The US Army Corps of Engineers predicted that Michigan-Huron will be 2 inches to 5 inches above record-high levels through August and near its record high in September, and will then recede to 7 inches to 9 inches below their record highs in October and November. Read the full story by The Voice News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200611-usace
Lake and river trash cleanup efforts in West Michigan are adapting in the wake of high-water levels and the coronavirus pandemic. The water levels affect the location of waterfront cleanups and threaten the safety of pick-up efforts, while the pandemic has forced organizers to reschedule cleanups and rework the trash pick-up process. Read the full story by Rapid Growth Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200611-clean-ups
In another blow to the Great Lakes tourism industry, Victory Cruise Lines announced that it will not sail cruise vessels throughout the Great Lakes region this year. Read the full story by WKFR – Radio – Battle Creek, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200611-cruise
Traverse City, Michigan, recently started its weekly testing of all the waters at the city’s beaches this week to monitor the safety of water for swimming. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200611-traverse-testing
Lake Erie’s provides recreation for residents and tourists that supports thousands of jobs in the Erie, Pennsylvania area. To support revitalization efforts in the area that is sustainable and helps Lake Erie, decision-makers need to have more holistic conversations about projects that impact the Erie waterfront. Read the full story by the Record Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200611-erie-water-resource
Recordings collected for the Wisconsin Sea Grant book, “People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin’s Love Affair with an Ancient Fish,” were recently added to a national archive by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA Fisheries’ “Voices Oral History Archives” seeks to document the human experience as it relates to the changing environment, climate, oceans and coasts through firsthand oral history accounts.
A sturgeon in the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Image credit: Brenna Hernandez, Shedd Aquarium.
Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Senior Special Librarian Anne Moser, who curated the 73 sturgeon interviews, is excited by this recognition of the collection’s significance. “It is great to see our materials being featured on the national level. Having the collection included in NOAA Fisheries’ archive is acknowledgement of its scientific and cultural value for scholars, students and the public.”
Follow this link to access the NOAA Voices oral histories.
“People of the Sturgeon” was written by Wisconsin Sea Grant staff members, Kathleen Kline and Fred Binkowski with help from Ronald Bruch. It was published in 2009 by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press and has captured a dozen state, regional, and national prizes. The oral histories are courtesy of the Oshkosh Public Museum.
For the book, which is about the culture surrounding sturgeon spearing on Lake Winnebago, the authors interviewed 69 community activists, sturgeon spearing enthusiasts, spear and decoy craftsmen and scientific researchers.
The recordings are also housed in a permanent collection at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries’ Digital Collections and they are available for free download. Excerpts are featured on this Wisconsin Water News podcast.
Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/people-of-the-sturgeon-oral-histories-added-to-noaa-collection/
Green Bay, WI
https://www.weather.gov/grb/06092020_TropicalSystemSummary
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/06/11/midland-flooding/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F523E3D34.FloodAdvisory.125F523EA3F0WI.GRBFLSGRB.9fa9923e5d8b1589d0e59811319ea8ee
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F52324C90.FloodAdvisory.125F523E55D0WI.GRBFLSGRB.9fa9923e5d8b1589d0e59811319ea8ee
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F523233F4.FloodAdvisory.125F523E55D0WI.GRBFLSGRB.9fa9923e5d8b1589d0e59811319ea8ee
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F523227D8.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F52324DBCWI.GRBSPSGRB.e00b354d9f3ab8b5ee91dd5d3d965141
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F523201F4.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F523226ACWI.GRBSPSGRB.f8717d5640bd650cfc472ce4df55065f
The Trump Administration last week continued its assault on clean water protections, as the EPA finalized a rule that curtails the power of states and tribes to protect local rivers, wetlands, streams, lakes, and the Great Lakes themselves, from pollution. The rule strips decision-making authority from local communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York—leaving them more vulnerable to pollution.
Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:
“The Trump Administration’s actions make it painfully clear that it does not care about clean water, healthy communities, and, ultimately, the Great Lakes. With many of our towns and cities still living with unsafe drinking water, now is not the time to cut back on clean water enforcement. We need more – not less – protection for clean water. We urge the EPA to withdraw its proposal and work cooperatively with local communities, states and tribes to protect our waters that we depend on for drinking water, public health, jobs, and our quality of life.”
The Coalition is not alone in its opposition. Last year, Govs. Tony Evers (Wisconsin), J. B. Pritzker (Illinois), Tim Walz (Minnesota), Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan), and Tom Wolf (Pennsylvania) opposed the Trump Administration’s attack on local waters, writing to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler: “We strongly oppose any attempt by this administration to undermine state authority and ability to enforce water quality standards. We remain committed to do what is necessary to protect sources of drinking water, public health and our environment. The residents of our states deserve to have this critical work continue unimpeded. We urge this administration to reconsider this executive order and respect the rights of states to protect our waters.”
Under current law, any project—such as a new pipeline or industrial facility—that could discharge pollution into waters of the United States must receive a federal permit. Historically, local communities have been able to have a voice in assessing whether the project can go forward as planned, whether it needs to make adjustments to account for potential environmental damage, or, in some cases, whether the project must be abandoned because it cannot meet local water and environmental standards. In the last few years, communities have used their authority to protect their waters from harmful pollution that coal terminals, liquefied natural gas export facilities, and pipelines discharge into vital streams and bodies of water.
The Trump Administration’s decision to strip states and tribes of decision-making authority makes it much harder—if not impossible—for local communities to protect local rivers, lakes, streams and other waters that they depend on for drinking water, recreation, and jobs.
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition strongly opposed the move when it was announced, provided comment opposing the rule change, and urged the EPA to reconsider.
The Trump Administration’s disregard of local community input and oversight in local permitting decisions (known as Clean Water Act 401 certification process) comes on the heels of another sweeping rollback of clean water protections for streams and wetlands by the Trump Administration. The moves will further endanger waters that our communities depend on for drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and more.
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is committed to opposing attacks on clean water protections. To protect and restore the Great Lakes and local rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands, it will take both robust federal investments and strong clean water protections.
To that end, the Trump Administration’s recent professed support for the Great Lakes through federal funding via the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative cannot erase a horrendous track record of eviscerating bedrock environmental protections that protect the air we breathe and the water we drink and are essential to protect the health of children and families—especially those in communities that have historically borne the brunt of environmental injustice, such as people of color, tribes, rural communities, and under-resourced communities.
The bottom line is that everybody has to do their part to protect the Great Lakes from pollution and degradation. Giving the green light to polluters to pollute more, taking away the voice of local communities in decision-making, and then making citizens pay for the cost of cleanup is not a vision of Great Lakes restoration that we support. It is ineffective, counterproductive, and undermines our progress, because it means that as we take one step forward, we are taking two steps backward.
The post Trump Assault on Clean Water Leaves Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, other Great Lakes States Vulnerable to More Pollution appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/trump-assault-on-clean-water-leaves-wisconsin-michigan-pennsylvania-other-great-lakes-states-vulnerable-to-more-pollution/
Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition Director Laura Rubin recently sent a personal note to members in response to the tragic murder of George Floyd. We wanted to share it with the broader Great Lakes community.
Dear HOW Coalition members and partners,
The murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis was another painful reminder of how entrenched racism is in our society and how much work remains to create a just and equitable society.
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition believes that we all have a role to play – as individual citizens and as advocacy organizations – in reforming local, state, and federal institutions to break the cycle of injustice and oppression that people of color – especially Black people – experience on a daily basis.
The Coalition supports efforts to break down systemic racism and racist policies that inflict physical, economic, and environmental harm on people of color. And we support the front-line organizations working in local communities to put an end to the violence, pollution, and economic harm that have been perpetrated on people of color, especially Black and Indigenous Americans, since the founding of our country.
There are several front-line organizations in the 160-member Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition that work every day to advance social justice in all of our communities. We’ve listed several of them below, so that you can learn more about them. I encourage you to get to know the work of these organizations and familiarize and educate yourselves about the programs and history of these groups—because while we all have a role to play in creating this equitable and just society, these groups can show us the way. Please consider providing financial support to them or volunteering with them in addition to learning more.
Flint Development Center: http://www.flintdc.org/ The center in Flint, Mich., provides facilities where the residents of Flint and Genesee County can safely engage in recreational, social, educational, cultural, community service, civic, and governmental activities.
Green Leadership Trust: http://www.greenleadershiptrust.org/ The Trust works to build an environmental and conservation movement that wins, focusing on building power and diversity in any advocacy sector.
Junction Coalition: https://junctionfunction419.wixsite.com/junctioncoalition The Coalition in Toledo, Ohio, provides a viable voice to neighbors to cultivate healthy relationships throughout the community. The Junction Coalition seeks to promote four fundamental pillars of environmental, economic, social justice and peace education with local, state, and federal government to build a better quality of life for community members and for business owners who benefit the Junction community.
Milwaukee Water Commons: https://www.milwaukeewatercommons.org/ Milwaukee Water Commons is a cross-city network that fosters connection, collaboration and broad community leadership on behalf of our common waters. The organization promotes the stewardship of, equitable access to, and shared decision-making for our common waters.
We the People of Detroit: https://www.wethepeopleofdetroit.com/ As a community-based grassroots organization, We the People of Detroit aims to inform, educate, and empower Detroit residents on imperative issues surrounding civil rights, land, water, education, and the democratic process.
Wisconsin Green Muslims: https://wisconsingreenmuslims.org/ The grassroots environmental justice group educates the Muslim community and the general public about the Islamic environmental justice teachings, to apply these teachings in daily life and to form coalitions with others working toward a just, healthy, peaceful and sustainable future.
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is committed to supporting and elevating the work of groups on the front lines of environmental injustice, and to work alongside leaders of color. The Coalition also commits to use our collective power to promote just and equitable policies and federal investments that recognize the specific barriers people of color and Black people face in benefiting from clean, safe and affordable water, as well as access to nature.
If there are ways that I or the Coalition can be of help, please reach out to me. If there are groups who are working on the frontlines to overturn environmental and racial injustices, please let me know. I am committed to an inclusive Coalition that prioritizes the health and well-being of people and communities as we work to restore and protect our region’s rivers, streams, wetlands, and Great Lakes. And I am here for you.
Laura
The post Working Towards a More Just and Equitable Society appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/working-towards-a-more-just-and-equitable-society/
Thousands of dead fish are washing up along the southern shore of Lake Erie, but experts say the phenomenon shouldn’t concern people. ODNR said it has taken reports and studied every possible explanation, and determined there is nothing for Ohioans to worry about. Read the full story by WJW-TV- Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-dead-fish
The Institute of Water Research through Michigan State University has received a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to help reduce agricultural field runoff in the Saginaw River watershed through farmer-led outreach and education. Read the full story by WLNS-TV-East Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-water-quality
Enbridge has produced legally acceptable plans for dealing with a potential spill from oil pipelines that cross a Michigan channel linking two of the Great Lakes, according to a federal appeals court. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-spill-plans
Manitou Island Transit ferry services will not operate this season because of dock conditions on both North and South Manitou islands. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-ferry-service
A recent study finds bighead and silver carp – two invasive fish collectively known as bigheaded carp – are capable of surviving and establishing itself in Michigan’s Saginaw Bay. Read the full story by WJBK-TV- Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-asian-carp
Due to safety concerns, a large storage bin built in the 1920s out in Lake Huron near Tawas, Michigan is set to be demolished this summer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-gypsum-bin
As national parks nationwide grapple with when and how to safely welcome the public during a socially distanced summer, Lake Superior’s Isle Royale National Park has rolled out the latest update in its phased opening for the 2020 season. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-Isle-Royale
Steel production has plunged by 16.9% for the year, while steel capacity utilization is down 26 percentage points as compared to the same time last year, largely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-steel-production
Previously shut out of the Canadian federal government’s plan to rebuild its Navy and Coast Guard fleets, Heddle Shipyards now has a chance at gaining work in the multibillion-dollar project having reached a deal with British Columbia-based Seaspan Shipyards that could bring long-term work to the company’s Port Weller dry docks as well as its yards in Hamilton and Thunder Bay. Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-shipyard
A humpback whale that stole the hearts of Montrealers when it spent time in one of the city’s ports – far from its natural habitat – was found dead in the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200610-whale
The overall condition of the Great Lakes has been assessed as “fair and unchanging” in the 2019 State of the Great Lakes joint report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental and Climate Change Canada, published on June 3.
The lakes were assessed on nine indicators of ecosystem health as part of the 2012 Great Lakes Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/state-great-lakes-stable-rollbacks-protection/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F52302FF0.WindAdvisory.125F52309A30WI.GRBNPWGRB.0fddcf0986068a271c058a77c5e2995f
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/06/10/keep-drones-grounded-during-wildfires-dnr-advises/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F522F4DC4.WindAdvisory.125F52304C10WI.GRBNPWGRB.0fddcf0986068a271c058a77c5e2995f
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F5222C5F4.WindAdvisory.125F522FD6E0WI.GRBNPWGRB.0fddcf0986068a271c058a77c5e2995f
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F5222C20C.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F522EEC80WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers recently confiscated over 2,000 pounds of live red swamp crayfish being smuggled across the United States-Canada international border, making this the largest aquatic invasive species seizure by the MDNR. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-crayfish
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners are requesting that all county-owned dams undergo more frequent in-depth inspections, rather than once every three years as required by the State of Michigan. Read the full story by The Oakland Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-inspection
Every June, hundreds of billions of mayflies come out of Lake Erie. The mayflies are still on the bottom of the lake, waiting for it to heat up enough for them to be able to come up through the water and hatch at the surface. Read the full story by WNWO-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-mayflies
Restrictions on pleasure craft traffic transiting St. Lawrence Seaway’s eight-lock Welland Canal and Lake Ontario-Montreal section are being eased and the locks will be open to recreational boating by next week. Read the full story by The Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-pleasure-craft
An extensive three-year research study of lakes in and around the Grand Portage Indian Reservation in Minnesota has found an abundance of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, hormones, pesticides, and other chemicals in water, lake bottoms, and fish. Read the full story by The Circle News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-chemicals
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is planning a virtual public hearing on a Canadian company’s plans to reroute an oil pipeline around a Native American reservation in northern Wisconsin. Read the full story by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-pipeline
Michigan’s Gov. Whitmer announced that she is planning to send a letter to the federal government requesting a FEMA “major disaster” declaration for the areas impacted by the dam failure flooding. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-disaster
Michigan agencies have served the owners of the failed Edenville dam with a warrant to inspect the lake bed and adjacent wetlands for evidence that mussels or other aquatic creatures were harmed by its failure last month. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-mussels
Wastewater plants in the Great Lakes and across the country are experiencing clogged pipes from face masks, gloves, and wipes that residents have flushed down the toilet. Read the full story by Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-wipes
Anishinaabe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are adapting to climate change by prioritizing relationship-building and observation of the land. Read the full story by Yale Climate Connections.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200609-climate-change
By Daniel Baldwin Hess, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York and Alex Bitterman, Alfred State College of Technology, The State University of New York, The Conversation
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
The United States and Canada have long enjoyed a stable relationship.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/shuttered-canada-us-border-highlights-different-approaches-to-the-pandemic-and-differences-between-the-2-countries/
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A $500,000 grant is expected to increase the number of soil conservation practices in Indiana and improve water quality in watersheds across the state.
The Indiana Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program announced the grant Monday.
The funding was provided from a legal settlement that was stewarded in part by the Indiana Wildlife Federation, according to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/ap-grant-soil-conservation-practices-indiana/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/great-lakes-learning-lakes-no-boat/
Tropical Storm Cristobal could soon renew its strength by uniting with another storm system coming from the west to form one giant cyclone, forecasters say.
After drenching much of the South, forecasters now expect the remnants of Cristobal to bring fierce winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms to much of the Midwest by Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/ap-cristobal-new-storm-system-midwest/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F52212078.HydrologicOutlook.125F52226960WI.GRBESFGRB.9a74e37923d995b15714a656c5ebca0a
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/06/09/michigan-environment-officials-zoom-you-out-of-the-office/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F5213A998.AirQualityAlert.125F52204680WI.GRBAQAGRB.13314fbc3397256463688d0189a7641e
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F52136410.HydrologicOutlook.125F5220E2C0WI.GRBESFGRB.86a65ce9a4bb9b6c9b39683aa1d37e47
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202005
