Volunteer search and rescue teams on Lake Ontario have responded to a record-breaking number of rescue missions this year as more Ontario residents flocked to the lake this year for “staycations” during the pandemic. Read the full story by Y108 – Hamilton, ON.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-marine-rescues
Three drownings in Lake Michigan this past summer and more than a dozen water rescues has prompted City Council members in South Haven, Michigan, to form a committee to examine whether changes need to be made to the current beach and water safety plan, including adding lifeguards to the beach. Read the full story by The Herald-Palladium.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-south-haven
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; 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/2020/11/great-lakes-pummel-michigan-beach-towns-development-rules/
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (November 18, 2020) – In letters sent to the U.S. House and Senate today, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is urging Congress, as it wraps up business for the year, to support Great Lakes and clean water priorities that protect the drinking water of more than 30 million people, safeguard children from toxic lead contamination, prevent the shut-off of water to families, and confront the chronic problem of sewage fouling local waters.
“Congress has the opportunity to protect the drinking water, public health, and jobs of millions of people in the Great Lakes region, and we urge our elected officials to push these critical legislative priorities across the finish line,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “There’s important work left to do, and it’s time to get it done. The water problems will only get worse and more costly to solve.”
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is asking Congress to support five legislative priorities, as elected officials work to complete a federal budget by Dec. 11 and wrap up end-of-year business.
The post Coalition to Congress: Support Great Lakes, Clean Water in Final Bills appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/coalition-to-congress-support-great-lakes-clean-water-in-final-bills/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/warming-earth-also-wetter-earth
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/warming-earth-also-wetter-earth
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/11/18/cherry-growers-want-to-get-in-on-the-snacking-trend/
Scientists at dozens of colleges and universities around the country are hoping early detection of COVID-19 infections can come from a not-so-glamorous sampling process.
With collection devices set up in campus sewer systems, researchers are sampling waste from residence halls and other buildings for evidence of the virus.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/campus-covid-19-sewage-testing-early-infections/
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today applauded Senate passage of his bipartisan legislation to update the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WLNS – TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-great-lakes-bill
Over the decades, wetlands and other water bodies in Cook County, Illinois, have decreased by a third, while swamps and marshes have been drained or converted into lakes and ponds, causing havoc for wildlife, according to a recent study by a group of graduate students and their professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-chicago-landscape
Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement Friday that she will revoke the 1953 easement allowing the controversial Line 5 twin oil and gas pipelines to continue operation on the Straits of Mackinac lake bottom isn’t winning her fans among Canadian officials. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-line5
The policy debate over algae-forming farm nutrients in the western Lake Erie region drew a familiar face from the national political scene on Monday when U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) appeared as a featured speaker on a virtual seminar sponsored by the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-cafo
WLS-TV Channel 7 in Chicago, Illinois, has partnered with National Geographic as they release a special cover story on “Saving Our Great Lakes” to discuss some of the challenges facing this precious natural resource. Read and hear the full story by WLS-TV- Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-natgeo
South Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada went to court Monday to argue it shouldn’t have been convicted of twice violating the Endangered Species Act by its 2017 raking and reshaping endangered piping plover beach habitat. Read the full story by The Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-plover-esa
A Canadian company has launched a new dog food product that provides pooches with protein while removing an invasive species from North American waterways. Read the full story by Seafood Source.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-carp-dog-food
For President-elect Joe Biden, the environment and climate change as campaign issues weren’t tucked away in an obscure position paper. Neither was his intent to focus on environmental justice if elected.
Biden also put a spotlight on President Trump’s rollback via executive order of nearly 100 environmental protections in his four years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/rollbacks-climate-justice-environmental-attorney-president-elect-biden/
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/11/17/study-shows-aquatic-landscape-changes-human-impact-on-chicago-area-plants-animal-life/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F706748B4.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F7067C35CWI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
By Paula Gardner, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Doubling the size of a factory during a global pandemic may not fit a traditional business plan.
But Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis is based in Northern Michigan, where it’s making a product that helps to define the winter economy for the ski-maker’s home in Boyne City and across the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/covid-19-outdoor-recreation-michigan-ski-industry/
Flooding in Wisconsin. Image credit: Wisconsin Emergency Management
The annual amount of rain and snowfall is rising in Wisconsin. Over the past 70 years, the intensity of storms has increased, bringing more rain in a shorter amount of time, which can lead to flooding. To help communities cope and prepare, Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has developed a Flood Resilience Scorecard.
Emma Holtan. Submitted photo
Emma Holtan, flood resilience intern with the DHS Climate and Health Program, described the new proactive tool. “Basically, it’s a comprehensive questionnaire that a local official can move through with a team of assembled staff, experts and community members. Together, they move through three different parts of the scorecard that address different aspects of their community and the way they relate to flood resilience.”
The three modules address environmental features of flood vulnerability, sustainable community policies and plans, and building social resilience. Although the scorecard questionnaire is in-depth, the answers are multiple choice and resources are provided in the document for reference.
Holtan was hired this past May with the goal of working with the community of Washburn, Wisconsin, to test-run the scorecard by completing it with Washburn staff. The necessity of social distancing changed those plans.
Margaret Thelen, DHS climate and health program manager, said, “We had Emma complete it on her own with very little familiarity with the municipality. She completed it in about eight hours. That’s with looking up municipal code, reading through social media, reading through websites. If you’ve ever looked through municipal code – ooof! So, bless her for doing that. If a local planner or emergency manager or a local public health official were to complete it, they could do it in less time if they knew where to look and who to ask for the scorecard questions.”
Margaret Thelen. Submitted photo.
Thelen said the idea for the scorecard came from Sea Grant’s Coastal Resilience Self-Assessment. This project is designed for communities in southeastern Wisconsin that are heavily impacted by coastal storms, fluctuating Lake Michigan water levels and erosion.
“Sea Grant got brought in because we were working on very similar products,” Thelen said. “We could share best practices and share what works. They’ve been an invaluable partner on this project.”
Even if a community’s score is low after going through the process, Holtan said that’s all right. “If your score is lower or doesn’t meet a certain favorable threshold, then there’s a list of recommendations that you or your community may choose to implement if you have the necessary funding and resources. So, it’s really a tool that helps prioritize actions that will make your community more flood resilient and does so in a more holistic and comprehensive way, which I think is really cool.”
Holtan and Thelen said plans are in the works to make the scoring process more interactive. They also plan to develop a listing of funding sources for communities to make changes, a facilitation guide and a database of scorecard outcomes.
Holtan said the effort to complete the scorecard is worth it. “I feel like in Wisconsin we’re relatively safe from a lot of climate disasters that we’re seeing, but flooding is creeping up on us pretty fast and could be extremely detrimental. The opportunity to use this tool in the planning process of preparing for the climate changing is amazing. You get an in-depth look at your community in a way that most other tools don’t ask you to do. It’s to a community’s benefit to use this tool and to work together to prepare for a future that is safer for everybody.”
The scorecard was recently presented by Holtan and Natalie Chin, Wisconsin Sea Grant climate and tourism outreach specialist, at a Coastal Hazards of (Lake) Superior meeting. A PDF of the scorecard and individual models can be downloaded from the website.
If your community is interested in partnering with Sea Grant to go through the scorecard or has already completed it, let Chin know by emailing: nchin5@aqua.wisc.edu.
The post Flood Resilience Scorecard can help communities plan for high water first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/flood-resilience-scorecard-can-help-communities-plan-for-high-water/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F705ADB74.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F705B3A60WI.GRBSPSGRB.d65efe55088dd94d9c460efb2df919a6
Green Bay, WI
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/frostfreeze
News | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
News | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
https://toolkit.climate.gov/news/resilience-ecosystem
The Great Lakes Commission is granting Fort Wayne $200,000 for the Colonial Heritage improvement project. Read the full story by WANE-TV – Fort Wayne, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-oil-pipeline
Ontario minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines says the province is “profoundly disappointed” with the Governor of Michigan’s decision to shut down the Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straight of Mackinac and will work to keep the pipeline flowing. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-oil-pipeline
The days may now be numbered for the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, but state regulators say permitting for the company’s proposed tunnel project is not affected by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s move to shut down the pipeline by terminating the easement that allows it to cross the lakebed. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-line-5-shutdown
An algal turf scrubber could be the solution to a problem that threatens to suffocate the ecosystem of the Great Lakes: algal blooms. The algal turf scrubber filters water over a designated area for algae to grow and eventually be harvested for use as biofuel. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-algae-biofuel
Urban wetlands in the Greater Toronto Area are under threat by a recent warehouse building proposal. Read the full story by The Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-wetlands-under-threat
The Great Lakes region contains one-fifth of the world’s freshwater supply. Environmental groups say that abundance will make states such as Minnesota a high priority for other regions wanting to bolster their dwindling supplies. Read the full story by Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-minnesota-water-supply
Area growers can take their farm management to the next level and help improve Western Lake Erie Basin water quality by taking part in a new cost-sharing funding opportunity to achieve nutrient and sediment reduction goals outlined in the S.S. LaPointe Watershed Management Plan. Read the full story by The Monroe News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-lapointe-drain
Environmental DNA is a genetic material Great Lakes researchers have used to detect the presence of species for about the last 10 years. Now it’s playing an increasingly important — but sometimes controversial — role in monitoring invasive species. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-edna
Daniel Gildea didn’t set out to find a shipwreck. But when he deployed his underwater equipment to Henderson Bay in Lake Ontario, New York, there it was: a three-masted wooden schooner that dated back to the mid-18th century. Read the full story by Pacific Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-shipwreck-discovery
It was a historic day on the Red Cliff Reservation Saturday as the band opened their first fishing company to share the fish caught in Lake Superior with the rest of the Northland. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Bayfield, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-red-cliff-band
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; 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/2020/11/michigan-shut-down-enbridge-line-5-means/
Fish and Wildlife Service News
Fish and Wildlife Service News
http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=%0Areward-offered-for-information-surrounding-raptor-parts-found-in-&_ID=36805
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/11/16/black-squirrels-in-michigan-and-elsewhere-could-be-evolution-in-action/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F7057DFC8.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F704BBEB4.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F704B1B6C.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F704A329C.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F7048FDA0.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F703C7378.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/global-climate-202010
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/global-climate-202010
Canadian oil transportation giant Enbridge may soon lose its permission to operate a controversial, aging, oil and gas pipeline on the Straits of Mackinac lake bottom. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Eichinger on Friday notified Enbridge that a 1953 easement allowing it to operate dual pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac to transport petroleum and other products is being revoked and terminated. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-michigan-line-5
Parry Sound-Muskoka’s MPP Norm Miller has introduced a Keeping Polystyrene Out of Ontario’s Lakes and Rivers Act at Queen’s Park. This is a private member’s bill designed to reduce polystyrene pollution by requiring any polystyrene foam used in the construction of docks and rafts to be fully encapsulated. Read the full story by Parry Sound North Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-pollution-plastic-ontario
The Essex Region Conservation Authority will receive nearly $660,000 in funding from the Great Lakes Protection Initiative for habitat restoration in the Detroit River, listed as one of 43 Areas of Concern showing severe environmental degradation in the Great Lakes Basin. Read the full story by Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-detroit-river-aoc
The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin aims to make Wisconsin a global leader in water science and technology through its work on climate change, pollution and over demand in the water industry. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-freshwater-collaborative-wisconsin
Due to shoreline erosion caused by high lake levels, the Illinois city of Evanston hired a coastal engineering group to assess lakefront damage and start construction. View the full story by The Daily Northwestern.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-erosion-construction-illinois
A University of Missouri researcher is conducting studies to figure out a way to reduce the amount of light that is reaching toxic algae in waters like Lake Erie using glacial rock flour. Read the full story by Phys.org.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201113-algae-light
