After the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirmed a report of zebra mussels in Farm Island Lake in June, the Farm Island Lake Association has doubled its efforts to keeps lake residents informed about aquatic invasive species. Read the full story by the Aitkin Age.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200824-zebra-mussels
Through webcam-based lessons, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakes is offering free virtual distance learning programs with classrooms or students at home. Read the full story by Up North Live.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200824-sleeping-bear-dunes
Cruise the Great Lakes, a coalition of states, Canadian provinces, cruise lines, ports, and convention/visitor bureaus, has agreed to a pledge that outlines the safety precautions cruise lines will take to keep passengers safe from COVID-19 in 2021. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200824-cruise-ship-pledge
HARTVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Dishwashing detergent created foam that killed hundreds of fish a couple weeks ago in a northeastern Ohio waterway, according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The fish were found last Monday in the Tuscarawas River in northern Stark and southern Summit counties.
An investigation determined that someone dumped the detergent on the ground near a storm drain in Hartville, an EPA spokesperson said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/ap-dishwashing-detergent-killed-hundreds-fish-ohio-river/
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/08/24/hear-crickets-chirping-in-the-evening-use-them-to-tell-the-temperature/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F5ED52CB0.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F5ED54BF0WI.GRBSPSGRB.47a4c4767dbd26d7484e0fb0d41919b2
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F5ED4E278.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F5ED50988WI.GRBSPSGRB.e1e323094751830e7a09fb5d361909e7
As algal blooms flourish on the edges of the Great Lakes, lake management bodies look to cut down the flow of nutrients into the water that feeds the algae. But, as a recent report by the International Joint Commission explains, not all parts of the lakes suffer from too many nutrients — in fact, the deeper offshore waters aren’t getting enough.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/offshore-great-lakes-fish-populations-nutrient-levels/
Lake Ontario broke a record this July for hottest surface water temperature ever recorded on the lake since 1995.
Lake Ontario isn’t alone. All five of the Great Lakes’ surface water temperatures are still above their 1995-2020 averages as of Aug. 21, according to NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/great-lakes-water-temperatures-high/
The St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River corridor is known for its muskie fishing, but the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking to learn more about these well-traveled waterways and how they are fished. They need some help from anglers to do it. Read the full story by the Port Huron Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-angler-data
Evanston, Illinois, aldermen agreed to spend about $750,000 earlier this month in stop-gap measures to help protect the city’s eroding shoreline. The $750,000 to be spent in Evanston aims to address damage caused by record high Lake Michigan water levels, coupled with severe storms and intense waves. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-shoreline-fixes
It’s the most isolated place in Michigan. And despite sweeping changes elsewhere, life on Beaver Island remains serene. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-Beaver-Island
A group of 85 anglers dropped poles in the water Thursday for the first day of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society’s 2020 YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, one of nine stops in the series. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-bass-tourney
At least 88 waterspouts or funnels were spotted across the Great Lakes this week, setting a new world record, according to the International Centre for Waterspout Research. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-waterspout-record
The state of Michigan and other defendants have reached a $600 million settlement in the Flint water crisis lawsuit that will provide hundreds of millions in payments to city residents. Read the full story by CNN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-Flint-settlement
That’s the tongue-in-cheek message from U.S. Coast Guard, which found an inflatable shaped like the mythical creature floating in Lake Superior on Wednesday. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-unicorn
Despite signs of a rebound this summer, cargo moving through the Port of Duluth-Superior is still down 30% compared to last year. Lost time can’t be made up on the Great Lakes, and we’re seeing that reflected in the port’s 2020 tonnage totals. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-cargo-lag
Despite signs of a rebound this summer, cargo moving through the Port of Duluth-Superior is still down 30% compared to last year. Lost time can’t be made up on the Great Lakes, and we’re seeing that reflected in the port’s 2020 tonnage totals. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-cargo-lag
A drone has been pulled from Lake Michigan following an aerial assault from a bald eagle. The drone was operated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-drone-eagle
Western Lake Erie’s 2020 summer algal bloom is growing along the Ohio shoreline and moving as far east as Sandusky and the Lake Erie islands. But the latest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration bulletin shows its toxicity remains relatively low for now. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200821-algal-bloom
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A $600 million deal between the state of Michigan and Flint residents who were harmed by lead-tainted water is a step toward making amends for a disaster that upended life in the poor, majority-Black city, Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/ap-whitmer-flint-water-deal-600-million/
We welcome an exciting new project to the Little Chute neighborhood! The Village of Little Chute and City of Kaukauna broke ground and celebrated a new project to build a walking trail/bridge connecting the two communities this week. The trail is anchored right next to the lock at Heesaker Park in Little Chute. The trail is part of the Loop the Locks Trail project, winding through Appleton, Combined Locks, Kaukauna, Kimberly and Little Chute in about 15 miles of connected trails. Many of the trails run along the lock system.
At the event, Jean Rombak-Bartels, the secretary’s director for the Wisconsin DNR in Northeast Wisconsin, addressed the crowd. We are honored to have Jean serve as a member of the Fox River Navigtional System Authority board of directors.
The head of the trail will be named the David and Rita Nelson Family Heritage in honor of a $650,000 challenge grant from the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox River Valley Region
If you visit the lock or are traveling the river, you’ll see the cranes and construction crews working on the trail.
Blog – Fox Locks
http://foxlocks.org/2020/08/20/construction-starts-on-pedestrian-trail-near-little-chute-lock/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: A new bill in Illinois could lead to closed coal plants being repurposed for solar power producing and storage; Minnesota agriculture startup exploring new ways to produce water and energy efficient fertilizer; Ohio lawmakers struggle over repeal of nuclear bailout bill as corruption scandal unfolds; and Wisconsin power utility Alliant Energy strikes deal to freeze electricity and natural gas rates for one year.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/great-lakes-energy-minnesota-ohio-bailout-wisconsin-utility/
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz’s administration said Tuesday it will appeal the latest approvals by state utility regulators for Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace its old and corroding Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota.
The state Commerce Department faced a Wednesday deadline to ask the Minnesota Court of Appeals to take another look at the project.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/ap-walz-administration-minnesota-line-3/
Desperate measures to protect homes from erosion and high water could have lasting impacts on Great Lakes’ once-natural coastlines that have been hardened with rock and steel. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-seawalls
According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, a nonprofit that tracks drownings, there have been over 900 drownings in the Great Lakes since 2010. In 2020, there have already been 60 drownings — 34 of which took place in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-drownings
In 1959, L. David Mech arrived on the remote Isle Royale national park in Lake Superior to study the interaction between wolves and moose. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-isle-royale
The chance of a La Niña developing this fall has been increased to 60 percent. When La Niña is strong enough and lasts into winter, the weather pattern can be altered to a more harsh-winter situation. Read and view the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-la-nina
The Brecksville Diversion Dam and historic Pinery Feeder Dam have been removed and the Cuyahoga River is now free-flowing in Brecksville for the first time in over 190 years, according to National Park Service (NPS) officials. Read the full story by Akron.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-brecksville-dam
The Huron County Health Department announced the closure of Bird Creek Park and Wagener County Park beaches Aug. 19 due to high E. coli levels. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-ecoli
On Wednesday, a hydraulic excavator operator transferred dredged sands from a barge into a slurry box on the bay side of Park Point near the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth as part of a project to rebuild some of the eroding shoreline. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribute.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-park-point
Seven athletes will combine to swim, paddleboard and kayak 50 kilometres from Amherstburg, Ontario to Leamington, Ontario Saturday to raise awareness and funds for Lake Erie’s health. Read and listen to the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-erie-fundraiser
Colin Boyd Shafer, a documentary photographer working for Environmental Defence, is highlighting the strong connections area residents have with the lake. Their stories that will be presented in a documentary this fall. Read the full story by Chatham This Week.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-lake-erie
Bowling Green State University professor Dr. Timothy Davis was one of nine international researchers recently named to the Scientific Steering Committee for GlobalHAB, an international program that is jointly sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Read and view the full story by the Sentinel-Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200820-algal-blooms
Litter in your neighborhood can find its way into the Great Lakes via storm drains on your street. And litter is gross wherever it falls! Help keep the Great Lakes – and your community – clean by picking up neighborhood litter with your household.
Hosting a neighborhood cleanup is just as easy as hosting an Adopt-a-Beach cleanup. Here are the steps:
Remember, neighborhood cleanups can start at your door. Register your neighborhood cleanup today!
The post How to Host a Neighborhood Cleanup appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News – Alliance for the Great Lakes
News – Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2020/08/how-to-host-a-neighborhood-cleanup/
Michigan will pay $600 million to compensate Flint residents whose health was damaged by lead-tainted drinking water after the city heeded state regulators’ advice not to treat it properly, an attorney involved in the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Details will be released later this week, according to the attorney, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about it ahead of an official announcement.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/ap-michigan-deal-flint-water-crisis/
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/08/20/remembering-the-birth-of-isle-royales-wolf-moose-study/
Democrats and Republicans are hosting their nominating conventions this week and next. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition – while we do not endorse or oppose any candidate for office – are urging all candidates to adopt a strong Great Lakes platform.
Today, we kick off a series of articles on the Coalition’s five-plank clean water platform. We’ll be discussing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative today, and over the next week, we’ll discuss the need for elected officials to boost clean water infrastructure funding, uphold clean water protections, fight invasive species, and confront toxic algal outbreaks.
Over the last 10 years, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) has been a major driver behind the rejuvenation and recovery of the Great Lakes ecosystem from toxic pollution and other harmful human effects.
But serious threats remain. The 2020 election unfolds amid persistent threats to the health and safety of our Great Lakes communities. While significant progress has been made, much more remains to be done.
To build upon the gains already made and ensure a healthy Great Lakes ecosystem for future generations, presidential contenders Joe Biden and Donald Trump must pledge to increase the authorization and funding for the GLRI to $475 million to boost our work of cleaning up toxic contamination, reducing polluted runoff, stopping invasive species, restoring wetlands and other habitats, and responding to emerging threats.
Since 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been providing results for communities in the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Through innovative partnerships with local environmental organizations, state and federal governments, and citizen groups, the GLRI has made progress in cleaning up some of the most toxic hotspots around the region – sites with cancer-causing pollutants that closed beaches, led to fish consumption advisories, and prohibited the drinking of water.
Nearly two-fifths of the region’s most toxic hotspots have been cleaned up, sparking redevelopment and business opportunities on waterfronts and improving water quality for drinking water. Conservation practices on local farms have doubled, reducing harmful polluted runoff that feeds toxic algae. Habitat and wildlife restoration and connectivity continue to improve with over 5,250 miles of rivers cleared of dams and other barriers.
These projects are protecting drinking water, providing more recreational opportunities, and helping the health of communities. At a time when clean, safe drinking water is even more vital to health and safety, these GLRI funds make a difference. In Michigan, GLRI funds helped remove and replace a risky, dilapidated dam with a natural “rock ramp” – allowing fish access to Saginaw Bay for the first time in over a century. In Wisconsin, a streambank restoration reduced storm runoff, improving flood management and providing habitat for native species. In Pennsylvania, over 400 acres of wetland habitat were removed of invasive species and restored to a healthy habitat, greatly increasing opportunities for outdoor recreation.
These are just a few of the thousands of projects that the GLRI has enabled over the past ten years – and many more are waiting to start! The bottom line is that there is more work to do, and we cannot let federal restoration efforts falter. Cutting funding will only make projects harder and more expensive the longer we wait. If every person is to have a healthy community to live in, with safe drinking water and fish to eat, and equitable access to recreate on clean beaches, shorelines, and restored landscapes, we must increase our efforts and focus resources in these areas today. Moving forward, our work will only get harder as the climate changes and we discover new threats.
Candidates who support the Great Lakes must make an unequivocal pledge to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at no less than $475 million and provide a robust roadmap for continuing the progress we’ve made into the 2020s.
The post The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: A 2020 Vision appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/the-great-lakes-restoration-initiative-a-2020-vision/
Grand Traverse County, Michigan
CCO Meeting:
Tuesday, September 15 from 1-2:30pm EST
For information on attending this meeting please send your name and local address to Edgar.Patino@ogilvy.com and you will be provided with information on joining the meeting.
Open House:
To be scheduled
Charlevoix County, Michigan
Tuesday, September 15 from 3-4:30pm EST
For information on attending this meeting please send your name and local address to Edgar.Patino@ogilvy.com and you will be provided with information on joining the meeting.
Open House:
To be scheduled
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
https://www.greatlakescoast.org/2020/08/19/lake-michigan-community-consultation-officers-meeting-and-open-house-for-grand-traverse-county-and-charlevoix-county-michigan/
Lake Erie fish trawls give fisheries biologists a pretty accurate picture of the strength of the most recent walleye hatch, and from that, a look at the prospects for the future of walleye fishing on Erie. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-lake-erie-walleye
A long-awaited dredging project has begun at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan with the goal of restoring visitor ferry service to North Manitou Island next year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-dredging
Recent policy changes by Ontario threaten the protection of natural areas in the Lake Simcoe watershed as aggregate extraction will soon be permitted in the habitats of endangered species and other natural features. Read the full story by Orillia Matters.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-lake-simcoe
Despite all the investments, Chicago and communities on the North Shore are once again scrambling to cope with the effects of an overflowing Lake Michigan. Read the full story by The Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-higher-lake-michigan
A doctoral student at the University of Minnesota, Wolfson is leading a multi-year study to fit about 40 trumpeter swans across the state with GPS tracking collars this summer to learn more about their movements, mortality risks and habitat use. Read the full story by the Brainerd Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-trumpeter-swans
The Tuscarawas River has become Ohio’s 15th state water trail, a designation that will help encourage recreational use of the waterway by residents of the Buckeye State. Read the full story by Coshocton Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-water-trail
Reconstruction work on Duluth’s Lakewalk features new designs like large rocks strategically placed along the shore to break up wave energy from Lake Superior. Read the full story by KQDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-duluth-lakewalk
Cleveland Water is warning some residents on the city’s west side they may see water with a slight yellow color coming out of their taps. Read the full story by WOIO-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-discolored-water
A greenish-blue ooze coming from the ground in Troy, Michigan, has residents complaining of a foul odor and worrying it might be toxic. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Troy, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-bubbling-ooze
The state of Michigan recently unveiled a new interactive map providing information on shipwrecks in Michigan Great Lakes waters. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200819-shipwrecks
DETROIT (AP) — Michigan regulators have rejected a suburban Detroit county’s plan to convert state waters into an open-air sewage treatment lagoon.
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said Friday it had denied Macomb County’s application to place the structure at the end of the Chapaton Retention Treatment Basin.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/ap-michigan-macomb-county-sewage-treatment-lagoon-plan/
