for national forest in Wisconsin, research facilities close

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, or CNNF, has 235 employees who would be unaffected, according to Kaleigh Maze, a forest spokesperson. Maze said the forest and its district offices would see no changes to staffing.

“The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is committed to ensuring that all operations — including wildfire readiness and response — continue without interruption,” Maze said.

Forest Service research facilities in 31 states will also close and be combined under a single research organization in Colorado. The agency’s website shows Rhinelander and Madison research sites would not be affected, but Haas said Rhinelander employees may also be required to move. As of 2023, the agency’s Forest Products Lab in Madison had 80 research scientists and 168 support staff.

Two other facilities are slated for closure in Wisconsin Rapids and Prairie du Chien. Paul Strong, former forest supervisor of the CNNF, said he’s unfamiliar with those sites and questioned whether USDA facilities may have been mistakenly included.

The USDA Forest Products Laboratory on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

The Forest Service said a single research organization would speed up the use of science in forest management and reduce duplication. Strong told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” it’s unclear what the move will mean for existing and long-term research projects.

“What I think we should be concerned about is what kind of pressure and stress this puts on employees and how they’re being treated as public servants,” Strong said.

Under the reorganization, the Forest Service said there will be no changes to firefighters or their positions. But the Trump administration is seeking to bring firefighting efforts under a single agency, which would affect thousands of employees if implemented.

Former U.S. Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck served during the Clinton administration and lives in Wisconsin. He said he supports efforts to streamline the agency, noting past proposals to reorganize offices failed due to lacking support from congressional lawmakers.

Even so, he noted a similar attempt to move the Bureau of Land Management during Trump’s first term was later reversed. Dombeck said restructuring will likely cause the agency to lose more staff who choose not to uproot their families. He also fears the agency will lose ground on managing 193 million acres of national forests, climate change and wildland firefighting issues.

“I think this will be a real wake-up call to what the real values of national forests are,” Dombeck said. “We need to really ask this administration: what is the end game when we take a look at this level of chaos?”

Editor’s note: This story was updated with staffing figures on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest from the U.S. Forest Service.

Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2026, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

The post Forest Service workers in Wisconsin may have to move after reorganization, union leader says appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/04/08/forest-service-workers-in-wisconsin-may-have-to-move-after-reorganization-union-leader-says/

Wisconsin Public Radio

On:
In: Advocacy, Drinking Water, epa, Equity and Environmental Justice, Latest News, Michigan, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts

By Tracy Samilton, Michigan Public

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work HERE.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced new initiatives to tackle microplastics in the human body and drinking water on Thursday.

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic – as small as nano-sized pieces – that are increasingly ubiquitous in water supplies and in the human body.

Zeldin said the environmental agency will add microplastics and pharmaceuticals to its list of concerning chemicals in drinking water. “For the first time in the program’s history, EPA is designating both microplastics and pharmaceuticals as priority contaminant groups,” he said.

Kennedy said the government will create a $144-million program called STOMP (Systematic Targeting of Microplastics).

“We are focusing on three questions, what is in the body, what’s causing harm, and how do we remove it?” Kennedy said. “We still do not have clear answers about causation or solutions,” Kennedy said. “We do not yet understand how these particles interact with the immune system, the endocrine system or the neurological system, and we do not have validated methods to remove them safely.”

But a number of environmental groups said the actions taken by the government aren’t sufficient.

“Microplastics are a serious – and growing – threat to our health and our environment,” Erin Doran of Food & Water Watch said in a statement. “Without monitoring of our drinking water, we can’t know the full scale of this crisis. Today’s announcement …ultimately falls short on its own. It does not reflect the urgent need for a comprehensive nationwide monitoring program for microplastics in drinking water now.”

Samantha Pickering leads the public and environmental public health program at the Michigan Environmental Council. She said the EPA’s acknowledgment of the problem is a good thing, but there’s more that should be done now, like adding microplastics to the government’s official list of contaminants in drinking water that must be monitored.

She said she agrees with the EPA that much more research needs to be done to determine the health effects of microplastics. But she said there’s enough evidence already that microplastics are bad for the environment and for humans.

“I appreciate that the EPA is acknowledging that they’re going to start watching it. but it needs to be shifted into a precautionary approach. I don’t see why they wouldn’t be able to start taking action,” she said.

Pickering said some states, including California and Michigan, are ahead of the U.S. EPA in tackling the problem. “Having the Great Lakes ecosystem, and so much Great Lakes shoreline, we’re a bit more responsible for our stewardship.”

Michigan will be conducting a pilot to test five different drinking water systems for the contaminants, she noted, and it will also, for the next three years, test about 200 of its inland lakes and streams for microplastics.

And Pickering said California has passed a law requiring the adoption of a system for testing drinking water supplies, as well as projects to keep plastics out of the marine environment.

The post U.S. EPA announces action on microplastics, but Michigan critics say it’s not enough appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/04/07/u-s-epa-announces-action-on-microplastics-but-michigan-critics-say-its-not-enough/

Michigan Public

On:
In: Featured, Michigan, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Research, Data and Technology, Science, Technology, Research, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments

The Trump administration plans to close four US Forest Service research facilities in Michigan, shifting scientists out of the state as it reorganizes and consolidates the agency.

Officials have not announced a closure date for the facilities, located in the Lower Peninsula communities of East Lansing and Wellston, between Manistee and Cadillac, and the Upper Peninsula communities of Houghton and L’Anse, saying changes will be implemented over the next year.

The Forest Service headquarters will also move from Washington, DC, to Salt Lake City in what Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described as a measure to save money, boost logging and put workers “closer to the landscapes we manage.”

“Establishing a western headquarters in Salt Lake City and streamlining how the Forest Service is organized will position the Chief and operation leaders closer to the landscapes we manage and the people who depend on them,” Rollins said in a news release.

The announcement prompted dismay in Houghton, where workers with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station collaborate closely with researchers at Michigan Technological University and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. A smaller group in L’Anse conducts forest inventories and analysis.

“It’s very disappointing,” said David Flaspohler, dean of the university’s College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. “I understand priorities change from one administration to the next, and this administration is interested in increasing the volume of timber that is coming off of the national forests. To do that in a sustainable, safe way, you have to have people that are trained in the latest science and silviculture.”

Flaspohler estimated between 20 and 25 people work at the Houghton station, including scientists and other staff. The station has a “multidecadal history of partnerships” with researchers and foresters in the UP, he said. 

The heavily forested Upper Peninsula contains more than 8 million acres of forestland, split roughly evenly between private or locally owned timberland and state and federal forests.

Beyond conducting research that aims to keep northern forests healthy and productive, Flaspohler said, the lab is an important economic contributor to a region with scarce jobs.

“This lab with its many employees — who all had salaries and invested in the region just like any employed person does — that’s going to be lost.”

Two-thirds of facilities cut 

The Michigan facilities are part of a network of 57 nationwide. Nineteen will remain following the closures, with the Forest Service instead establishing regional hubs that serve multiple states. 

A Madison, Wisconsin, hub will serve Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri.

Michigan DNR spokesperson John Pepin said leaders in the state Forestry Resources Division are not yet sure how the changes will affect the state agency, which works closely with federal partners. 

“It’s pretty apparent that the details and individual impacts to a lot of programs are not worked out yet,” Pepin said. 

The biggest change appeared to be in Houghton, Pepin said. The facility houses the Northern Institute for Applied Climate Science, which Pepin said is relocating to Fort Collins, Colorado.

He said DNR and university officials in Michigan and other Great Lakes states “have worked closely” with the institute for many years assessing the climate vulnerability of forests, developing adaptation strategies and applying it to forest management.

It wasn’t clear whether layoffs would occur as part of the reorganization, but the administration’s announcement emphasized the reduction of “administrative duplication.”

“The Forest Service will provide employees and partners with detailed transition guidance as different milestones approach,” stated an agency release.

Agency spokespeople did not immediately respond to emailed questions from Bridge Michigan. 

Phone calls to Forest Service facilities in Houghton and Lansing were not answered. A person who picked up the phone in the Huron-Manistee National Forest, which includes the Wellston office, declined to comment. Bridge Michigan was unable to locate a phone number for the L’Anse facility.

While an agency press release described the move as a “structural reset and a common-sense approach to improve mission delivery,” some critics have described it as an effort to shrink the Forest Service and shift its mission away from protecting forests and toward logging and privatization.

Utah has been a frequent battleground for debates about public lands, from the fight over Bears Ears National Monument to a lawsuit by the state of Utah that aimed to take control of millions of acres of federal land and Utah Senator Mike Lee’s repeated efforts to sell off public land. 

“This reorganization will wreak havoc on the Forest Service management and organization, adding fuel to the unpopular narrative by officials like Senator Mike Lee that public lands should be sold off to private industry” said Josh Hicks, Conservation Campaigns Director at The Wilderness Society. “At a time when wildfires are getting worse, and access to public lands is already under strain, the last thing we need is an unnecessary reorganization.”

The post Trump administration plans closure of 4 Michigan forestry research centers appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/04/06/trump-administration-plans-closure-of-4-michigan-forestry-research-centers/

Bridge Michigan

On:
In: Buffalo, Equity and Environmental Justice, Featured, New York, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts

By Jennifer Wybieracki, Inside Climate News

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Julissa Hernandez was at work when she saw the news, in 2024, that a young mother, Chianti Means, had jumped to her death at Niagara Falls State Park, taking her two young children, a 9-year-old and 5-month old baby, with her. When Hernandez called her dad later that day, she realized that Means was a second cousin who used to babysit her.

Hernandez feels like she often hears stories from her friends and people in the community about another person trying to commit suicide or another person dying. Hernandez and Donte West, a high school classmate, recall at least five students who died by suicide during their time at Niagara Falls High School. 

“Even if the signs are there, people just excuse it, because that’s just how the people in the Falls are,” Hernandez said.

Once celebrated as the honeymoon capital of the world, Niagara Falls is now better known for its environmental and mental health challenges, with data showing higher suicide rates a growing body of research suggesting a link between these issues and local conditions.

Niagara County Health Assessment data indicate that the area has elevated air pollution levels and suicide rates higher than the state average, at 14.2 per 100,000 individuals. ZIP codes in Niagara Falls report the highest rates of youth asthma-related emergency room visits. New research correlates air pollution with mental health disorders, such as depression. 

Environmental and genetic factors influence the developing brain. Researchers are still exploring exactly how air pollution impacts young minds, but several studies have found that high levels of particulate matter 2.5 microns, or PM2.5, in the air can affect brain chemistry, leading to increased aggression and a loss of emotional control. Other forms of air pollution have been linked to the development of mental health disorders such as anxiety, psychosis and neurocognitive disorders such as dementia. 

Niagara County no longer has active Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality monitors for PM2.5 or NO2 and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s monitor list shows many Niagara sites closed before 2012. Factories such as Covanta and Goodyear still report emissions to the state and the EPA under their Title V permits, however, the reports do not reflect the air quality experienced by residents in surrounding neighborhoods. The area’s air quality is now estimated using regional models and data from neighboring counties, leaving uncertainty about what residents in Niagara Falls are actually breathing.

A view of Niagara Falls State Park. Credit: Matt Hofmann

A study published in 2025 found 36 links between ambient air pollutants and adverse mental health disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Psychologist John Roberts and a team from the University at Buffalo took this research one step further and examined how air pollution exposure affecting mental health might be correlated with historical redlining in several cities in New York state, including Niagara Falls. 

Redlining was a structural racism practice conducted across the United States beginning in the 1930s that involved denying mortgages to residents of racial or ethnic minorities. Roberts’ study looked at the impact of ambient air pollutant levels on emergency room visits for mental disorders and how those visits varied across neighborhoods affected by redlining. Overall, they found that both PM2.5 and NO2 were elevated and significantly associated with mental health disorder-related emergency room visits in historically segregated New York state neighborhoods. 

“We looked at the overall concentration levels of air pollutants across regions [in the city] and found that there were elevated levels in the redlined neighborhoods,” Roberts said. “So the discriminated neighborhoods had greater pollutants, because there’s more industry or disposal wastes there.”

That means young adults in Niagara Falls are at risk, facing the adverse health effects of intensive, concentrated industry pollution. [StoryGISMap] 

In the early 1900s, engineers were drawn to the region’s potential for harnessing hydropower. This hydroelectricity enabled electrochemical processes that use electric currents to trigger chemical reactions to produce compounds such as chlorine and caustic soda, or to extract aluminum from aluminum oxide. This process made Niagara Falls home to factories that produced defensive chemicals and materials used for building atomic bombs during World War II. Radioactive slag still plagues the city years later. [Source]

It also brought companies such as Hooker Chemical, which became notorious for the Love Canal catastrophe, where leaking industrial waste from a toxic chemical dump, on which a Niagara Falls neighborhood was built, led to a landmark environmental disaster that helped spark the modern environmental movement and prompted the establishment of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980. Today, it appears history is repeating itself, only now, the federal government is removing limits and regulations on toxic emissions. 

Since President Donald Trump’s second term began, his administration has moved quickly to slash EPA funding and weaken emissions standards for major industries. Congress overturned Biden administration rules regulating seven toxic air pollutants, marking the first efforts to curb the Clean Air Act since its inception.

The rollbacks threaten cities like Niagara Falls, where factories still operate near residential neighborhoods.

In 2025, the Niagara Falls City School District lost nearly $734,000 in funding to provide support services for students and families after the Trump administration cut funding for two school-based mental health grants.

That funding cut impacted the Niagara Falls Student Champion Team, a student group Hernandez and West were both a part of before they graduated. Members focus on mental health awareness and trauma-informed learning. The students meet with the office manager from the University at Buffalo’s Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care School of Social Work twice a month to learn about trauma, its causes and how to be sensitive when discussing traumatic experiences. Students also share ideas and develop strategies to support their school’s and community’s mental health efforts. 

The team is still active this school year, but has scaled back its activities due to budget cuts.

With the death of another student at the beginning of the last school year, the district administration arranged for the team to present what they’ve learned to Niagara Falls’ mayor and city council in early 2025. In May, during Mental Health Awareness Month, the team also presented before the Buffalo Bills Foundation, a philanthropic arm of the NFL team that supports organizations that are committed to improving the quality of life in the Western New York region, which donated $10,000 to support trauma-informed care training. 

The school district used to conduct Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, but hasn’t since 2019. The surveys found that high school students in the city of Niagara Falls reported feeling more sad or hopeless in the past year than students statewide. More than 43 percent of students reported serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions due to physical, mental or emotional problems. 

Niagara Falls High School is surrounded by powerplant and factories. Niagara resident Amanda West says she can feel the exhaust chemicals on her skin when she goes outside sometimes. Photo by Matt Hofmann.

In response, the Niagara Falls school district has hired 18 social workers for the district over the last seven years. Before that, there were zero. Each district school also has a family support center which offers students and their families food, clothing and services they need to set students up for success. The district also offers Say Yes Buffalo opportunities which provides students tuition and support to increase the rates of high school and post-secondary completion.

“[The surveys] showed that suicide and suicide ideation is high,” district Superintendent Mark Laurrie said. “I think that comes from a lot of people feeling hopeless. I think that poverty causes a lack of schema, and people can’t see what they can become, or what they can do, because we’re surrounded by poverty.”

Roberts added that aside from poverty, family conflict, abuse, discrimination and other social trauma as a child can create a negative cognitive schema, which changes one’s basic beliefs and values about themself and changes their capacity for feeling in control. He said environmental stressors, such as pollution and violence that are elevated in sacrifice zones, make matters more difficult. 

While the district is developing more resources for students, the high school still sits across the street from some of the city’s largest polluters.

Hernandez and West describe the school as run-down and likened it to a prison. They said they felt stressed at school because when they looked out their classroom windows, all they saw were factories.

“We don’t got much going for us in terms of positivity,” Hernandez said. 

Hernandez was born and raised in Niagara Falls, but she lived with family in North Carolina for eighth and ninth grade, during the COVID-19 pandemic. She noticed her skin cleared up and her asthma symptoms disappeared after she left Niagara Falls. She was able to start running again, which is something she had to give up years ago because she could never catch her breath.

Julissa Hernandez played several sports throughout childhood, her favorite being softball. Credit: Matt Hofmann

Hernandez grew up participating in a wide range of sports, including softball, soccer, lacrosse, track, dance, cheerleading and gymnastics. As she got older, her asthma got worse, forcing her to gradually drop every sport. She believes the poor air quality in Niagara Falls contributed to her asthma complications.

Hernandez is now an early childhood education major at Niagara University. After graduation, she hopes to become a teacher with newly acquired trauma-informed tools to help students and educate parents and guardians. West joined the team after seeing their presentation to the Niagara Falls City Council and was interested in learning and advocating for students who don’t have safe living environments. He had an aunt and a cousin who died by suicide.

“If you’re around nothing but drama and chaos, you’re not gonna be able to focus or feel right,” West said “There is no room for somebody to get their mental state right if they don’t even know how to do it.”

Christen E. Civiletto, born and raised in the city, is now a lawyer, an environmental law adjunct professor at The University at Buffalo and author of the forthcoming book “Thundering Waters: The Toxic Legacy of Niagara Falls,” set for release in June. She has spent more than 20 years researching contamination in Niagara Falls. 

“People are sick in numbers too high to ignore. Niagara Falls’ children are bearing the brunt of harm from past and ongoing pollution—these are generational harms that must be addressed before any hope of restoration in the Falls is possible,” she said.

“If you’re around nothing but drama and chaos, you’re not gonna be able to focus or feel right,” West said “There is no room for somebody to get their mental state right if they don’t even know how to do it.”

Christen E. Civiletto, born and raised in the city, is now a lawyer, an environmental law adjunct professor at The University at Buffalo and author of the forthcoming book “Thundering Waters: The Toxic Legacy of Niagara Falls,” set for release in June. She has spent more than 20 years researching contamination in Niagara Falls. 

“People are sick in numbers too high to ignore. Niagara Falls’ children are bearing the brunt of harm from past and ongoing pollution—these are generational harms that must be addressed before any hope of restoration in the Falls is possible,” she said.

Industry along Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Credit: Matt Hofmann
Industry along Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Credit: Matt Hofmann

Brian Archie, a lifelong Niagara Falls resident, is tackling the city’s health epidemic from two angles. He is a current member of the Niagara Falls City Council and also serves as the executive director of the Creating a Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative (CAHNF), which focuses on building community by improving the social determinants of health. The collaborative also educates residents about topics  such as air quality and mental health.

The Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo recently awarded the collaborative $10,000 to host a youth workshop on organizing and environmental justice.

The collaborative also partners with the Buffalo Clean Air Coalition, a nonprofit that develops grassroots leaders who organize their communities to lead environmental justice and public health campaigns in western New York.

The coalition hosted three environmental justice meetings in Niagara Falls in between June and October.

Brian Archie speaks at an event in the spring of 2025. Credit: Jennifer Wybieracki

Archie and the Niagara Falls City Council are teaming up with residents to develop programs and policies that aim to improve mental well-being and physical health. Last fall, Niagara Falls became a New York state Climate Smart Community, a state program that provides climate assistance to local governments. 

“If I’m not working to change our city, then I’m complacent,” said Archie.

Despite the legacy of pollution and intergenerational trauma there are still these places where hope is alive and community persists. Just like the Love Canal Homeowners Association back in the 1970s, the community is fighting back. 

“There’s this rule in organizing that if we can get just 3.5 percent of a population united behind a shared goal, we can make societal changes,” said Bridge Rauch, Clean Air Coalition environmental justice coordinator. “Three or four people out of 100 and you can make a lot of things happen.”

With citywide groups such as CAHNF and student-led groups such as the National Champion Team, Rauch feels like the sky’s the limit.

“Ultimately, I believe basic organizing is what will restore deep democracy and build community across movements and demographics, and allow us to tackle the issues of the 21st century,” said Rauch. 

Donte West at his graduation in June 2025. Credit: Matt Hofmann

In June 2025, West sat in a half-filled auditorium for the Coalition’s first ever environmental justice meeting for Niagara Falls residents. He listened to Rauch speak about his city’s history, including the Love Canal catastrophe and asked questions, including why he wasn’t taught about the environmental threats in school. 

“I don’t know why it isn’t brought up, it could literally happen again,” West said. “Trauma is passed down generation after generation, and people don’t know how to stop it.”

Reporting for this project was supported by the Pulitzer Center

The post How Two Teens in Niagara Falls Are Confronting Pollution and a Mental Health Crisis appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/04/01/how-two-teens-in-niagara-falls-are-confronting-pollution-and-a-mental-health-crisis/

Inside Climate News

On:
In: Buffalo, Equity and Environmental Justice, Featured, Fish, Birds and Animals, New York, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts

New York’s Scajaquada Creek was the site of a more subdued, long-term environmental catastrophe compared to its infamous neighbor, the Love Canal. Instead of a chemical company burying thousands of tons of toxic waste over a couple decades, the suburban Buffalo stream was the site of industrial and municipal waste disposal. This went on for nearly a century before several miles of it were literally buried in a massive public works project in the 1920s. Only in recent decades has serious attention been given to transforming Scajaquada back into some version of a healthy stream.  

“We like to say Scajaquada Creek encapsulates everything you could do wrong to a creek,” said Jill Spisiak Jedlicka, executive director at Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper.  “It’s only 13 miles long with a small watershed. It’s really an example of what not to do to a creek.” 

Since before the turn of the century the stream, which forms in Lancaster about 14 miles east of downtown Buffalo, had been mistreated. For decades its main function was to carry away raw sewage in addition to a steady flow of waste from the region’s industries. Scajaquada Creek has remained in such bad shape that in 2014 western New York artist and conservationist Alberto Rey included it in his Biological Regionalism series which includes waters in the greatest of distress.  

“It was buried because it was actually voted on in a public referendum in the 1920s. The creek was so polluted they said ‘The creek must go,’” Spisiak Jedlicka explained. “So they buried it underground, instead of addressing the problem.”  

Subsequently, portions of the creek which were buried became new land that was later developed.  Today there  are roads and parking lots sitting directly atop the creek as it makes its way to the Niagara River near its confluence with Lake Erie, then Lake Ontario. In addition to hiding a portion of the stream a century ago, wetlands that once helped mitigate pollution have been largely eliminated in the name of development. A shopping mall was built in 1989 which destroyed 65%of the watershed’s wetlands. In addition, raw sewage dumped into the creek from municipalities meant the waterway was loaded with human waste and bacteria. According to The Investigative Post, in May 2014 raw sewage combined with stormwater overflow was dumped into Scajaquada on 283 separate discharges.  

Reports from the same year indicate that decaying fecal matter covered the creek bed, as thick as five feet in some places. In addition, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other dangerous chemicals were found in quantities high enough for the New York Department of Health to issue advisories against consumption of any fish from the stream.     

Scajaquada sewage 

Here Scajaquada Creek emerges from several miles in one portion of the creek that was buried in the 1920s. (Photo Credit: James Proffitt)

While there have been murmurs of “daylighting” portions of the creek, the consensus is that’s not likely to happen. But in recent years, ideas and money have made their way into the hands of those working to fix the creek. While heavy industry is no longer the creek’s major polluter, the population at large is.  

During the last several days of 2025, reports estimate that at least 37 million gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage flowed into the Buffalo-area waterways during a rain and snow-melt event.  

Buffalo’s combined sewer overflow (CSO) system, where stormwater inundates city sewer systems during heavy rains, is currently the major polluter of the creek. During heavy precipitation events, stormwater flows into sewer lines beneath the city and when too much water inundates the system, the storm water combines with raw sewage and often flows into Scajaquada. 

According to Rosaleen Nogle, principal sanitary engineer for the Buffalo Sewer Authority, more than 95% of Buffalo’s infrastructure is the CSO system, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.  

“In an older city like Buffalo, it’s very difficult to separate because there’s so much infrastructure underground already,” she said, citing right-of-ways that include gas, electric and cable lines. “Not only is it much more difficult, it’s much more expensive.” 

Nogle said the installation of innovative systems like “Smart Sewer” stations are helping to alleviate CSO events. Those systems open and close underground gates during heavy rains channeling stormwater into available underground pipes. Utilizing some of the city’s older and larger pipes to store CSO for future treatment prevents stormwater runoff combined with sewage from entering streams and rivers.  

“Basically it’s storing in place using the excess space we have,” she said. “We have about 10 installations today and we’re continuing to advance the use of this technology to manage our system and store where we have the capacity, optimizing the amount of flow coming through our treatment plant.” 

Overflows during storm events have led to litigation. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation filed its most recent lawsuit against BSA for failing to meet terms of a prior long term control plan. That litigation, according to Jedlicka, was a formality needed to reach a new agreement between the state and the Buffalo Sewer Authority in an ongoing effort to improve Scajaquada and other streams in the region.  

Bright spots in a dark history 

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeepers efforts to improve Scajaquada are persistent including public awareness campaigns like this banner at Hoyt Lake in Buffalo. (Photo Credit: James Proffitt)

While there are plenty of downsides to Scajaquada, there are upsides, too. Like the fact that despite pollution, a wide variety of wildlife still call it home. Surveys included in a 2024 Army Corps of Engineers study indicates the presence of turtles, beaver, fox and mink in the stream and its smaller tributaries. Flying residents include songbirds, owls, hawks, ducks, herons and swans, among others. A surprising amount of fish species are also found in the stream.  

Likely the most well-known residents are found at Forest Lawn, a 269-acre cemetery in the heart of the city. It’s the site where the longest hidden portion of the creek emerges from a tunnel. 

“We have a lot of Canada geese here, I’d say that’s our bread-and-butter,” explained, Jennifer Kovach, executive administrative assistant. “Sometimes people mention coyotes, I’m not sure if we have any right now, but every so often we’ll get them. And we’ve had an owl that’s been nesting here so we have baby owls every spring and little mink that run through, and wood chucks. But the best-known is the deer. We hear about them every day.” 

The deer she mentions are a small herd including several leucistic individuals (all white, yet not albino) that reside at Forest Lawn, on the banks of Scajaquada. 

“One time we had a deer out on Delaware Avenue and someone called to let us know our deer left,” she chuckled. “I told them, it’s not our deer and they have free will so they can leave and come back, whatever they want to do.” 

Kovach said because of the large number of trees at Forest Lawn, during spring the cemetery becomes a birding hotspot. 

“We’re on the flight path for migrating warblers so lots of birders will come and literally stake out all day in the spring with their long lens cameras and get some spectacular shots,” she said. 

According to Kovach, improvements to the creek are an ongoing endeavor.  

“We work with Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper and did a really big restoration project on the creek about seven years ago,” she said. “We’re constantly doing work on the creek. Down near the S-curves we restored the wetlands where it used to be kind of a big pit. Now it’s all native grass species and native trees and it’s really a beautiful area to walk around in.” 

Waterkeeper is engaged in spring shoreline cleanups as well as smaller, focused cleanups in addition to public awareness campaigns.  

“We’ve witnessed local anglers fishing it, in particular certain immigrant communities who rely on it despite the consumption warnings,” Jedlicka said. “They actually catch fish, like bottom-feeding carp and so we try to do some outreach with that. There are some people that paddle the headwaters, but for the most part in the lower creek people don’t come into contact with the water.” 

New projects to help Scajaquada 

Despite pollution a wide variety of birds mammals and fish persist on the creek including the most-polluted stretches. (Photo Credit: James Proffitt)

Water quality improvement projects meant to help the stream were announced by the NYDEC on Jan. 17. The Buffalo Sewer Authority  will receive $10 million to install infrastructure to reduce CSO events on both Scajaquada and nearby Black Rock Canal. An additional $10 million in water quality improvements will take place in the Town of Cheektowaga to renovate a half mile of sewer infrastructure including 1,200 manhole covers to reduce CSO during storms. 

Jedlicka said ongoing partnerships have helped the efforts, including funding from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation and the Ralph Wilson Jr. Foundation. And the continuing cleanup couldn’t be done without Mother Nature, as well.  

“You have to remember the creek water isn’t polluted 100 percent of the time,” she explained. “It’s fed by clean, cold spring water so there’s a lot of natural inputs that help keep the creek alive so that when there’s not an overflow happening, it can sustain fish and wildlife which is why we keep working at this — if we can just eliminate as much discharge as we can and mitigate it, the creek will begin to repair itself. It’s not all doom and gloom.”  

The post Scajaquada Creek, a Cautionary Tale appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/03/18/scajaquada-creek-a-cautionary-tale/

James Proffitt, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice
Trump administration moves to weaken federal protections for waterways and wetlands

By Aidan Hughes, Inside Climate News

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army announced a proposal last week to further define, and scale back, the number of waterways and wetlands protected by the federal government under the Clean Water Act, a bedrock environmental law.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/trump-administration-moves-to-weaken-federal-protections-for-waterways-and-wetlands/

Inside Climate News

On:
In: Advocacy, Authors, Budget, Chicago, epa, Feature Homepage, Gary Wilson, Illinois, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, trump, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts
Rethinking Strategy in the Era of the Trump EPA

The administration of President Donald Trump acted quickly and unilaterally when it launched its blitzkrieg to dramatically downsize and alter the mission of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

There were no bureaucratic task forces, collaborations or obligatory outreach sessions to the public for comment before taking action.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/08/rethinking-strategy-in-the-era-of-the-trump-epa/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Climate change, climate resilience, Equity and Environmental Justice, Latest News, News, northeast ohio, Ohio, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research
Local health group seeks Northeast Ohio climate resilience solutions from those most at risk

By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media

This story was originally published by Ideastream.

The Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition is exploring the climate resilience of Northeast Ohio by identifying those most at risk and provide possible solutions.

The coalition, through a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Ohio State University’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Evaluation Studies, has hosted Reimagining Communities Conversations in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Lake and Mahoning counties so far to see how prepared residents feel in the face of severe weather made worse by climate change.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/07/local-health-group-seeks-northeast-ohio-climate-resilience-solutions-from-those-most-at-risk/

Ideastream Public Media

On:
In: Agriculture, Chicago, Farming, Illinois, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, supreme court, wetlands
This wetland fight could go to the Supreme Court

A pending court case could impact farmers across the country. At issue is a USDA rule aimed at protecting wetlands called “Swampbuster.” In place since 1985, it’s being challenged in court by an absentee landowner in Iowa.

Under Swampbuster, farmers have to agree not to drain or fill their wetlands, in order to receive farm benefits such as crop insurance, disaster relief and USDA loans.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/07/this-wetland-fight-could-go-to-the-supreme-court/

Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Partnership, Chemical Valley, Collaboration, History and Culture, indigenous communities, Latest News, News, Ontario, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, pollution, Tribal Governments and First Nations
How Ontario could have cracked down on Chemical Valley pollution — but chose not to

By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/07/how-ontario-could-have-cracked-down-on-chemical-valley-pollution-but-chose-not-to/

The Narwhal

On:
In: Climate, Climate change, Collaboration, Latest News, Michigan, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research, trump, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments
After Trump cuts, Michigan helps pay for remainder of climate work program

By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Interlochen Public Radio and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

Lucas Roff met his then-girlfriend when he was going to college at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/06/after-trump-cuts-michigan-helps-pay-for-remainder-of-climate-work-program/

Interlochen Public Radio

On:
In: Books, Authors, Art and Music, Environmental Justice, Equity and Environmental Justice, Feature Homepage, History and Culture, indigenous communities, Latest News, Minnesota, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts, water walks, Waves of Change
Waves of Change: Meet Ojibwe leader, activist and water walker Sharon Day

Waves of Change is an online interview series highlighting the diverse faces and perspectives shaping the environmental justice movement throughout the Great Lakes region.

Sharon Day is enrolled in the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe and makes her home in Minnesota, where she is a founder and the executive director of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force, a vital provider of culturally appropriate health services, programs and housing.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/06/waves-of-change-meet-ojibwe-leader-activist-and-water-walker-sharon-day/

Great Lakes Now

On:
In: army corps of engineers, enbridge, Enbridge Line 5 and Other Pipelines, Energy, Clean Energy, Ethanol and Fracking, Feature Homepage, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, line 5, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Tribal Governments and First Nations, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments
A guide to the federal review of the Line 5 tunnel

By Izzy Ross, IPR and Teresa Homsi, WCMU

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Interlochen Public Radio and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

The final day for the public to comment on a federal environmental review of the Line 5 tunnel is approaching on June 30.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/06/a-guide-to-the-federal-review-of-the-line-5-tunnel/

Interlochen Public Radio

On:
In: Blue Economy, Feature Homepage, Habitat Restoration, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Lake Superior, Latest News, News, Ontario, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, The Blue Economy, Thunder Bay, Tribal Governments and First Nations, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts
Thunder Bay is bringing its Great Lake shoreline back

My first glimpse of Lake Superior, in all its lore-and-song-inspiring glory, is a blurry one from the backseat of a taxi driving through Thunder Bay. 

Superior, or Gitchigumi, which means Great Lake in Anishinaabemowin, is the largest of those lakes, and the second largest lake in the world, containing 10 per cent of the planet’s fresh surface water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/05/thunder-bay-is-bringing-its-great-lake-shoreline-back/

Fatima Syed, The Narwhal

On:
In: Agriculture, Blue Economy, Farming, Feature Homepage, Groundwater Contamination, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, Michigan, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, The Blue Economy, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts
Conflict Over A Blockbuster Farm Chemical

Not since DDT was introduced to U.S. agriculture to kill insects after World War Two has a farm chemical been as important to American crop production, and come under more scientific, political, and legal scrutiny as the weedkiller Roundup, and its active ingredient, glyphosate.

With the election of President Donald Trump, the conflict over glyphosate’s risks and benefits entered a new realm of confrontation that has the potential to alter its stature as the favored chemical tool in agriculture, the largest user of fresh water in the blue economy of Michigan and the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/05/conflict-over-a-blockbuster-farm-chemical/

Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue

On:
In: Algae Blooms, algal blooms, Collaboration, Drinking Water, lake erie, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Research, Data and Technology, restoration, Science, Technology, Research, trump, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts
Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.

By Anna Clark, ProPublica

This story was originally published by ProPublica.

Just one year ago, JD Vance was a leading advocate of the Great Lakes and the efforts to restore the largest system of freshwater on the face of the planet.

As a U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/05/millions-of-people-depend-on-the-great-lakes-water-supply-trump-decimated-the-lab-protecting-it/

ProPublica

On:
In: Feature Homepage, First Nations, Fish, Birds and Animals, Lake sturgeon, Latest News, News, Ontario, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research, Tribal Governments and First Nations
Meet the people trying to keep a prehistoric fish alive

By Leah Borts-Kuperman, The Narwhal

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/04/meet-the-people-trying-to-keep-a-prehistoric-fish-alive/

The Narwhal

On:
In: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Partnership, Collaboration, First Nations, Fish, Birds and Animals, History and Culture, indigenous communities, Indigenous Rights, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Latest News, News, Ontario, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research, Tribal Governments and First Nations
Fish, mines and Indigenous Rights ensnared in court case in northern Ontario

By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal

Emma and photographer Christopher Katsarov Luna spent four days in northwestern Ontario, including visits to White Lake and Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg.

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/04/fish-mines-and-indigenous-rights-ensnared-in-court-case-in-northern-ontario/

The Narwhal

On:
In: Authors, Chicago, environmental protection agency, Feature Homepage, Gary Wilson, Illinois, Lake Michigan, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice
Experts explain criticality of regional EPA office

Change is happening since Donald Trump took office and began making good on campaign pledges to reduce the size and scope of the work of the federal agencies that serve the country.

And the 50-year-old focus of the U.S. EPA to protect the environment has not been immune.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/04/experts-explain-criticality-of-regional-epa-office/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Feature Homepage, Habitat Restoration, invasive species, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts, Work
Could the Great Lakes lose billions in restoration funding?

The Great Lakes, the world’s largest system of fresh surface water, supply drinking water to about 40 million people. But industrial pollution, agricultural runoff, and invasive species have caused significant problems. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was created to address these issues and has received bipartisan support since its inception.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/04/could-the-great-lakes-lose-billions-in-restoration-funding/

Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Advocacy, Chicago, Climate change, environmental protection agency, Equity and Environmental Justice, Feature Homepage, Feature-Chicago, Illinois, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, pollution, Science, Technology, Research
‘Everyone deserves clean air,’ says a Chicago EPA worker who fears her job will end

By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/04/everyone-deserves-clean-air-says-a-chicago-epa-worker-who-fears-her-job-will-end/

WBEZ

On:
In: invasive species, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research, sea lamprey, trump, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments
Sea lamprey control program receives OK to rehire federal workers, after initial scare

By Ellie Katz, Interlochen Public Radio

This article was republished with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.

The Great Lakes’ sea lamprey control program has the OK to rehire three dozen federal employees it needs to combat the eel-like, invasive fish species.

That’s after staffing cuts and hiring freezes from the Trump administration last month threatened the work, which the Great Lakes Fishery Commission said would have led to more than $200 million in lost fishing potential.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/sea-lamprey-control-program-receives-ok-to-rehire-federal-workers-after-initial-scare/

Interlochen Public Radio

On:
In: Authors, Feature Homepage, History and Culture, indigenous communities, lake erie, Latest News, Lisa John Rogers, News, Ohio, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, The States
Could Lake Erie really become Lake Ohio?

On March 14, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that perhaps Lake Erie should be changed to Lake Ohio. 

According to reporting from Cleveland.com:

“Anybody think if there’s a Lake Michigan, maybe there should be a Lake Ohio around here?” Ramaswamy said, about 13 miles away from Lake Erie.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/could-lake-erie-really-become-lake-ohio/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Buffalo, Chicago, Energy, Clean Energy, Ethanol and Fracking, Feature Homepage, Feature Milwaukee, Feature-Chicago, great lakes travel, high-speed rail, History and Culture, Illinois, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, Michigan, midwest trains, Milwaukee, New York, News, Ontario, Policy, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Recreation and Tourism, Research, Data and Technology, Science, Technology, Research, Sean Ericson, Toronto, Tourism, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, Wisconsin
What would the Great Lakes region be like with bullet trains?

A few months ago, I was riding on Amtrak’s new Borealis line from St. Paul, Minn., to Chicago. The train was packed that day, and the new line has proved popular.

My coach seat was much nicer than any airline. Plus, I didn’t have to go through security.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/what-would-the-great-lakes-region-be-like-with-bullet-trains/

Sean Ericson, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Authors, Feature Homepage, Gary Wilson, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice
Trump threatens Great Lakes agreements between U.S. and Canada

In 2024 when Donald Trump as a presidential candidate proposed piping water from British Columbia, Canada to California, his statement was largely dismissed as campaign rhetoric.

Once he was elected, Canadians started paying attention but the potential water grab was seen as logistically and politically problematic and unlikely to gain traction.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/trump-threatens-great-lakes-agreements-between-u-s-and-canada/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Lake Superior, Latest News, National Parks, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Recreation and Tourism, Tourism, trump, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, Wisconsin
National parks see a record number of visitors, including in Wisconsin

By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

Wisconsin saw more visitors at sites managed by the National Park Service last year, and America’s national parks had a record number of visitors.

News of the growing demand at the parks comes as the Trump administration has cut staff to manage them.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/national-parks-see-a-record-number-of-visitors-including-in-wisconsin/

Wisconsin Public Radio

On:
In: Authors, clean water act, epa, Feature Homepage, Latest News, Lisa John Rogers, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, supreme court, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts
What a recent Supreme Court ruling could mean for the future of the Clean Water Act

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of San Francisco in a case about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) sewage permits issued under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The court ruled that the EPA’s “end-result” water pollution permits are too speculative and that the EPA overstepped its authority in the case of San Francisco v.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/what-a-recent-supreme-court-ruling-could-mean-for-the-future-of-the-clean-water-act/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: canada, Energy, Clean Energy, Ethanol and Fracking, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, News, Ontario, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, trade, trump, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments
How Trump’s trade war could impact US electricity prices — and state climate plans

By Zoya Teirstein

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump initiated a trade war with Canada and Mexico, America’s two largest trading partners. Following through on weeks of threats, he imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported goods from Mexico and Canada and a lower 10 percent tariff on imports of Canadian energy resources.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/how-trumps-trade-war-could-impact-us-electricity-prices-and-state-climate-plans/

Grist

On:
In: Authors, Feature Homepage, History and Culture, indigenous communities, Latest News, Minnesota, News, Ojibwe communities, Ontario, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Staci Lola Drouillard, Tribal Governments and First Nations, Tribal Voices
Nibi Chronicles: Invisible Borders

“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her nonfiction books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” in 2024.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/nibi-chronicles-invisible-borders/

Staci Lola Drouillard, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Feature Homepage, Forests and Plants, History and Culture, indigenous communities, Latest News, Michigan, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research, tribal relations, trump, U.S. Forest Service, Wisconsin
US Forest Service firings decimate already understaffed agency: ‘It’s catastrophic’

By Katie Myers, Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, & Izzy Ross

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist, BPR, a public radio station serving western North Carolina, WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region, and Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/us-forest-service-firings-decimate-already-understaffed-agency-its-catastrophic/

Grist

On:
In: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Partnership, Collaboration, Forestry, Forests and Plants, invasive species, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Recreation and Tourism, Science, Technology, Research, sea lamprey, Tourism, trump
Trump firings hit Great Lakes sea lamprey program, Michigan forestry workers

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/trump-firings-hit-great-lakes-sea-lamprey-program-michigan-forestry/

Bridge Michigan

On:
In: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Partnership, Collaboration, Forestry, Forests and Plants, invasive species, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Recreation and Tourism, Science, Technology, Research, sea lamprey, Tourism, trump
Trump firings hit Great Lakes sea lamprey program, Michigan forestry workers

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/trump-firings-hit-great-lakes-sea-lamprey-program-michigan-forestry/

Bridge Michigan

On:
In: Feature Homepage, great lakes restoration, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, trump, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, vance, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts
Will JD Vance save the Great Lakes from Trump?

By Izzy Ross and Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist, Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan, and WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/will-jd-vance-save-the-great-lakes-from-trump/

Grist

On:
In: artificial intelligence, Drinking Water, epa, Feature Homepage, groundwater, Groundwater Contamination, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, Michigan, News, PFAS, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Water Quality and Restoration Efforts
Veteran Great Lakes advocate cautions on prioritizing economic development over protecting the environment

Rolling back clean water protection, gutting agencies and defunding science, research and monitoring is a non-starter for the Great Lakes region, says Ann Arbor environmental advocate Laura Rubin.

She was reacting to the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin’s recently released economy-oriented plan for the agency under President Donald Trump.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/veteran-great-lakes-advocate-cautions-prioritizing-economic-development-over-protecting-environment/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Agriculture, Blue Economy, canada, Feature Homepage, imports, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, tariffs, trump, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments
What the recent tariff news means for the Great Lakes

President Donald Trump has made rethinking international trade policy a centerpiece of his second administration. While Congress generally has the authority to regulate international trade, it has also delegated some of this authority to the president. On Feb. 1, Trump announced he would be imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, with a 10% tariff on Canadian energy.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/what-the-recent-tariff-news-means-for-the-great-lakes/

Sean Ericson, Great Lakes Now

On:
In: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Partnership, Chemical Valley, Collaboration, environmental racism, First Nations, History and Culture, indigenous communities, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, News, Ontario, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, pollution, Tribal Governments and First Nations, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments
Tackling environmental racism in Chemical Valley

By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/tackling-environmental-racism-in-chemical-valley/

The Narwhal

On:
In: Collaboration, Energy, Clean Energy, Ethanol and Fracking, Feature Homepage, Industry, Energy, Economic Development, Latest News, Michigan, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments
Trump tries to block EV charger money — again. Michigan impact ‘clear as mud’

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/trump-tries-to-block-ev-charger-money-again-michigan-impact-clear-as-mud/

Bridge Michigan

On:
In: ice cover, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Research, Research, Data and Technology, Science, Technology, Research, U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments
Iced out? Research on the Great Lakes goes ahead amid funding chaos.

By Izzy Ross, Grist

This coverage is made possible through a partnership with Grist and Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan.

The chaos surrounding the future of scientific research in the Trump administration’s first weeks has meant a bumpy beginning for a new program where ice fishing anglers and others on the frozen Great Lakes record ice thickness for research.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/iced-out-research-on-the-great-lakes-goes-ahead-amid-funding-chaos/

Grist

On:
In: Chicago, Climate change, Collaboration, Feature-Chicago, Illinois, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice, Science, Technology, Research, The States
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker set ambitious climate goals for the state. It’s far from meeting them.

By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/illinois-gov-jb-pritzker-set-ambitious-climate-goals-for-the-state-its-far-from-meeting-them/

WBEZ

On:
In: Equity and Environmental Justice, Latest News, News, Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice
Waves of Change: Meet JustAir Co-Founder and CEO Darren Riley

Waves of Change is an online interview series highlighting the diverse faces and perspectives shaping the environmental justice movement throughout the Great Lakes region.

This month, we spoke with Darren Riley, co-founder and CEO of JustAir, a Detroit-based organization whose mission is to use data, technology and analysis to protect the 20,000 breaths each person takes every day.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/waves-of-change-meet-justair-co-founder-and-ceo-darren-riley/

Great Lakes Now