The Hessen Cassel Phase 3 project in Fort Wayne, IN features installation of a two-stage ditch, along with a bioswale, and a significant expansion of the Colonial Heritage wetlands that will include a walking trail. Project is being implemented in partnership with the Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program, the DNR’s Lake and River Enhancement Program, and the City Utilities’ stormwater fund. Read the full story by Fort Wayne’s NBC.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210527-restoration-indiana

Patrick Canniff

After a seven-month closure, Brandenburg Park in Chesterfield Township, MI will reopen Memorial Day. The waterfront park has been closed since October for shoreline restoration and other upgrades aimed at improving habitat for wildlife and enriched opportunities to park users. The project was completed in collaboration with several agencies, including the Great Lakes Commission, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read the full story by The Voice.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210527-restoration-michgan

Patrick Canniff

There should be fewer sewage discharges at Cleveland’s Edgewater Beach this year thanks to recent upgrades to a sewer system originally built in the 1880s. The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District announced Wednesday they have completed sewer upgrades they believe will reduce sewer overflows at the beach. Read the full story by WOIO-TV –  Cleveland, OH.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210527-sewer-upgrade-erie

Patrick Canniff

The harmful algae bloom in western Lake Erie is expected to be smaller than normal this summer, according to early projections released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Data showed the toxic blue-green algae bloom will be about the same size as those in 2016, 2018, and 2020, but much smaller than the blooms of 2017 and 2019. Read the full story by Blackburnnews.com.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210527-algae-bloom-erie

Patrick Canniff

As this year’s boating season officially kicks off, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation is reminding water recreationists to do their part in protecting New York’s waters from aquatic invasive species by remembering to clean, drain, and dry watercraft and equipment. Read the full story by Fingerlakes1.com.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210527-boating-invasive-species

Patrick Canniff

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts surveyed residents of the north shore of Lake Superior exploring how communities respond to climate related issues and problems. The study revealed that levels of civic engagement in climate adaptations were generally low. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210527-climate-change

Patrick Canniff

Promoting “universal access,” the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has been pursuing a goal to preserve the outdoors for everybody as a part of their Campaign for Generations, a $71.4-million, six-year fund-raising effort that will end on June 30. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210527-trails

Patrick Canniff

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.

Don Jodrey
Don Jodrey, Director of Federal Government Relations

A call to increase drinking water and wastewater infrastructure funding was near the top of the Alliance’s annual list of federal legislative priorities. And now the issue is front and center in Washington.

Before I share a rundown of where legislation stands, first a quick refresher on the issue. Communities across the Great Lakes region continue to grapple with crumbling, antiquated drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, which includes drinking water and sewage treatment plants and the pipes that carry water to and from our homes. It’s not just a Great Lakes problem. Our nation’s drinking water infrastructure is woefully in need of repair. In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s drinking water system a “C minus” and said that much of our drinking water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life. But, fixing infrastructure is expensive. The eight Great Lakes states need $188 billion over the next 20 years for improvements, upgrades, and repairs to this infrastructure

Back in March, President Biden unveiled a massive infrastructure spending proposal – the American Jobs Plan – and his FY22 budget also includes investments in drinking and wastewater infrastructure. The President’s budget and legislative proposals respond to our advocacy on behalf of Great Lakes citizens who deserve clean and affordable drinking water and clean water for recreation. The key question now is, how will the Congress respond to the President’s efforts to invest in fixing our massive infrastructure problems?

The initial legislative action in Congress is encouraging and it’s notable that one of the first bi-partisan bills to pass the United States Senate last month centered on water infrastructure needs. The Senate’s Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 passed the Senate 89-2 and proposes to spend $35 billion over five years to upgrade drinking and wastewater infrastructure around the country and to target communities most in need in doing so. The Senate’s proposed $35 billion investment is a good first step to address the needs of the Great Lakes, but we know that more is necessary. The bill still has hurdles before it can become law as it has only passed the Senate.

The House of Representatives is also tackling infrastructure legislation. In an encouraging development, two committees in the House are currently considering larger water-related investments. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021 and the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act together propose to invest $101 billion in drinking and wastewater infrastructure. Committee hearings and markups – the process by which legislators debate bills by suggesting rewrites or amendments – are underway.

But where is all this going and how will it come together? The President’s American Jobs Plan proposed $111 billion for drinking and wastewater infrastructure spending over eight years, and that amount is much larger than either the Senate or House legislation considered to date. The President’s plan is being met with some resistance in Congress, with concerns being expressed by some House and Senate members over cost and scope of the plans. It is very much a subject of legislative negotiation and discussion with compromises still to be reached. But as with any domestic investment of this size and scale, this negotiation is to be expected.

So we remain engaged in the legislative process to inform Congress of our water needs. And, you can too. Hundreds of Great Lakes advocates sent letters to their Members of Congress in late April and it’s not too late to weigh in. It’s important that Congress hear from people like you as they debate these bills. We make it easy for you to send a letter in our Great Lakes Action Center.

The post Water Infrastructure Front and Center in Washington, DC appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Original Article

News – Alliance for the Great Lakes

News – Alliance for the Great Lakes

https://greatlakes.org/2021/05/water-infrastructure-front-and-center-in-washington-dc/

Judy Freed

University of Toronto researchers released plastic bottles with GPS trackers into the Toronto Harbor with the hope of monitoring the bottles’ travel throughout Lake Ontario. The research will inform the movement of garbage across the lake and improve waste management. Read the full story by Yahoo News Canada.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210526-plastic-bottles

Ned Willig

The Michigan Climate and Energy Summit brought out Michigan’s two US Senators to discuss the federal government’s response to climate change, including the impact of President Biden’s stimulus plan on addressing Great Lakes protection and tackling climate impacts of the region’s agriculture and forestry industry. Read the full story by WWUP -TV – Sault St. Marie, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210526-climate-summit

Ned Willig

When Lake Michigan water levels were high in the 1960s, one resident in St. Joseph, Michigan, adopted a unique strategy for creating a breakwall to prevent erosion: piling junk cars on the beach to stabilize the shoreline and prevent bluff erosion.  Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210526-car-graveyard

Ned Willig

A panel of experts on invasive grass carp convened at this week’s Great Lakes Fishery Commission annual meeting discussed strategies for removing grass carp from the northwest Ohio waterways and installing structural barriers to prevent the further spread of carp. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210526-grass-carp

Ned Willig

The removal of the Pucker Street Dam on the Dowagiac River in Berrien County, Michigan, heralded the return of salmon and steelhead fish to upstream breeding grounds. The dam removal will support the fishery industry by improve fish breeding. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210526-remove-the-dams

Ned Willig

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.

Don Jodrey
Don Jodrey, Director of Federal Government Relations

A call to increase drinking water and wastewater infrastructure funding was near the top of the Alliance’s annual list of federal legislative priorities. And now the issue is front and center in Washington.

Before I share a rundown of where legislation stands, first a quick refresher on the issue. Communities across the Great Lakes region continue to grapple with crumbling, antiquated drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, which includes drinking water and sewage treatment plants and the pipes that carry water to and from our homes. It’s not just a Great Lakes problem. Our nation’s drinking water infrastructure is woefully in need of repair. In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s drinking water system a “C minus” and said that much of our drinking water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life. But, fixing infrastructure is expensive. The eight Great Lakes states need $188 billion over the next 20 years for improvements, upgrades, and repairs to this infrastructure

Back in March, President Biden unveiled a massive infrastructure spending proposal – the American Jobs Plan – and his FY22 budget also includes investments in drinking and wastewater infrastructure. The President’s budget and legislative proposals respond to our advocacy on behalf of Great Lakes citizens who deserve clean and affordable drinking water and clean water for recreation. The key question now is, how will the Congress respond to the President’s efforts to invest in fixing our massive infrastructure problems?

The initial legislative action in Congress is encouraging and it’s notable that one of the first bi-partisan bills to pass the United States Senate last month centered on water infrastructure needs. The Senate’s Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 passed the Senate 89-2 and proposes to spend $35 billion over five years to upgrade drinking and wastewater infrastructure around the country and to target communities most in need in doing so. The Senate’s proposed $35 billion investment is a good first step to address the needs of the Great Lakes, but we know that more is necessary. The bill still has hurdles before it can become law as it has only passed the Senate.

The House of Representatives is also tackling infrastructure legislation. In an encouraging development, two committees in the House are currently considering larger water-related investments. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021 and the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act together propose to invest $101 billion in drinking and wastewater infrastructure. Committee hearings and markups – the process by which legislators debate bills by suggesting rewrites or amendments – are underway.

But where is all this going and how will it come together? The President’s American Jobs Plan proposed $111 billion for drinking and wastewater infrastructure spending over eight years, and that amount is much larger than either the Senate or House legislation considered to date. The President’s plan is being met with some resistance in Congress, with concerns being expressed by some House and Senate members over cost and scope of the plans. It is very much a subject of legislative negotiation and discussion with compromises still to be reached. But as with any domestic investment of this size and scale, this negotiation is to be expected.

So we remain engaged in the legislative process to inform Congress of our water needs. And, you can too. Hundreds of Great Lakes advocates sent letters to their Members of Congress in late April and it’s not too late to weigh in. It’s important that Congress hear from people like you as they debate these bills. We make it easy for you to send a letter in our Great Lakes Action Center.

Tell Congress: It’s Time To Fix Our Failing Water Infrastructure

No one should be without clean, affordable water in their home. No one should have to worry about sewage backing up into their basement or community flooding from failing wastewater systems.

Take Action

The post Water Infrastructure Front and Center in Washington, DC appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Original Article

News – Alliance for the Great Lakes

News – Alliance for the Great Lakes

https://greatlakes.org/2021/05/water-infrastructure-front-and-center-in-washington-dc/

Jennifer Caddick

2019-20 Great Lakes Commission Annual Report

The 2019-20 Great Lakes Commission Annual Report includes remarks from Chair Sharon Jackson and Interim Executive Director Erika Jensen. The Commission’s annual reports traditionally include remarks from our chair and executive director as well as information regarding revenues, expenses, and commissioners.
Download PDF | Published May 2021

 

 

 

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/library/2019-20-glc-annual-report

Laura Andrews

Great Lakes trails become friendlier for users with disabilities

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Jim DuFresne, Great Lakes Echo

At some point in our lives, we all can use a little help down the trail — aging baby boomers, a toddler, a parent pushing a stroller, an expectant mother, somebody who walks with a cane, somebody else who suffers from asthma.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/great-lakes-trails-friendlier-disabilities/

Great Lakes Echo

Sarah Douglas: From Lake Ontario to the Tokyo Olympics

Canada has nine sailors heading to the Olympics, six of which hail from the Great Lakes. Sarah Douglas is one of them.

“I’m excited, you know, I’m trying to treat it like any other competition,” Douglas said, “I think with the restrictions that we have, it’s going to be easier, the less distractions, but I’m just going out there to race.”

Douglas, a Toronto native who grew up in Barbados, will be competing in the Laser class in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/douglas-lake-ontario-tokyo-olympics/

GLN Editor

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN WOOD...NORTHWESTERN BROWN...PORTAGE...EASTERN MARATHON...SOUTHERN MARINETTE... MENOMINEE...WAUPACA...OCONTO...NORTHWESTERN OUTAGAMIE...SOUTHERN LANGLADE AND SHAWANO COUNTIES UNTIL 800 PM CDT... At 653 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along a line extending from 7 miles southwest of Antigo to Wittenberg to

Original Article

Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service

Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service

https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1261A12D68C8.SpecialWeatherStatement.1261A1393A90WI.GRBSPSGRB.8f818784d021d951be537fbb8c450382

w-nws.webmaster@noaa.gov

Open Doors: Great Lakes tourist destinations make 2021 a new start

A little more than a year ago the nation’s media outlets, including Great Lakes Now, were reporting on the widespread closures and restrictions being enacted across Great Lakes states. There were complete or partial closures and restrictions at nearly all public parks, preserves and other lakes-related facilities. Bars, restaurants and many stores and businesses were locking their doors.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/great-lakes-tourism-recreation-covid-19-2021/

James Proffitt

Environmental advocates are urging Detroit, Michigan’s City Council to take action on an ordinance that aims to safeguard the Detroit River by imposing stricter rules for companies operating along the waterway. Read the full story by The Detroit News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210525-detroit-river

Jill Estrada

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Syracuse-based Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC) announced $121,741 in grant awards for five research projects that will help restore and protect the health of New York’s Great Lakes and surrounding communities, including one project led by Clarkson Assistant Biology Professor Andrew David. Read the full story by Finger Lakes 1 News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210525-dec-funding

Jill Estrada

More fishing trips could cause more damage to native fish populations in the Canadian portion of the Great Lakes than aquatic invasive species, according to a recent study.

The post New anglers could depress Great Lakes fish populations more than invasive species first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2021/05/25/new-anglers-could-depress-great-lakes-fish-populations-more-than-invasive-species/

Guest Contributor

Tapped Out: Power, justice and water in the West

On the West side of the United States, residents are seeing problems crop up in their waters. Great Lakes region residents will find those issues familiar.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/tapped-out-power-justice-water-west/

GLN Editor

It has been estimated that it would cost nearly US$20 million for all farms in Ohio that feed Lake Erie to reduce their nutrient pollution by 30 per cent. The benefits of a cleaner lake, meanwhile, would only recoup about half that amount. However, there’s something missing from that calculation – and it has major implications for protecting local waterways all over the world.. Read the full story by CTV News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210524-global

Beth Wanamaker

As part of spring and fall migration, hundreds of thousands of hawks and other birds of prey follow a flight path over the Great Lakes, where wind, water and our state’s unique geography converge to create hot spots over which these birds fly in droves. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210524-birds

Beth Wanamaker

Our region is home to more than 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water, including Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. Our region also offers exceptional economic opportunity, with an economy that generates about $6 trillion annually. Read the full story by the Plain Dealer.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210524-cleve

Beth Wanamaker

For anglers journeying to Lake Erie, walleye and yellow perch long have been main drivers of their efforts. Yet for reasons largely mysterious walleye currently are booming, and yellow perch seem to be going bust. Read the full story by the Columbus Dispatch.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210524-walleye

Beth Wanamaker

A new study involves placing transmitters on hen mallards in the Great Lakes region. The tracking devices will allow researchers to document hen movements and habitat use, estimate the number that return to the same breeding, staging and wintering areas and estimate survival and productivity rates. Some Great Lakes states have shown declines in mallard populations in recent years. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210524-duck

Beth Wanamaker

The North Beach area in Racine features several coastal engineering structures and a popular beach that will offer learning opportunities for middle-school students in the community. Image credit: David Mickelson, Wisconsin Coastal Management Program

When Adam Bechle, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s coastal engineering outreach specialist, was growing up in Green Bay, he did not feel connected to Lake Michigan. When he visited the shore during rare school field trips, he enjoyed the outings but there was no one who could tell him how waves worked or why the dike he was sitting on was built.

So, when Sea Grant senior special librarian and education coordinator, Anne Moser, approached Bechle about a project designed to connect middle-school students to their watershed by exploring coastal engineering concepts, he thought it was a great opportunity.

The two wrote a proposal to the Great Lakes Region Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which funds projects that encourage “meaningful watershed educational experiences” for K-12 students and their teachers. Their 17-month pilot project, “Coastal Engineering Education: People, Place and Practice,” was funded through a competitive process and begins soon.

Moser said their Great Lakes B-WET project is unique. “This place-based approach to watershed learning is innovative in its use of coastal engineering as an educational framework to engage students. The other thing that struck the funders was that the project is focused not only on the place and the practice of coastal engineering, but also on the people. It was important for us to include career pathways that introduce students to a variety of coastal engineering, green infrastructure and healthy beach management careers.”

Bechle and Moser plan to work with seventh-grade students and at least four teachers in the Racine Unified School District. Bechle explained that they chose Racine for several reasons. “Racine got hit by a big storm in January of 2020 that did a lot of damage on the lakefront, plus high water levels have been causing problems at North Beach. It’s being inundated frequently and there’s standing water at times. So, there’s ongoing engineering work happening there. We also have a good relationship with the city of Racine, specifically, their public health department. They’ve done great work to bring their beaches up to outstanding water quality and have nature-based features that help with filtering stormwater.”

Crew leaders and a crew supervisor (right) with the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps measure the width of North Beach. Image credit: Anne Moser

Also in Racine is Chris Litzau, president of the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps (CCC), an organization that trains and educates disadvantaged populations in Racine with outdoor projects reminiscent of those conducted by the original Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Litzau’s group has been working with seventh graders in Racine over the past five years on a healthy beaches project on North Beach. The wide sandy beach can average over 1,000 visitors per month during summer. Numerous rock breakwaters, jetties and revetments lie south of the beach and offer examples of erosion and sediment movement.

The new project is multi-faceted and also involves Sea Grant staffers Natalie Chin and Ginny Carlson. In a nutshell, the team will meet with the school district to discuss its needs, create a five-lesson coastal engineering curriculum, bring the curriculum to teachers and to Great Lakes CCC crew leaders through workshops so that they can then teach their students, and work with the students to develop North Beach stewardship projects that use coastal engineering practices. Throughout the project, the students will also have the chance to be mentored by working engineers and other professionals who reflect the rich diversity of their community.

After evaluating how the project proceeds and is received, Bechle and Moser will make the curriculum available for use in other locations and school districts around the Great Lakes through the Center for Great Lakes Literacy. The Great Lakes CCC will be able to absorb the lesson into their regular programming.

Moser expects some challenges in developing the project curriculum. “We really have to start from scratch,” she said. “We need to pick Adam’s brain and take all the great work he’s done and somehow figure out how to engage the kids in a pretty technical field. It’s an exciting opportunity.”

What might the beach stewardship projects entail? Bechle said students could help with protecting fragile dune systems, reducing stormwater runoff, or even by developing social media campaigns to share the issues they learn about through the project. “There’s plenty of ideas where we can connect kids to the beach,” he said.

Readers who are connected to the engineering field and are interested in helping the project can contact Anne Moser. She said they are looking for mentors from Racine, Kenosha or even Milwaukee.

The post Unique costal engineering education pilot project coming to Racine first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/unique-costal-engineering-education-pilot-project-coming-to-racine/

Marie Zhuikov