A new era of electrical generation and power demand is taking shape across the eight states of the Great Lakes basin – and with it come potentially treacherous consequences for the region’s environment and its world-leading supply of clean, fresh water. Read the full story by Circle of Blue.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-confrontation-energy-water-greatlakes
The tragic sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald has had a lasting effect on family members of the crew and the Great Lakes shipping industry. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-edmund-fitzgerald-lasting-effects-families
New research funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant shows Anishinaabe fire practices shaped today’s Great Lakes ecosystems. The region’s forests never existed and can’t continue to exist without people – or fire. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-anishinaabe-fire-greatlakes-ecosystems-research
The Edmund Fitzgerald went down in Lake Superior 50 years ago on Nov. 10, 1975. Two journalists have their own stories to tell of the famed vessel. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-reporters-stories-edmund-fitzgerald-wreck
There are well over 6,000 shipwrecks between the five Great Lakes, the most well-known, of course, being the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. In recent years, especially around northeast Wisconsin, shipwreck discoveries have been on the rise. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-maritime-experts-shipwrecks-wisconsin
Research from Michigan State University (MSU) is protecting the Great Lakes from a dangerous threat looming specifically in and around Lake Erie. For roughly a decade, MSU scientists have been studying grass carp using acoustic telemetry, which incorporates sound to track populations of fish, where underwater acoustic receivers collect data on fish surgically tagged with acoustic transmitters. Read the full story by Morning Ag Clips.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-msu-led-greatlakes-invasive-carp-research
Most reefs are associated with tropical waters and colorful fish, not the Great Lakes, but Saginaw Bay was once the home of many rock reefs. Created by glacial activity, the reefs provided a habitat for the bay’s fish. Over time, reef habitat was lost, buried by sediment due to logging, manufacturing and agricultural activity in the area. Now, efforts are underway to restore this lost habitat. Read the full story by WNEM-TV – Bay City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-reef-restoration-saginawbay
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald going down during a violent Lake Superior storm in November of 1975, dozens of swimmers braved those same waters to finish the journey the ship and her crew never could. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-fondulac-lakesuperior-edmund-fitzgerald-memorial-swim
The city of Manistee, Michigan, will spend an estimated $105,502 to investigate PFAS migration originating from the city’s former landfill site on Adamczak Road. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251110-pfas-testing-manistee
“Wrecked: The Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy” is a new book by Thomas Nelson with Jeremy Podair. Below is an adapted excerpt from the chapter “Just Call Toby,” that details the legal mess families were put through after losing their loved ones on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/fifty-years-later-the-little-known-story-of-the-families-the-fitz-left-behind/
By Victoria Witke
New research shows Anishinaabe fire practices shaped today’s Great Lakes ecosystems. The region’s forests never existed and can’t continue to exist without people – or fire.
The post Anishinaabe fire practices shaped Great Lakes ecosystems, new research shows first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
https://greatlakesecho.org/2025/11/09/anishinaabe-fire-practices-shaped-great-lakes-ecosystems-new-research-shows/
The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains a pivotal moment in maritime history, prompting significant safety advancements in Great Lakes shipping over the past 50 years. In the wake of the Fitzgerald disaster, the U.S. Coast Guard implemented stricter training requirements, including the use of life-saving devices and immersion suits to protect against hypothermia. Read the full story by WPBN – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-fitzgerald-safety-legacy
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, European frog-bit, an invasive aquatic plant, has been confirmed in two locations near Lake Michigan: in the lower Grand River, immediately upstream of Grand Haven, in Ottawa County, and in Pentwater Lake in Oceana County. Read the full story by WDIV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-invasive-plant
In Illinois, the city of Evanston’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan Implementation Task Force signed off on the current draft of a Lakefront Protection Ordinance to set a unified policy to regulate development and protect natural habitats and shoreline along Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Evanston RoundTable.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-lakefront-protection
Edmund Fitzgerald was a businessman in Wisconsin and the president of Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee, which owned the ship. His roots in the Great Lakes ran deep, with several relatives working in the maritime trade. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-edmund-fitzgerald
The Michigan Natural Resources Commission voted Thursday to expand the areas where people can spearfish lake trout, northern pike and walleye. Starting in April 2026, anglers will be allowed to spearfish for the three gamefish in parts of Lake Erie and Lake Superior and expanded portions of Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-spearfishing-access
New industrial plants in St. Thomas, Ontario, will need a $400-million upgrade to the water system serving the area, and property owners in London and Elgin might be on the hook to pay for the upgrade. Read the full story by The London Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-water-upgrade
The S.O.N.S. (Save Our Native Species) of Lake Erie Fishing Club received around 1,500 brown trout from the Linesville Fish Hatchery in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The fish are only a few inches in size, and will be cared for at the hatchery until they’re ready to be released into Presque Isle Bay. Read the full story by WJET – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-trout-hatchery
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission is now accepting applications for grants of up to $50,000, which are available to local governments, research institutions and nonprofit groups for projects that will improve water quality, restore habitats, and strengthen the long-term sustainability of Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-sustainability-grants
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says 1,000 young lake sturgeon were released into Cattaraugus Creek this week as part of a long-term plan to reestablish the fish in one of its former spawning grounds along Lake Erie. Read the full story by Fingerlakes1.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-sturgeon-release
A new documentary, “Gales of November: Diving the Edmund Fitzgerald,” premiered Wednesday night, drawing on archival footage from an expedition in the mid-1990s to revisit the wreckage. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-fitzgerald-documentary
Pre-proposal submissions for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) yearly fisheries habitat grants are now being accepted. Each year, the DNR allocates $1.5 million in fisheries habitat grants to governments and nonprofit organizations around the state. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-fisheries-grants
According to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, the Edmund Fitzgerald’s 200-pound bronze bell was recovered on July 4, 1995, through a joint expedition. Every year, the original bell is tolled 29 times in honor of the 29 men who perished. Read the full story by WXYZ – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251107-fitzgerald-bell
By Eric Freedman
A horse-drawn carriage. A runaway horse. A crash. Sounds like an old-fashioned drama – not a bizarre 21st-century event. But that’s what happened three years ago when a visitor was injured while riding in a horse-drawn omnibus at Greenfield Village. The Court of Appeals has refused to reinstate her negligence suit against The Henry Ford and the driver.
The post Michigan court refuses to reinstate lawsuit over runaway carriage horse at Greenfield Village first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
https://greatlakesecho.org/2025/11/07/michigan-court-refuses-to-reinstate-lawsuit-over-runaway-carriage-horse-at-greenfield-village/
We’re celebrating a major win: Muskegon Lake, a 4,149-acre lake that drains into the western shore of Lake Michigan, has officially been removed from the list of the most environmentally degraded areas in the Great Lakes.
It’s thanks to decades of collaborative restoration efforts among local communities, state and federal agencies, and advocates, as well as consistent federal funding that the Alliance for the Great Lakes has fought hard to maintain.
For years, the lake was ringed by factories, foundries, and paper plants. Locals talked about being able to tell which factory was operating based on the color of the water that day. The heavy industry left behind a legacy of pollution that landed the lake on the federal government’s list of “Areas of Concern” – 43 highly degraded areas along the Great Lakes in need of significant remediation.
In all, more than 190,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment were remediated from Muskegon Lake – enough to fill roughly 9 football fields, each 10 feet deep. Beaches have reopened, wetlands are restored, and new recreation opportunities are fueling the local economy. A study by Grand Valley State University estimates that for every dollar spent on the restoration, there were six dollars in economic benefit.
On the day Muskegon came off the list, Dr. Alan Steinman, an Alliance Board member who was active in the cleanup efforts for decades, said it best: “It’s a huge day for Muskegon.”
Our work isn’t done. There are 23 remaining U.S. Areas of Concern. And the major federal program that supports their cleanup – the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – needs to be reauthorized next year. We’re fighting to make sure it’s renewed and fully funded.
Muskegon Lake’s restoration was possible because The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative had long-term support across many administrations and from both political parties. It’s a model for what we can achieve with consistent bipartisan commitment to the lakes we all share.
And it’s a reminder of why we can’t stop fighting for Great Lakes restoration.
Thank you for your support, which makes wins like this possible.
The post Big win: One of the most polluted areas in the Great Lakes is now restored appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2025/11/big-win-one-of-the-most-polluted-areas-in-the-great-lakes-is-now-restored/
The State Revolving Fund (SRF) Advocates Forum (Forum) brings together community leaders from more than 36 states advocating for critical water infrastructure funding needs to replace lead service lines, upgrade storm sewer systems that flood during storms, and more. SRFs are a significant funding source for local governments and utilities to pay for these critical water infrastructure projects. SRFs combine state and federal funds to support loan funding for projects (including some principal forgiveness), but each state administers its own program, resulting in varying priorities and rules for accessing financing and funding across states. The SRF Forum helps leaders navigate the patchwork of state SRF rules to make them more accessible, secure the needed funding, and ultimately provide clean and safe drinking water and necessary wastewater and stormwater services for their residents.
A newly released report authored by the Forum co-conveners – Alliance for Great Lakes, Environmental Policy Innovation Center, PolicyLink, and River Network – and with vital input from Forum members, documents Forum members’ advocacy journeys engaging with state staff across the country to focus SRF funding on communities with the highest need. The annual SRF Advocates Engagement Report highlights SRF Forum advocates’ successes, lessons learned, and strategic pivots to strengthen the broader movement for equitable water infrastructure funding. Through this report, we celebrate the advocates’ momentum while also highlighting the remaining urgent SRF program changes needed to support communities trying to access these funds.
What did we hear from advocates about their experiences with SRF programs in our SRF Engagement Survey and interviews with advocates?
Across two periods, 2021–2022 and 2023–2024, SRF Forum members:
Why are the SRFs important to advocates?
The two federal SRF programs – the Clean Water SRF and the Drinking Water SRF – have provided more than $200 billion in financing for water infrastructure over the past several decades. When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was enacted in 2021, it infused an additional $43 billion into the SRF programs over five years (2022–2026). However, right now the U.S. Congress is considering changes to and reductions in the federal funding for these programs, making education about and advocacy around the SRFs more important than ever.
Over the past four years, the SRF Forum has developed a robust library of resources, learning sessions, and peer-led learning spaces. This report provides a snapshot of the extensive work and dedication of advocates supported by these tools, and experiences shared by their peers in the SRF Forum, to secure robust investment in our communities’ water resources. Going forward, members of the SRF Forum can continue to rely on these resources and community of practice to collectively keep advocating for federal and state investment in the SRFs during this critical time.
If you are interested in engaging with state SRF administrators on your state’s policies, we have resources for you! If you are an advocate interested in SRF policy reform, please join our community of practice. Become a member today.
To learn more about the SRF Advocates Forum, visit the website.
The post New Report: Working Together to Improve Water Infrastructure appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2025/11/working-together-to-improve-water-infrastructure/
Situated in a town of a little over a thousand people in Colon, Michigan, is an idyllic and pastoral outdoor dining experience just 250 feet from a main road. Guests are recommended to order a glass of wine, wander the property grounds, and soak in their surroundings before taking a seat at a banquet-style table.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/going-country-at-farrand-hall/
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Oct. 29 approved energy company Enbridge’s plans to reroute an aging oil pipeline around a northern Wisconsin tribal reservation. Enbridge wants to build a new 41-mile segment of pipeline around the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to replace a 12-mile segment that now crosses tribal land. Read the full story by Iron Mountain Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-army-corps-approves-enbridge-pipeline-wisconsin
Construction is now underway on a $2.2 million project approved this summer for a new trail in Plainfield Township, Michigan. When completed, it will help connect a network of pedestrian trails running from Lake Michigan to mid-Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-construction-project-trail-system-lake-michigan
Michigan regulators have finalized stricter pollution controls for the state’s largest livestock operations following a multi-year legal battle over how factory farms manage animal waste. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-michigan-tightens-farm-pollution
A unique dataset of shipwreck sonar scans, captured by researchers from the University of Michigan and Michigan Technological University, has been selected for inclusion in the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot. The dataset, known as AI4Shipwrecks, is one of only ten chosen for the national initiative focused on advancing artificial intelligence. Read the full story by Hydro International.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-lakehuron-shipwrecks-american-ai-research
A new study from Loyola University Chicago finds that muskrats – the humble, semi-aquatic rodents long overshadowed by beavers – may play a crucial role in restoring the health of the Great Lakes wetlands. Read the full story by WBBM – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-loyola-study-greatlakes-wetlands-muskrats
U.S. Congressional committees have approved the Great Lakes Fisheries Research Reauthorization Act in both the House and the Senate, clearing them for full votes in both bodies. The legislation would authorize funding for the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Great Lakes Science Center for another five years. Read the full story by SeafoodSource.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-us-congressional-committees-greatlakes-fisheries
Butterfly populations are in decline across the continental U.S., dropping by 22% between 2000 and 2020. To help combat that trend, the John Ball Zoo launched its Great Lakes Rare Butterfly Program in 2021 to protect the region’s most threatened species. Read the full story by the Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-grandrapids-zoo-greatlakes-butterflies
Each year, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources allocates $1.5 million in fisheries habitat grants to governments and nonprofit organizations around the state. Pre-proposal submissions for the yearly fisheries habitat grants are now being accepted. Read the full story by the Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-state-soliciting-fisheries-habitat-projects
American Cruise Lines’ American Patriot cruise ship, built in 2025, will stop in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, four times in 2026 on the Lake Michigan & Upper Peninsula cruise line, one of the company’s three Great Lakes cruises. Read the full story by The Post-Crescent.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-sheboygan-lake-michigan-cruise-ship-2026
The Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior Nov. 10, 1975, and killed all 29 men aboard. It’s a modern maritime tragedy that has echoed for decades. Read the full story by USA Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251105-edmund-fitzgerald-fifty-years-ago
By Finn Mills
Pre-proposal submissions for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ yearly fisheries habitat grants are now being accepted. Each year, the DNR allocates $1.5 million in fisheries habitat grants to governments and nonprofit organizations around the state.
The post Michigan soliciting fisheries habitat projects first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
https://greatlakesecho.org/2025/11/05/michigan-soliciting-fisheries-habitat-projects/
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/2025/11/ontario-is-subsidizing-an-energy-project-in-georgian-bay-despite-expert-advice/
By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio
This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.
On a Saturday in June, Nancy Sattler bats away flies while standing in the shade of the Moen Lake boat landing near the town of Stella.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/sludge-is-used-as-fertilizer-across-wisconsin-how-much-is-tainted-by-pfas/
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:2.49.0.1.840.0.7f85c22673dafa86ecde94833d3add2db1ceb509.001.1.cap
Several formal ceremonies will mark 50 years since the fateful day since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-fitzgerald-memorials
The risk of an Edmund Fitzgerald-type disaster is never zero, but improvements in weather forecasting, Great Lakes bottom mapping, and other safety technology make such a disaster far less likely. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-fitzgerald-disasters
Theories about how the Edmund Fitzgerald sank range from striking a shoal and suffering bottom damage, to flooding through the freighter’s hatch covers, to rogue waves, and to structural flaws in the ship. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-fitzgerald-mystery
Lake trout have made a strong recovery in Lake Superior thanks to successful lamprey control. This has allowed the Fond du Lac Band to resume subsistence netting for the first time in over 160 years. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-superior-trout
They’re known as the gales of November, and they conjure images of hurricane-force winds, towering waves, ice-cold temperatures, and bobbing ships. Maritime historians estimate they are responsible for roughly half of Great Lakes shipwrecks. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-november-gales
Environmental activists and lawmakers are pushing for action as abandoned boats are being left on the shores of Wisconsin’s rivers and lakes. Wisconsin law does not currently require swift removal of abandoned boats from state waters. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-abandoned-boats
Two Ontario fisheries facilities along Lake Erie are getting $10 million facelifts to protect local fisheries and jobs. Planned improvements include replacing aging infrastructure, expanding facility space, and incorporating new technologies to improve efficiency and safety. Read the full story by CK News Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-ontario-fisheries
One of the last remaining large urban coastal wetlands on Lake Ontario received a $1.61 million boost from Ottawa this year, with work restoring the health of under-threat Second Marsh in Ottawa already underway. Read the full story by INsauga.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-ontario-wetlands
Environmental professionals, business leaders, and others discussed the challenges facing the Great Lakes at the 18th annual Freshwater Summit in Traverse City, Michigan. One focus at the summit is how climate change could impact the health of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WPBN/WGTU-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251103-freshwater-summit
