If you’ve been outside, you’ve probably run into branta canadesis — the Canada Goose.
From urban parks to rural fields, these birds seem to be everywhere. And their presence isn’t always welcome. Goose poop can contain e. coli bacteria, and the birds themselves can carry — and spread — avian flu.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/geese-are-a-problem-what-can-we-do/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
A business competition to tackle environmental and infrastructure issues in the Great Lakes kicked off last week.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/blue-tech-challenge-aims-at-gathering-business-solutions-to-great-lakes-problems/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.
In the 1960s, an oxbow was eliminated in the lower Rouge River when a concrete channel was built to move stormwater out of the watershed.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/great-lakes-moment-rouge-river-oxbow-enhances-education-the-henry-ford/
By Michael Livingston, Interlochen Public Radio
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Microplastics are everywhere.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/points-north-a-sticky-solution-for-microplastics/
In the Great Lakes region alone, Ducks Unlimited (DU) has been involved in hundreds of projects in the past decade that involve either the conservation of wetlands through acquisition, or the restoration and management of wetlands. These projects — always in concert with public and private partners, universities and other organizations — seek to establish or conserve the maximum amount of acreage possible with available funds.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/how-ducks-unlimited-became-heroes-of-the-conservation-movement/
Catch the latest updates on what’s happening with PFAS in the Great Lakes region. Check back for more PFAS news roundups every other week on our website.
A new study out of Notre Dame shows that some smart watch wristbands, often labeled as waterproof, contain unusually high levels of “forever chemicals.” In a university press release, it was noted that nine out of the 22 bands tested, showed elevated levels of a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/study-shows-smart-watch-wristbands-contain-pfas-meanwhile-epa-tracks-nine-new-versions-of-forever-chemicals/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/fertilizer-from-sewage-a-utility-money-maker-faces-uncertain-future/
A recent Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan report documents substantial progress in creating The Great Lakes Way — an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from Port Huron, Michigan on southern Lake Huron to Toledo, Ohio on western Lake Erie.
In 2000, the Community Foundation polled metropolitan Detroit communities about obstacles to building greenways.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/great-lakes-moment-connecting-people-to-nature-through-the-great-lakes-way/
Activist group, Water Watchers, had reason to celebrate last month when water bottler BlueTriton announced it will cease operations in Puslinch, Ontario in January, 2025. The group’s website beamed “We Won” and said the exit was a “historic win for water justice.”
To get a better understanding of the issues surrounding bottled water in Ontario, Canada, Great Lakes Now contacted Arlene Slocombe, executive director of Water Watchers and McMaster University Professor, Dawn Martin-Hill and founder of the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster University.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/spotlight-on-complexity-of-bottled-water-issues-as-bluetriton-exits-ontario/
Great Lakes Now recently sat down with Margot Fass of the non-profit group, A Frog House. Located in Pittsfield, New York on the banks of the Erie Canal and on the edge of the Lake Ontario sub-basin. A Frog House helps to encourage ecological education, local advocacy and collaboration around clean water and thriving wetlands.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/5-reasons-to-build-a-backyard-frog-pond/
Over 77% of voters in Minnesota approved an extension of the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), that will continue to pay for conservation efforts for another 25 years. Funding for this casts a wide net, from outdoor education and trail investments, to invasive species and PFAS removal. The ENRTF was approved as an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution of the State in 1988, and generates funding from the Minnesota State Lottery.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/pfas-roundup-minnesota-votes-to-continue-conservation-and-pfas-cleanup-indiana-ends-firefighter-foam-collection-program/
By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/amish-farmers-partnership-with-beef-giant-produces-manure-mess/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Isabella Figueroa, Great Lakes Echo
Student researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin are among the winners of an Environmental Protection Agency contest for innovations in sustainability.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/students-at-michigan-state-and-wisconsin-win-epa-funding-for-environmental-health-innovations/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.
In the era of climate change, many Detroit homes and churches face challenging stormwater fees.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/great-lakes-moment-sacred-grounds/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/mining-is-back-in-michigans-upper-peninsula-heres-how-it-works/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/carp-catch-22-could-improvements-in-chicago-waterways-invite-unwelcome-guests/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/election-state-and-local-voters-consider-tax-increases-for-water-protection/
Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Dan Kildee introduced The Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act in July of 2023. Recently, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her support for the bill as a part of her presidential campaign. If passed, this would make it easier for veterans who were exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) while serving to access medical benefits and disability.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/pfas-roundup-vice-president-harris-supports-michigan-led-plan-to-provide-medical-care-for-military-victims-of-pfas/
Long after the Halloween season has ended, some of the Great Lakes’ most infamous invasive species remain a scary sight: blood-sucking parasites with suction-cup mouths, thousands of rotting fish carcasses washed ashore and sharp mussel shells that puncture the feet of unsuspecting beachgoers.
At least 188 nonnative aquatic species have been introduced to the Great Lakes, and over a third have become invasive, meaning they can have negative health, ecological and socioeconomic impacts when introduced to new ecosystems.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/great-lakes-most-unwanted-top-10-invasive-species/
By Fatima Syed, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/two-high-school-students-want-to-keep-trash-out-of-the-great-lakes-they-think-rivers-are-the-key/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Hurricane Milton made landfall last week in Florida, even as communities across the southeast are still reeling from Hurricane Helene.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/how-northern-michiganders-can-help-people-affected-by-hurricanes/
By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal
Emma and photographer Christopher Katsarov Luna spent four days in northwestern Ontario, reporting from the shore of Lake Superior.
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/the-lonely-lake-superior-caribou-and-a-lesson-in-limits/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/a-decade-after-flint-feds-require-nationwide-lead-pipe-removal/
By Kristoffer Tigue, 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.
MINNEAPOLIS—A record amount of federal aid will soon flow to states to help fix, replace or demolish their aging dams, many of which are under increasing pressure as climate change fuels more frequent and severe extreme weather events.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/midwest-dam-safety-projects-funding/
By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/michigans-new-rules-to-protect-water-from-manure-attacked-by-lawmakers/
By Nina Elkadi, 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 aquifer from which Joliet, Illinois, sources its drinking water is likely going to run too dry to support the city by 2030—a problem more and more communities are facing as the climate changes and groundwater declines.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/joliet-illinois-lake-michigan-drinking-water/
In a few months, many products with “forever chemicals” will be officially banned in Minnesota. Known as Amara’s Law, starting January 1, 2025 resident’s won’t be able to sell or distribute products with intentionally added PFAS from cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, juvenile products, menstruation products, textile furnishing, ski wax, upholstered furniture, cleaning products, or carpets and rugs — accirding to Vice Magazine.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/pfas-roundup-minnesota-pfas-regulation-said-to-be-the-strictest/
“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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/nibi-chronicles-the-gift-of-manoomin/
In the early 2000s a movement to address the plight of the heavily polluted and long neglected Great Lakes started to gain traction.
The goal was to bring the gravitas of the federal government to the issue and in 2004 President George W. Bush signed an executive order declaring the lakes a “national treasure.” An interagency task force was established to bring together the disparate efforts of various federal programs who had been working independently on Great Lakes issues.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/groundwater-whos-in-charge/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Anna Barnes, Great Lakes Echo
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is banking on public oversight of the largest Great Lake to help gauge the threat of increasingly common algal blooms.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/wisconsin-officials-ask-the-public-to-report-algal-blooms-in-lake-superior/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Public
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/retirements-by-water-and-wastewater-plant-operators-are-leading-to-workforce-shortages/
Plastic is the dominant source of beach trash in the Great Lakes region.
That’s the finding by the Chicago-based non-profit Alliance for the Great Lakes in a recently released report that analyzed beach litter picked up by its volunteers over the past 20 years.
“Twenty years of data collected by volunteers shows that 86% of the trash was either fully or partially made from plastic,” the Alliance said in a press release.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/after-10-million-pieces-of-beach-trash-chicago-advocates-push-for-sustainable-packaging/
By Erica Hobbs, Planet Detroit
This article was republished with permission from Planet Detroit. Sign up for Planet Detroit’s weekly newsletter here.
Wetlands don’t often come to mind when thinking about major metropolitan cities like Detroit. Bogs, marshes, vernal pools, and swamps contrast starkly with the city’s skyscrapers, roads, and industrial plants, and up to 90 percent of the area’s wetlands along the Detroit River have been lost since European settlement.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/who-working-to-preserve-and-restore-wetlands-in-metro-detroit/
By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio
This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear a case that could have sweeping effects on state environmental regulators’ authority to force businesses to clean up PFAS pollution under the state’s spills law.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/wisconsin-supreme-court-to-hear-case-with-broad-implications-for-pfas-cleanup/
Six states were selected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to be awarded $5 million in order to test residents for environmental chemical exposures — like PFAS. Four out of the six states are located along the Great Lakes including Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and New York. These biomonitoring grants start September 2024 and go until 2027.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/pfas-roundup-four-great-lakess-states-selected-to-test-residents-annually-for-environmental-chemical-exposure/
Great Lakes Now’s Anna Sysling spoke with Cheryl Porter, Chief Operating Officer of Water and Field Services at the Great Lakes Water Authority and the first African American president of the American Water Works Association (AWWA).
With 28 years of experience in the water sector, Porter shares her inspiring journey from junior chemist in Detroit to leading the AWWA.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/cheryl-porters-vision-for-the-future-of-water/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.
The Great Lakes Way is an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from Port Huron, Michigan (at the head of the St.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/great-lakes-moment-ten-natural-wonders-of-the-great-lakes-way/
By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/u-s-movement-to-limit-cafo-pollution-emboldened-by-michigan-court-ruling/
Last week, Eau Claire, Wisconsin finally broke ground on a $20 million PFAS removal facility. The previous year, the city filed a lawsuit against multiples chemical manufacturers, demanding they cleanup after more than half of the city’s wells shutdown in 2021 due to contamination. However, many other municipalities across Wisconsin remain in a state of limbo.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/pfas-roundup-wisconsin-pfas-remediation-funds-still-frozen-due-to-partisan-divide/
By Amalia Medina, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/great-lakes-beach-closings-are-no-protection-from-harmful-pollutants/
Last month, the Government of Canada announced a plan to expand product-related regulations for per- and polyflourinated substances (PFAS). The Minister of Environment and Climate Change plus the Minister of Health are considering whether PFAS qualify for the Watch List under section 75.1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/pfas-roundup-government-of-canada-introduces-potential-plan-for-product-related-pfas-regulation/
By Amalia Medina, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/harnessing-mussels-to-filter-fresh-water/
By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/missed-calls-forgotten-instructions-inside-an-oil-spill-cleanup-on-toronto-waterways/
On August 2, it will be 10 years since officials in Toledo alerted residents in the early morning hours not to drink, bathe in or otherwise come into contact with tap water from the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant. For nearly three days chaos reigned, as bottled water sold out that first day before dawn and disappeared from shelves in the region the next day.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/a-decade-after-crisis-algal-blooms-persist/
By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/containment-breached-how-an-oil-spill-in-northwest-toronto-made-its-way-to-lake-ontario/
By Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner
A former Wisconsin state toxicologist who was involved in creating the state’s nitrate standards for drinking water in the 1980s alleges the science that has informed those standards for decades is deeply flawed and the standards should be stricter.
Dave Belluck, who worked as a toxicologist for multiple states and the federal government, says that “the science is the science” and regulating agencies, including the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/former-state-toxicologist-says-nitrate-drinking-water-standards-are-too-lax/
On Thursday, July 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated recommendations under the Clean Water Act, adding twelve versions of PFAS to the contaminant list along with amphetamine, three cyanotoxins, a flame retardant, and lead. The EPA noted that these are all pollutants that states, territories, and Tribes are recommended to monitor in local freshwater fish.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/pfas-roundup-epa-adds-12-more-versions-of-pfas-to-freshwater-fish-monitoring-while-federal-farm-bills-focus-on-forever-chemicals/
By Native News Online Staff, Native News Online
This article originally appeared on Native News Online. Founded in 2011, Native News Online reaches millions of Native and non-Native readers annually including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and others interested in Native American concerns.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/seneca-nation-sues-city-for-more-than-450000-gallons-of-wastewater-overflow/
In an article by the Wisconsin Examiner, legal experts cited the myriad of ways the Supreme Court ruling on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned the Chevron deference, will likely harm future PFAS litigation. The decision came just days after a group of utilities and chemical companies filed three lawsuits in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/pfas-news-roundup-end-of-chevron-deference-may-intensify-drinking-water-contamination-by-further-delaying-pfas-cleanup-experts-warn/
By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media
This story was originally published by Ideastream.
The recent 55th anniversary of the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire serves as a reminder to Northeast Ohio residents of the benefits from decades of work cleaning up industrial contamination in the river.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/a-cleaner-cuyahoga-river-faces-a-growing-threat-from-stormwater-runoff/
