A University of Michigan research team says it could not find a clear link between increasing seismic activity and recent high water levels in Lake Erie. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-lakeerie-earthquakestudy
The first cruise ship since 2013 to arrive in Duluth’s harbor will arrive May 30 and dock at the new customs facility in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Read the full story by Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-duluthport-cruiseship
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hopes to get more students interested in Great Lakes research by taking them out on research vessel Neeskay. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-greatlakesresearch-neeskay
It’s the oldest mystery on the Great Lakes: Whatever happened to the Griffon? It was the first big ship to sail the Great Lakes. Loaded with furs in what’s now Wisconsin, the Griffon was said to have sunk somewhere in northern Lake Michigan in 1679. A couple in Charlevoix, Michigan, think they’ve found it. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-griffon-glshipwreck
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s first Great Lakes piping plover nests of 2022 have been spotted, kicking off what’s hoped to be another great summer for the endangered bird. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-pipingplover-firstnest
If you are looking for an escape from the unseasonably warm weather, taking a dip in the Great Lakes isn’t a good option yet, according to surface water temperature data. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220511-heatwave-unsafewatertemps
Contact: Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113
Jordan Lubetkin, Lubetkin@nwf.org, (734) 904-1589
U.S. Reps Urge Funding Boost to $400M for Great Lakes Restoration
Coalition supports efforts by 47 U.S. House Republicans and Democrats to boost federal investments in restoration, protection efforts.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (May 11, 2022)—The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is supporting a push by 47 bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives to boost federal investments in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to $400 million in the fiscal year 2023 budget. The program funds efforts to clean up toxic pollution, restore fish and wildlife habitat, manage invasive species, and reduce farm and city runoff pollution.
“Support for the Great Lakes and GLRI has long seen strong bipartisan support in Congress,” reads the letter from House members. “Halting or reducing this commitment would reverse years of progress, dramatically reducing the GLRI’s impact, and jeopardize the environmental and economic health of the region for generations to come.”
“Federal investments to restore the Great Lakes are producing results, but serious threats remain,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “We thank members of the House of Representatives who continue to make Great Lakes restoration and protection a national priority. The Coalition looks forward to working with bipartisan members of Congress to support urgent actions to restore the Great Lakes, provide clean drinking water to millions of people, and help communities most impacted by pollution and environmental harm. Scaling back federal investments will only allow the problems to get worse and more expensive to solve.”
Signatories to the House letter include: Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Sean Casten (D-Ill), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Michael Doyle (D-Pa.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Jesús García (D-Ill.), Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), John Katko (R-N.Y.) Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Ron Kind (R-Wis.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Andy Levin (D-Mich.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.), Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.), Marie Newman (D-Ill.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Bradley Schneider (D-Ill.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Brian Steil (R-Wis.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Michael Turner (R-Ohio), Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), and Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.).
Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 170 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at HealthyLakes.org or follow us on Twitter @HealthyLakes.
The post U.S. Reps Urge Funding Boost to $400M for Great Lakes Restoration appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/u-s-reps-urge-funding-boost-to-400m-for-great-lakes-restoration/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigans-infrastructure-windfall/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigan-water-systems-overbuilt-underfunded/
Academic research increasingly documents how interaction with green space has a positive impact on mental health. But not everybody has access to quality green space.
The post Commentary: A green outlook on mental health is a privilege not all can access first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/11/commentary-a-green-outlook-on-mental-health-is-a-privilege-not-all-can-access/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1263F4601A70.TornadoWatch.1263F46063E0WI.GRBWCNGRB.1dae04a3d9fd9ba4ea3c5708f36b386d
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1263F4546C98.SpecialWeatherStatement.1263F4602754WI.GRBSPSGRB.f0c86258ac7920942c65ca09d35217ad
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1263F453BFF0.TornadoWatch.1263F46063E0WI.WNSWOU7.64fb777664af56ab9d2b26b9014edc60
By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Federal funding mechanisms for improving Indiana’s water infrastructure work but need more flexibility to help eliminate lead service lines, PFAS and other issues, according to testimony from one of the state’s top finance officials.
Jim McGoff, Indiana Finance Authority chief operating officer and director of environmental programs, testified March 29 before the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/indiana-finance-authority-house-drinking-water-hearing/
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A judge granted a seven-week extension Monday to file claims for a share of $626 million settlement over Flint’s lead-contaminated water.
U.S. District Judge Judith Levy approved a request to stretch the May 12 deadline to June 30.
“Although it is clear that all involved are working diligently to compile the information and documentation necessary to support claims, some claimants have experienced delays or difficulties in obtaining certain required documents,” Levy said, quoting a summary by special master Deborah Greenspan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/flint-residents-extension-file-claims/
Every year thousands of anglers participate in fishing tournaments across the Great Lakes, with prizes ranging from a couple hundred bucks to tens of thousands of dollars. Some, like the Lake Erie Fall Brawl, offer new fishing boats valued at more than $100,000 as top prizes. Some events are targeted toward professional anglers, while others pair a professional angler and an amateur angler.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/fishing-tournament-trends-kayaks-catch-photo-release/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/high-cost-water-hits-home-michigan/
In our newest TikTok, Echo reporter Rayna Skiver interviews Natalie Cypher, naturalist and educator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Adventure Center.
The post Backyard habitats: TikTok edition first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/10/backyard-habitats-tiktok-edition/
Wheeze. Sniffle. Sneeze.
If you already suffer from seasonal allergies, get ready for more severe symptoms as the Great Lakes region experiences climate change in the coming decades.
Atmospheric scientist Allison Steiner of the University of Michigan and some colleagues recently published a new study about the impacts of climate change on pollen season in the Midwest and beyond.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-climate-change-allergies/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1263F4447E14.WindAdvisory.1263F4516FC0WI.GRBNPWGRB.6f2fc134618207a7c8d5ee932e8c51ab
Green Bay, WI
https://www.weather.gov/nwschat.weather.gov/p.php?pid=202205091826-KGRB-NOUS43-PNSGRB
Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is doubling down on the claim that the continuing operation of the Line 5 pipeline is “non-negotiable” despite continued opposition across Michigan and Wisconsin. Read the full story by The Canadian Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-line-5
Many of Michigan’s 1,773 cities, villages and townships are reaching a crisis point because of a decline in federal dollars for water and sewer infrastructure that’s made worse by the state’s centralized taxing system. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-water-infrastructure
The loss of 800 megawatts of carbon-free energy from the nuclear plant along the Lake Michigan shoreline near South Haven, MI (122 miles NE of Chicago) at the end of May is likely to result in more greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere as the electric sector pivots to natural gas while more solar and wind generation comes online. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-energy
Some officials are becoming concerned about the future of walleye fishing in Michigan after a local fisherman caught a sick fish along with several others in Ohio waters. Read the full story by WNEM-TV – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-walleye
Algoma Central Corp. is the newest naming sponsor for one of the two ice-pads inside Walker Sports and Abilities Centre at Canada Games Park. The company headquartered in St. Catharines operates the largest fleet of dry and liquid bulk carriers operating on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-shipping-carriers
In decades past, almost every major Great Lakes port city offered a specialty grocery supplying freighters. Recently, a Cleveland, Ohio-based fleet grocer ceased operation, leaving only three U.S.-based Great Lakes fleet grocers in operation. Those are located in Duluth, Minnesota, Sault Ste. Marie, and at Alpena’s Marine Market. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-grocer-history
Fred Wiseman, of Findlay, OH (located about 100 miles south of Detroit, MI) sailed from Detroit to Florida last year. The 3,800-mile trip took around two months and included travel through Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence Seaway and along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Read the full story by The Courier.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-ship-travel
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202204
Many local organizations have turned Earth Day into “Earth Month” by dedicating the month of April to cleaning up the community. The Lakeshore Cleanup Coalition participated in the 2022 Great Lakes CleanUP, a collaborative trash removal effort to protect habitats throughout the Great Lakes Basin. Read the full story by ODC Network.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-cleanup
Divers from the North Bay Scuba Club in Ontario were gearing up and diving into Lake Nipissing’s Marina boat launch to clean the waters of trash and debris ahead of the boating season. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220509-scuba
Wisconsin Sea Grant is announcing the launch of a new podcast series, The Water We Swim In. The trailer can be found here and it features stories about the Great Lakes and people working toward equity.
In the series, Sea Grant’s Digital Storyteller Bonnie Willison and Hali Jama, podcast intern, share inspiring interviews from community organizers, researchers and leaders navigating Wisconsin’s waters.
Sea Grant has long been invested in audio storytelling, starting in 1972 with the environmental news program Earthwatch Radio. In recent years, the program has produced a number of podcast series — Wisconsin Water News, Undercurrents: The Hidden Knowledge of Groundwater, The Fish Dish, and Introduced— several of which are award-winning.
On this upcoming season of the new podcast, Willison and Jama will:
Jama attends a fishing clinic with Midwest Crappie Hunters in Milwaukee. Jama is a UW-Madison student studying marketing and international business with a certificate in environmental studies. (Photo: Bonnie Willison)
The series’ title, The Water We Swim In, was inspired by an interview with Brenda Coley, co-executive director of Milwaukee Water Commons. “Brenda had this great quote where she said that ‘racism is the water we swim in,’” said Willison. “People might not realize that systemic racism impacts everything in our society, just like a fish might not realize that it is swimming in water.”
The post Launch of new podcast about equity and the Great Lakes first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/launch-of-new-podcast-about-equity-and-the-great-lakes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=launch-of-new-podcast-about-equity-and-the-great-lakes
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/short-changing-michigan-local-governments-deteriorating-water-systems/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1263F4431E20.SpecialWeatherStatement.1263F450D95CWI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
Backyard habitats benefit both wildlife and the people making them. For wildlife, they provide food and a safe place to nest. People benefit because of the positive feelings associated with added greenery and the presence of wildlife.
The post Backyard habitats first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/09/backyard-habitats/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1263F433DD0C.SpecialWeatherStatement.1263F4419140WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1263F4247AC4.SpecialWeatherStatement.1263F4266820WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/drinking-water-news-roundup-first-nation-settlement-wisconsin-towns-chicago-water/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1263F416C30C.SpecialWeatherStatement.1263F4174CF0WI.GRBSPSGRB.c7af4845f2e9eb88e57e1747a63d15f5
From TV segments to news articles, collaborative work with partners to social media strategy, environmentally focused coverage to community news, Great Lakes Now walked away from the Society of Professional Journalists – Detroit Chapter’s 2022 Excellence in Journalism award ceremony with a dozen acknowledgements for the work the regional team did in 2021.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/great-lakes-now-collects-12-journalism-awards/
By David A. Lieb, Michael Casey and Michelle Minkoff, Associated Press
Constructed four generations ago, the massive rock and clay dam at El Capitan Reservoir is capable of storing over 36 billion gallons of water, enough to supply every resident in San Diego for most of a year.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-analysis-growing-number-of-dams/
A new plan to restore the Lake St. Clair coastline at Ford’s Cove would rebuild the nearby wetland, expand the shore, while also building out shoals to buffer the area from the Great Lakes battering waves. Read and hear the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-ford-cove
Buoys deployed onto Lake Michigan are collecting real-time conditions which are helping scientists monitor the lake. Read the full story by WOOD – TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-buoy
Even though the Great Lakes ice-breaking season has ended, some members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation are continuing to push for funding for a new heavy icebreaker on the Great Lakes to reduce shipping delays during the winter months. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-ice-breaker
President Joseph Biden nominated Southfield, Michigan attorney Gerald Acker to be commissioner and chair of the International Joint Commission, a binational group that regulates uses of the Great Lakes and other waters shared by the U.S. and Canada. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-ijc
Three Michigan men will cross Lake Ontario on stand-up paddleboards in mid-June. Read the full story by New York Upstate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-lake-ontario
Scientists at the University of Toledo Lake Erie Center are working on a water quality monitoring network for Lake Erie by preparing sensors before algal bloom season. Read the full story by WNWO – TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-algal-bloom
The level of Lake Superior rose more than usual during a wet April and now sits at nearly its average level for the beginning of May, the International Lake Superior Board of Control reports. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-lake-superior
Federal regulators recommended Tuesday that the Army Corps of Engineers decline to reissue a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine, saying the project could raise levels of mercury and other pollutants downstream from the site in northeastern Minnesota. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-polymet
An Indigenous tribe in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan received a $75,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the impacts of legacy mining waste and other pollutants. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220506-tribal-study
