Essex County’s surface water quality, forest conditions, and phosphorus levels have all received failing grades in a five-year environmental report card from the Essex Region Conservation Authority. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-water-quality
The Buffalo Niagara River Land Trust has finalized a conservation easement on a parcel owned by the City of Buffalo, New York as part of the broader Houghton Conservation Area preservation effort. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-loons
Loons are now migrating north after spending the winter along the coastal United States. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-loons
Congressman Bill Huizenga and some colleagues are calling on Canada to do more to help protect the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the WSJM -St. Joseph, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230324-huizenga
Lake Michigan is one of Illinois’ greatest assets. But plastic pollution puts Lake Michigan and all our waterways at risk, polluting our drinking water and harming wildlife.
Polystyrene foam – a plastic used to make single-used foam cups and food containers – is among the most polluting plastic products. Polystyrene foam doesn’t biodegrade in nature and is nearly impossible to recycle. Byproducts of polystyrene production can pollute the water, harming neighborhoods near factories.
Some of the most common items Adopt-a-Beach volunteers remove from Lake Michigan’s Illinois shorelines are foam take-out containers and pieces of polystyrene foam. While our volunteers are on the frontlines of keeping plastic out of Lake Michigan, we know that they are only able to pick up a fraction of the plastic pollution on our beaches. And once single-use polystyrene pieces end up in our waterways, it’s nearly impossible to clean them up.
The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill earlier this week that would phase out single-use plastic polystyrene foam foodware. The bill is now being considered by the Illinois Senate.
We hope Illinois will join the eight states and roughly 200 cities and municipalities that have enacted bans on polystyrene foam containers.
The post Single-Use Plastic Foam Foodware Ban Advances to Illinois Senate appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2023/03/single-use-plastic-foam-foodware-ban-advances-to-illinois-senate/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
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/2023/03/restoration-projects-proposed-saginaw-bay-watershed-settlement-money-corporate-polluters/
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found more efficient ways to construct a barrier near Chicago to keep invasive carp in the Mississippi River system out of the Great Lakes. But the cost is nearly 13 percent higher than a 2019 estimate. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-carp-barrier
The ecological success of artificial reefs in Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay could teach people how to restore fish populations across the world. Researchers observed that the number of trout eggs found indicated the fish used the constructed reefs just as much as the natural reefs. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-artifical-reefs
The Advance Shipwreck in Lake Michigan, near the town of Holland, Michigan, has been added to the Michigan State Register of Historic Places. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-advance-shipwreck
A bipartisan group of Great Lakes lawmakers introduced a resolution in Congress on Wednesday to oppose a Canadian proposal to permanently store spent nuclear fuel waste in the Great Lakes Basin. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-nuclear-waste
Macomb County, Michigan, will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study why a type of cyanobacteria, called lyngbya, is a growing problem in Lake Saint Clair. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-lyngbya
New guidance from an annual advisory issued by three Pennsylvania agencies indicates that depending on the species, many fish in Pennsylvania waterways shouldn’t be eaten more than once per week. Read the full story by Go Erie.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-pa-fish
Icebreaking in the Thunder Bay area of Lake Superior will begin this week, with the initial harbour breakout beginning on Thursday. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-thunder-bay
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre is looking for volunteer “citizen scientists” to monitor Lake Huron for changes along the lake’s 6,170-kilometer shoreline. Read the full story Owen Sound Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-coastal-centre
Recently, the International Joint Commission, which manages Plan 2014 regulating Great Lakes water outflows, completed the first phase of the study. The commission has started the second phase, which focuses on long-term impacts of extreme weather. Read the full story by Spectrum News1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230322-ijc-phase2
Strengthening the laws would be instrumental to us as we think about the future of this state and what is going to attract and retain people here.
The post Polluter-pay laws could return under Democratic majority first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/03/22/polluter-pay-laws-could-return-under-democratic-majority/
Note: This blog is part of a periodic series of updates from Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Director of Federal Government Relations, with his view on Great Lakes policy from Washington, DC.
The first week of March was a busy time in Washington, DC, as Great Lakes advocates from around the region, including the Alliance, gathered for the annual “Great Lakes Days” to lobby Congress for funding and laws to protect and restore the Great Lakes. The event, organized by the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes coalition, brought hundreds of Great Lakes advocates to Washington, DC, to meet with Members of Congress.
The Alliance was tapped to lead the Illinois delegation and brought together allies from several Illinois-based organizations, including Friends of the Chicago River, the Illinois Environmental Council, and Stantec. Our group met with over 10 Illinois congressional offices on March 9 to discuss Great Lakes policy priorities. Overall, we believe we had a productive and frank dialogue, especially noting the difficulty of achieving some of our funding and legislative priorities this year with a divided Congress.
We couldn’t have timed our advocacy better as the White House released the FY 2024 President’s Budget the same day of our congressional visits. While we did not see the increases we had hoped for in all of the programs targeting the Great Lakes, the budget does have some good news. We appreciate that the Administration proposed a $1.9 billion (19%) increase for US EPA’s budget, with the majority of these funds targeting programs supporting water infrastructure improvements for rural and underserved communities. In addition, US EPA’s budget includes increases for programs that reduce lead in schools and support actions to address PFAS, including EPA’s first-ever draft rule to regulate PFAS in drinking water.
The budget debate now moves to Congress, and it is going to be contentious as House Republicans are determined to reduce federal spending. Overall, House Republicans have vowed to cut federal non-defense programs back to FY 2022 levels or lower. With the Senate in Democratic hands, it is unclear how top-line spending policy will ultimately be worked out, but we will continue to advocate for programs that protect our water resources.
In addition to the release of the President’s Budget, the House considered and passed a Congressional Review Act resolution to disapprove the Biden Administration’s recently released “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) Clean Water Act rule that sets forth protections for the nation’s lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands. We supported the development of the “Waters of the United States” rule and opposed the congressional resolution to disapprove the rule as the rule provides important Clean Water Act protections to the region’s water resources. The Senate is anticipated to take up the resolution soon, although the final vote is unclear, and the Biden Administration is expected to veto the resolution if it passes.
With all of these events occurring during Great Lakes Days, it gave us a great opportunity to talk about our federal priorities to our congressional representatives and to build a foundation upon which to continue the dialogue as we move forward in the legislative process. We will keep you informed of how developments in Washington, DC, this year and appreciate your support for programs that protect and restore the Great Lakes.
The post DC Update: Great Lakes Advocates Head to Washington, President’s Budget Released appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2023/03/dc-update-great-lakes-advocates-head-to-washington-presidents-budget-released/
Citizen scientists chart the night sky, measure the health of a river and The Catch.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/fading-stars-and-river-bugs-episode-2303/
The constructed reefs are likely to be adequate for fish to breed and reproduce indefinitely.
The post Artificial reefs bring wild lake trout to Lake Huron first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/03/21/artificial-reefs-bring-wild-lake-trout-to-lake-huron/
James Kessler is a scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. His educational background comprises an engineering degree in Earth Systems Science and a Master’s of Science from the University of Michigan. He has dedicated his research efforts to understanding the intricate physical processes of large lakes and creating numerical models of ice and hydrodynamics.
The post Great Lakes Ice Cover Season 2, Episode 26 appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2023/03/great-lakes-ice-cover-season-2-episode-26/
Christine Carlson and Mark McConnell. Image credit: Anna Martineau Merrit
Two speakers shared their wealth of knowledge with a large audience for the March River Talk, held at the Lake Superior Estuarium in Superior. The evening began with Christine Carlson, a historian and columnist for the Fond du Lac Tribe’s newspaper.
The talk was held on March 8, which was International Women’s Day. In honor of this, Carlson highlighted Sophie Bruin, a woman who lived on an island in the St. Louis River between Gary and New Duluth in a one-room cabin with her eight children. Her granddaughter Bea Bruin was in the audience. Newspaper accounts detailed their rescue by rowboat in 1897 when the island flooded. Sophie earned money by selling milk from her four cows. She also had a vegetable garden and hay field off the island.
“She was an incredible woman and that’s why I wanted to highlight Sophie Bruin,” Carlson said.
She then provided the audience with copies of her self-published book, “Wa ye kwaa gichi gamiing: Fond du Lac, End of Great Body of Water & a Visual Feast,” which contains history of the area and many photos.
Carlson grew up in Fond du Lac, which was a settlement for the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples and a fur trading post — precursor to the city of Duluth. When the Fond du Lac Reservation was established in 1854, many Native people moved there, but some stayed in the town of Fond du Lac. Carlson described the lives of some of the families that stayed, including the Charettes, LeGardes and Durfees. She also described how Fond du Lac was a popular tourist destination beginning in the late 1800s. Riverboats from Duluth would ferry people to the spot.
“Some of those boats had a thousand people in them. They’d come for picnics – huge picnics in Chambers Grove – the Elks, the newsboys, the police officers. The riverboats docked at 133rd Avenue West, Nekuk Island, and a third location,” Carlson said. The Montauk was perhaps the longest-running riverboat. It sported slot machines, not allowed on land, and offered dancing.
Later, a ski jump called Ojibwe Bowl, a fish hatchery, and an arboretum were built in the community. Carlson recalls sliding down the ski jump hill once competitions were over. “We didn’t have sleds back then. We just had cardboard. It was a big climb and then we’d slide down that hill. What a ride that was, I tell ya,” she said.
The second speaker was Mark McConnell, an Elder with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. His family used to live on Wisconsin Point and like those who Carlson mentioned, did not move to the reservation.
He related seven stories, which are usually only told during winter. He began with a water-based tale about how the loon got its necklace, or the patterning around its neck. His next described why making maple syrup is so labor-intensive. “Everything that we do in our culture for gathering – be it sugar bush, ricing, netting fish – takes a lot of work. I think it gives people more appreciation for the end product,” McConnell said.
His third story described why the black bear’s tail is so short. Others were about how porcupines got their quills, why turtles don’t migrate, and how the Apostle Islands were formed (which involved a giant beaver). His final story dealt with a lost deer hunter who, after falling into a lake, took shelter overnight in winter with a hibernating bear.
McConnell also discussed how fire fits into Ojibwe culture to encourage the growth of blueberries and to honor the dead. It’s nice to see fire coming back,” he said. “It’s not a bad thing if handled carefully.”
The next River Talk will be held on April 12 in-person at the Lake Superior Estuarium and by Zoom. It will feature local environmental science painter and muralist Adam Swanson who will describe how he mixes art and science.
The post History of Fond du Lac and winter Ojibwe stories shared at River Talks first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/history-of-fond-du-lac-and-winter-ojibwe-stories-shared-at-river-talks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=history-of-fond-du-lac-and-winter-ojibwe-stories-shared-at-river-talks
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/improving-coastal-resiliency-digital-elevation-models
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/i-speak-for-the-fish-playing-follow-the-leader-with-diving-ducks/
Ice conditions across the Great Lakes during the 2022-2023 season were the third-lowest on record. Although this is a widespread trend, it has had significant impacts on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by WETM-TV – Elmira, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-river-ice
In Michigan, federal, state, and tribal trustees have come up with an extensive plan to spend some of the last of the money from two huge settlements to restore land in the Saginaw Bay watershed. The drafts of the plans are up for public review. Read and listen to the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-saginaw-bay
Adam Tindall-Schlicht was appointed in November as the 11th administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. (GLS) by President Biden and is the youngest GLS administrator to date. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-seaway-administrator
Nearly a decade after completing its popular Solstice Steps in Lakewood Park, the city of Lakewood, Ohio, returns to its master plan directive offering multiple points of access to Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-lakewood-study
Several Canadian ship owners have welcomed qualified Ukrainian seafarers and other marine personnel after Russia invaded their homeland in February 2022. Read the full story by The Bay Observer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-ukrainian-seafarers
A beaver fur top hat will be presented to the captain of the first downbound vessel on the Welland Canal when the 2023 shipping season kicks off in Port Colborne, Ontario, this week. The city’s annual top hat ceremony takes place Wednesday in the pavilion at Lock 8 Gateway Park with breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by the event at 8:30 a.m. Read the full story by the Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-welland-canal
Ice has been far below average this year, with only 7% of the lakes covered and no ice at all on Lake Erie, affecting the regions’ ecosystem and lake-effect snow. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-lake-ice
Water temperatures have remained cold enough in most of Ohio to be considered dangerous should an outdoor dunking occur. Read the full story by the Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-ohio-anglers
The influx of blue-green algae in Lake Erie has been causing toxic algal blooms for decades that impact water quality, recreation and tourism, and health. “The Erie Situation,” a documentary film about the Lake Erie algal blooms, was recently screened at Bowling Green State University. Read the full story by BG Independent News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-aglae-research
In Michigan, a popular boardwalk trail at Ludington State Park will be rebuilt after nearly 45 years of offering spectacular views of Lake Michigan to visitors. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230320-park-boardwalk
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/2023/03/nibi-chronicles-celebrating-one-familys-knack-for-finding-ancient-stone-tools/
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will open the Poe Lock March 25, marking the 2023 Great Lakes shipping season start. The operating season is fixed by federal regulation and vessels inability to operate in typical Great Lakes ice conditions. Read the full story by WILX-TV – Onondaga, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-soo-lock
The hardiest freshwater fish in America, invasive carp, could revive the Midwest’s fishing industry—or destroy the Great Lakes. So much depends on your appetite. Read the full story by Wired.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-invasive-carp
A major passenger ferry to Mackinac Island will undergo renovations to transition from gas to an electric engine. The upcoming renovations are the first step in modernizing the entire ferry system. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-mackinac-ferry
An effort to document local shipwrecks is part of a new exhibit at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc. Read the fully story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-maritime-meseum
The Niagara City Cruises, the famed boat tours that take tourists to the falls, is opening for the season on Thursday, the company announced. The “historic” opening marks the earliest point in the year that the Niagara City Cruises has ever begun operations, the company said, citing the mild winter weather. Read the full story by ABC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-niagara-falls
Water treatment facilities across the country could have to start testing for so-called ‘forever chemicals’ under a new proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency. City of Toledo, Ohio officials say they would see costs go up by about $1,000 if they had to test for PFAS but wouldn’t have to pass those costs on to customers. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-epa-pfas-ruling
After winning a pair of state grants, New York’s Thousand Islands Land Trust will soon have $5.4 million at its disposal to use in conservation efforts. The Land Trust has set its sights on safe drinking water specifically from sites along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-land-trust
Fourteen Michigan harbors would be dredged under President Joe Biden’s proposed budget that allocates more than $157 million for Great Lakes operations and maintenance, officials said. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-dredging
Activists from a Chicago neighborhood filed a lawsuit Monday that alleges that plans to expand a lakefront dump filled with polluted sediment break national environmental laws. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-pollution-dump-expansion
Escanaba, a town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, will welcome cruise ships for the first time this year, showing off its unique culture and Lake Michigan coastline. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230317-cruise
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12663CDD89FC.SpecialWeatherStatement.12663CDDE820WI.GRBSPSGRB.3046e197f8a6ed92365046944f849dbd
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12663CDD0DC4.SpecialWeatherStatement.12663CDDE820WI.GRBSPSGRB.3046e197f8a6ed92365046944f849dbd
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12663CDC43D0.SpecialWeatherStatement.12663CDD24D0WI.GRBSPSGRB.54e5ef070b45e49081402cfe9ce09122
Baraga County, Michigan
CCO Meeting – CCO Meeting Presentation [.pdf]
Thursday, March 9, 2023, from 2-4pm ET
Open House:
Thursday, March 9, 2023, from 6-8pm ET
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
https://www.greatlakescoast.org/2023/03/16/lake-superior-community-consultation-officers-meeting-and-open-house-for-baraga-county-michigan/
Menominee County, Michigan
CCO Meeting – CCO Meeting Presentation [.pdf]
Tuesday, October 4, 2022, from 1-2:30pm CT
Open House:
Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from 6-8pm CT
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
https://www.greatlakescoast.org/2023/03/16/lake-michigan-community-consultation-officers-meeting-and-open-house-for-menominee-county-michigan/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/pfas-news-roundup-all-fish-tested-from-michigan-rivers-contain-forever-chemicals-study-finds/
