The escalating threat of invasive grass carp in Canada’s Great Lakes has prompted the Invasive Species Centre to initiate a comprehensive public awareness campaign. Read the full story by BNN Breaking.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240228-carp
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/hang-on-whats-not-normal-about-February-29
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.5e3450cf3adf8de4a94ccb7d08a8cdf27b19fcdf.001.1.cap
Carrie Givens was awarded the 2023 Journal of Environmental Quality Outstanding Associate Editor for excellent work in the performance of duties as an Associate Editor.
Midcontinent Region
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/upper-midwest-water-science-center/news/carrie-givens-awarded-2023-journal-environmental?utm_source=comms&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.e796d05628432790b234898ad2ece179acd1b319.001.1.cap
Editor’s Note: “Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, she lives and works in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her two 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 she is at work on a children’s story.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/not-just-pretty-pictures-bearing-witness-to-the-night-sky/
River Alliance of Wisconsin urges Governor Evers to veto Senate Bill 312.
“PFAS is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed in a serious way,” said River Alliance of Wisconsin Executive Director Allison Werner. “Instead we’ve watched the state legislature play partisan games to score political points with special interest groups like Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Senate Bill 312 is not the progress we need on PFAS.”
To be clear, Senate Bill 312 does not include an appropriation of funds. Without an appropriation, the bill does not spend the $125 million dollars that the Joint Finance Committee added to the state budget. It would take additional action by the legislature to approve the costs of the programs in SB 312. In addition, PFAS are widespread and expensive to clean up. $125 million is nowhere near enough to meet the current needs of homeowners and municipalities with polluted drinking wells.
If approved, SB 312 would make it harder for the state to hold those responsible for pollution accountable, and severely limit the amount of cleanup that can be done. SB 312 would also limit grant programs only to PFAS substances for which there are standards. As we have seen with the Department of Natural Resources’ past attempts to create groundwater standards for PFAS, this legislature has little interest in such standards being created, thus also limiting any potential impact of SB 312.
For those reasons, the Governor should veto SB 312.
For real progress on PFAS, the Joint Finance Committee should approve the DNR’s request from last December that would allow them to do more testing, get clean drinking water to those who need it, and begin cleanups. The state legislature can and should also let the DNR move ahead with improving groundwater standards on PFAS in drinking water.
“When we play a partisan game with our water, all Wisconsinites lose in the protection of our health and our environment,” said Werner.
This message is made possible by generous donors who believe people have the power to protect and restore water. Support our work with your contribution today.
The post River Alliance urges Governor Evers to veto PFAS bill appeared first on River Alliance of WI.
Blog - River Alliance of WI
https://wisconsinrivers.org/veto-sb-312/
With parts of the Lake Erie coast eroding at a pace of four metres or more a year — some of the highest rates in the Great Lakes — one group is appealing for federal funding to fight it. Read the full story by the Norfolk and Tillsonburg News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-thegrandcanyon-lakeerie-shoreline-erosion
Scientists are discovering that as we expel traces of pharmaceuticals, they may not be so good for the health of our aquatic wildlife, and perhaps us. A new report by researchers at the University of Montreal evaluates the occurrence and risks of 27 pharmaceuticals and metabolites in the St. Lawrence River watershed. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-pharmaceuticalpollution-st-lawrence-region
Plenty of stories have been told about the mythical, mysterious Bermuda Triangle, but did you know that some claim Lake Michigan has one of its own? It is called the Lake Michigan Triangle. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-lakemichigantriangle-greatlakes
Started in 1976, more than 410,000 Fish Ohio pins have been handed to anglers who submit a catch matching or surpassing established length standards for individual species. Some anglers try to earn at least one every year. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-ohiodnr-anglers-fish-rewards-pins
Congressional lawmakers are coming to Wisconsin later this week to talk about an important resource that keeps the Great Lakes region’s economy afloat: icebreaking. Senator Tammy Baldwin is set to host a hearing with U.S. Coast Guard officials and business leaders to testify on the need to expand icebreaking capacity on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-greatlakes-economy-icebreakers-baldwin
The Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative was launched in 2007 by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust with a goal of letting students explore the Great Lakes’ ecosystems through projects. Last year’s projects included a rain garden and a beach cleanup. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-group-students-greatlakes
A bill that would enable private waterfront development on public lands that were once submerged in Wisconsin’s Great Lakes waters has passed both state houses and now heads to the desk of Governor Tony Evers. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-greatlakes-waterfrontproperty-development-governor
The long, fast, toothy muskellunge (also known as muskie or musky) is nicknamed the “Fish of 10,000 Casts” due to its notoriously elusive nature. It is the apex predator in all waters where it’s found, known to hide in underwater cover, aggressively ambushing prey. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-wisconsin-statefish-top-food-chain
In Ontario, an icebreaker may be an unlikely sight in the Port of Thunder Bay this year, as ice coverage across the Great Lakes remains low. The lack of ice could mean an extended shipping season. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240226-greatlakes-lowicecoverage
This story was originally published by WXPR. WXPR is a community-licensed public radio station serving north central Wisconsin and adjacent areas of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Listen to their stories here.
Lac du Flambeau 6th Grader Gertie Moustache pulls a wooden, dulled spear from a bin.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/lac-du-flambeau-ojibwe-winter-games-go-on-despite-little-snow-on-ground/
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 Brenda Coley, Co-Executive Director of the urban network and non-profit organization Milwaukee Water Commons.
Listen to the full interview
The group has a Water City agenda that takes an intersectional approach to laying out climate issues and proposed solutions for Wisconsin’s largest city.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/waves-of-change-meet-milwaukee-water-commons-co-executive-director-brenda-coley/
Piping plovers have returned to the same shoreline breeding locations for decades, but new and less desirable nest sites are appearing because many old sites no longer exist. Climate change impacts water levels in the Great Lakes; when water rises, old sites are flooded out and beaches are reduced. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240223-piping-plover-habitat
While the Great Lakes shoreline is usually armored in the winter by ice cover, this year’s record low level of ice cover means coastal areas face a risk of more erosion. As climate forecasts anticipate continued dwindling of ice coverage each winter, ongoing maintenance along the shoreline to prevent erosion may be needed moving forward. Read the full story by WSJM-FM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240223-coastal-threats
United States and Canadian Coast Guard representatives came together to sign a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) earlier this month. The MOU is a new agreement to coordinate ice breaking efforts throughout the main waterways of the Great Lakes, as well as connecting waters like the Georgian Bay and St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240223-binational-agreement
A group of water safety experts and other advocates headed to the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis Wednesday to argue in favor of the Lake Michigan Rescue Equipment Act. The bill would require life ring stations on piers and public access points along Lake Michigan in Indiana. Read the full story by WBBM-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240223-beach-safety
The Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers recently signed the 20th company to the 100% fish pledge, committing to fully use the region’s whitefish, lake trout, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker. The effort aims to improve the sustainability and value of commercially caught fish, which are used primarily for their fillets, as about 60% of the remaining fish becomes low-value animal feed or is discarded. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240223-fish-sustainability
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the lack of ice, combined with the lack of typical winter weather, has led to a lot of evaporation that can impact water levels on Lake Michigan. Another issue is salt applied during winter storms that runs off into the lake, polluting the water. Read the full story by WTMJ-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240223-freshwater-impacts
The DeTour Reef Light in northern Lake Huron has expanded its lighthouse keeper program, previously only available on weekends, to include weeknight stays for $50 per person per night. The 83-foot lighthouse, built in 1931, is a strategic and historic landmark that marks a dangerous reef to help guide ship traffic to and from Lake Huron and Lake Superior via the St. Marys River. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240223-lighthouse-keeper
Three Michigan artists are spreading awareness about the value of the Great Lakes by creating trash murals, shredding waves and telling legends about shipwrecks. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240223-art-awareness
Three Michigan artists are spreading awareness about the value of the Great Lakes through creating trash murals, shredding waves and telling legends about shipwrecks.
Hannah Tizedes spends her time along the shores of the Great Lakes not sunbathing nor swimming, but collecting trash to make art.
The post The Great Lakes inspire murals, doodles and poems first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/02/23/the-great-lakes-inspire-murals-doodles-and-poems/
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
https://noaaglerl.blog/2024/02/22/qa-with-noaa-scientists-causes-and-impacts-of-2024s-historically-low-great-lakes-ice-cover/
The long, fast, toothy muskellunge (also known as muskie or musky) is nicknamed the “Fish of 10,000 Casts” due to its notoriously elusive nature. It is the apex predator in all waters where it’s found, known to hide in underwater cover, aggressively ambushing prey. They eat fish almost exclusively, though they have been known to consume just about anything they can swallow including birds, small mammals, and their own kind.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/wisconsins-state-fish-tops-the-food-chain/
Podcast host Stuart Carlton calls the Lakie Awards “the least prestigious Great Lakes podcast awards” around. Carlton hosts “Teach me About the Great Lakes,” a twice-monthly podcast produced by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant where listeners can learn about a variety of Great Lakes topics and issues.
Mixed with tongue-in-cheek award categories like Great Lakes Donut of the Year are more typical ones. Wisconsin Sea Grant fared unusually well in the 2023 competition, earning honors for Great Lakes Research Project, Great Lakes Sandwich, Science Podcast and Great Lakes Titus of the Year.
A Lakie entry so bad that it garnered a first-ever loser award. Image credit: Tim Campbell, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Our staff members earned both the winner and runner-up categories for Great Lakes Research of the Year. Interim Wisconsin Sea Grant Director Christy Remucal and her student Sarah Balgooyen won for their journal article about discovering the source of a PFAS plume into Lake Michigan. Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Specialist Tim Campbell and his team earned runner-up for their article about Buddhist life release rituals and the risk for unintentionally spreading aquatic invasive species.
Our podcast, Wisconsin Water News (produced by me!) earned runner-up for Science Podcast for the Year.
Fisheries Outreach Specialist Titus Seilheimer earned runner-up for Great Lakes Titus of the Year. Although this category is named after Titus, it wouldn’t look good for him to win it, so this year, those honors went to the Titus Bakery chain in Indiana.
Campbell had the distinction of being named a first-ever loser in the Great Lakes Sandwich of the Year competition. He submitted a photo of a mac-and-cheese hot dog covered with fruit loops cereal, which was too gross for the Lakies judges to even consider.
Despite their lack of prestige, our staff are proud of their showing in the Lakies and appreciate this outreach effort by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. To see a list of the other winners, please access the episode here.
The post Wisconsin Sea Grant garners good showing in the Lakie Awards first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/wisconsin-sea-grant-garners-good-showing-in-the-lakie-awards/
Wisconsin Water Library
https://waterlibrary.aqua.wisc.edu/indigenous-women-in-stem-part-1-background/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
A gold star for EV Readiness: Chicago-area program prepares communities for electric vehicle adoption — Energy News Network
A Chicago-area regional government agency offers communities a blueprint for upgrading electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/energy-news-roundup-tribal-leaders-appear-at-a-federal-courthouse-in-chicago-to-challenge-line-5/
In a medical emergency, people generally want whichever emergency service they call to get to the scene fast, but ambulances in rural areas face special challenges to help residents.
The biggest obstacle for fire and rescue stations in rural areas is the distance between someone in need and the station.
The post Rural communities face challenges in providing ambulance services first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/02/22/rural-communities-face-challenges-in-providing-ambulance-services/
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Tuesday that states will share $5.8 billion in federal funds for water infrastructure projects around the country, paid for by one of its key legislative victories.
The new round of funding will help pay for projects nationwide, bringing the total awarded to states for water infrastructure improvements to $22 billion.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/ap-harris-announces-5-8-billion-for-water-infrastructure-projects-says-clean-water-a-right/
This spring, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ fisheries team will start using underwater cameras in select areas of Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan to capture video footage of fish communities without disturbing them. Read the full story by WICA – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-fish-footage
Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) has approved $2.5 million in university funding to support construction of a $10 million facility along the Saginaw River. When completed, SVSU’s Lake Huron Environmental Research Station will be the first university environmental research facility on Lake Huron. Read the full story by WEYI-TV – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-university-research
In northwest Ohio, WIN Waste Innovations is seeking Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval to expand its landfill. Because the landfill lies within the vicinity of Lake Erie tributary watersheds, residents fear toxins from the landfill could affect water quality all the way to Lake Erie, and they worry that an expansion of the landfill could worsen the negative environmental impact in their towns. Read the full story by The Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-landfill-pollution
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this year’s historic lack of ice coverage could have a big impact on people living in communities around the lake, as well as some fish species that use the ice for protection from predators during spawning season. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-ice-impacts
A study in Niagara County, New York, determined sport fishing put $58.55 million into the local economy in 2022. One facet of the county’s success story is the fishing pens operated and maintained by the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association. The Niagara County Legislature will be looking at a resolution to grant the volunteer group $4,000 for the repair and replacement of those pens. Read the full story by The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-fish-pass
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced some $7.5 million earmarked for Barcelona Harbor, and other harbors in western New York. The funding came as a bipartisan effort between Schumer and Buffalo-area House Representative Nick Langworthy; both noted the state of disrepair the harbor has fallen into. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-harbor-funding
Michigan bills to get rid of the state’s Environmental Rules Review Committee are on their way to the governor after passing the state Senate on Tuesday. The committee was created six years ago as an extra check on the rulemaking process for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, or EGLE. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-environmental-review
About 250 acres of Indiana wetlands have been lost in the two years since wetland protections were eased in a 2021 law, according to the Hoosier Environmental Council. A new bill that advanced through the state Senate recently would further reduce wetland protections, allowing developers to avoid costly permitting and mitigation. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-wetland-protection
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) muskie hatchery has to start with hundreds of thousands of eggs to successfully stock tens of thousands of fish, but muskies have the added challenge of being highly cannibalistic. The key to keeping muskies from eating each other is making sure they have plenty of other options without being wasteful. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-muskie-hatchery
Lake Erie currently has about 3% ice coverage, up from 10 days ago when there was basically no ice. During a cold stretch in northeast Ohio earlier this year, ice coverage on the lake increased to 35%. Average ice coverage peaks in late February, but the lake is on pace to remain below average this season. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240221-ice-coverage
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/legacy-dr-george-washington-carver
An endangered Great Lakes shorebird that has survived earlier threats to its habitat now faces new challenges.
Report a banded plover and learn more at the Great Lakes Piping Plover website.
The post Endangered piping plovers face climate change challenges first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/02/21/endangered-piping-plovers-face-climate-change-challenges/
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.
The Michigan Public Service Commission is gathering public input on a controversial new law, Public Act 233, which gives it final authority in approving large renewable energy projects.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/as-some-push-for-repeal-state-seeks-input-on-renewable-energy-siting-law/
Great Lakes muskellunge, optimizing solar panels for snow, and another short winter.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/big-fish-and-gray-skies/
Green Bay, WI
https://www.weather.gov/www.weather.gov/grb/skywarn
