...PATCHY DENSE FOG WILL IMPACT THE MORNING COMMUTE... Patchy dense fog, with visibilities of 1/4 mile or less, will develop across the eastern Fox Valley and lakeshore counties early this morning. The fog is expected to continue through 7 am or 8 am before lifting. Morning commuters can expect rapidly changing and poor visibilities

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=WI1263FA38DA68.SpecialWeatherStatement.1263FA396E10WI.GRBSPSGRB.b0fd96919d77e5ba96321014284e101d

w-nws.webmaster@noaa.gov

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) was reinstated earlier this year and reimburses farmers for following proper conservation practices. To be eligible for the program, land must have a cropping history, or planting history, of four out of six years between 2012-17 and have been owned at least one year prior to applying.

The post Conservation program partnership targets farms in three Michigan watersheds first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/06/09/conservation-program-partnership-targets-farms-in-three-michigan-watersheds/

Guest Contributor

Line 5 shutdown would increase gas prices by half a cent

One of the latest updates in Enbridge’s ongoing Line 5 court cases is a report from Neil Earnest, president of an energy consultancy firm, filed by Enbridge.

In the report, Earnest estimates that in the event of a Line 5 shutdown, gas, jet fuel and diesel prices would increase by half a cent per gallon in Michigan and Wisconsin, and 5 cents per gallon in Ontario.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/line-5-shutdown-gas-prices-half-cent-increase/

Natasha Blakely

African scientists visit the North American Great Lakes in international exchange

One by one, netted fish arrived onto the boat: smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, common carp, gizzard shad, longnose gar.

They lay on their sides, briefly stunned by the electricity that was coursing from rods on the boat’s bow and then scooped on board the 21-foot vessel on a cloudy spring day on Lake Erie.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/african-scientists-great-lakes-international-exchange/

Natasha Blakely

Pennsylvania public water utilities say Senate bill will force up rates

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Legislation criticized by opponents as a vehicle for-profit water companies to take over municipal water authorities in Pennsylvania by imposing expensive regulations on them passed the Republican-controlled state Senate on Tuesday.

Opponents also warned that the bill will precipitate ratepayer increases when water authorities must meet the new regulations or after they are forced to sell out to for-profit water companies.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-pennsylvania-senate-bill-rates/

The Associated Press

The Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois Departments of Natural Resources recently concluded a multi-year law enforcement investigation into the poaching and over-harvesting of hundreds of vulnerable spawning lake whitefish from the Menominee River.  Read the full story by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220608-poaching

Samantha Tank

The Lapeer Conservation District in eastern Michigan received a grant through the Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species Landing Blitz, a weeklong outreach event held throughout the Great Lakes basin to raise awareness about preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species. Read the full story by The County Press.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220608-landing-blitz

Samantha Tank

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed a bill into law that will require life rings to be placed along the state’s Lake Michigan shoreline to prevent drownings. Read the full story by the Lake & Mchenry County Scanner.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220608-life-rings

Samantha Tank

Wisconsin judge leaves PFAS regulation ruling on hold

By Scott Bauer, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Tuesday agreed to keep on hold his ruling from April that prevented state regulators from requiring businesses and others responsible for pollution by PFAS chemicals to investigate and clean up the contamination.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren said because of the importance and impact of his ruling, it made sense to keep it on hold while the state Department of Natural Resources appeals.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-wisconsin-judge-pfas-hold/

The Associated Press

Public transit agencies in Michigan are facing post-pandemic ridership and staffing shortages. The Michigan Public Transit Association launched ad campaigns in February to address those needs and has seen many great responses, especially on social media, but the association's members still face hardships, and no one knows if they’ll get all of their riders back.

The post Ridership, staffing challenges face local bus systems first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/06/08/ridership-staffing-challenges-face-local-bus-systems/

Guest Contributor

Landmark bill to limit cryptomining passes NY Legislature

By Michael Hill, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have passed a milestone environmental measure designed to tap the brakes on the spread of cryptocurrency mining operations that burn fossil fuels.

Both supporters and opponents say that the closely watched bill, approved early Friday by the state Senate, is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-landmark-bill-limit-cryptomining/

The Associated Press

COVID hits Buttigieg, others who attended Michigan event

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — At least 15 people who attended a public affairs conference last week on Michigan’s Mackinac Island have tested positive for COVID-19, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The gathering is put on each year by a business group, the Detroit Regional Chamber, and attracts more than 1,000 public officials, journalists and others who discuss a variety of political and policy issues.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-covid-michigan-event/

The Associated Press

Mapping tools help Ohio cities chart course for environmental justice

By Kathiann M. KowalskiEnergy News Network

This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.

Ohio cities are using new data mapping tools to identify and respond to disparities in energy burdens, climate risks, and pollution impacts.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/mapping-tools-ohio-environmental-justice/

Energy News Network

Citizens Energy launches lead service line replacement program

By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter

Citizens Energy Group announced it would begin a multi-year program to replace thousands of lead service lines owned by its customers.

The company said it received an order from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission granting it permission to launch a five-year, $22.7 million effort to replace customer-owned lead service lines at about 2,500 homes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/citizens-energy-lead-service-line-program/

Indiana Environmental Reporter

Starting this year, hunters in Michigan will have to report their deer harvest online. Wildlife officials presented the plan to the state Natural Resources Commission and said online reporting will provide more accurate information about what kinds of deer are being taken and provide it more quickly.

The post Deer kill count moves online first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/06/07/deer-kill-count-moves-online/

Guest Contributor

Pressure growing to remove PFAS from fast food wrappers

By Michael Casey, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Brenda Hampton first came across the toxic industrial compound PFAS after finding it was part of the cocktail of contaminants that tainted the drinking water in her North Alabama community.

Hampton, who believes the contaminated water contributed to kidney problems she and other residents suffer, soon learned the chemicals were found in another source that hit close to home — fast food wrappers, boxes and plates.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-pressure-growing-remove-pfas-wrappers/

The Associated Press

Harmful algal blooms cause problems in Lake Erie; drinking water customers pay the price

By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/harmful-algal-blooms-lake-erie/

Michigan Radio

As Chicago battles erosion intensified by climate change on its 26 miles of public lakefront, officials are scrambling to find more money for repairs, scientists are tracking the disappearing sand and environmental groups are seeking ways to protect the fragile resource. Read the full story by The Chicago Tribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220606-chicago-shoreline

Patrick Canniff

Pictured Rocks National Shoreline officials say they are struggling to keep up with the crowds of visitors that flock to the picturesque shoreline in Michigan’s upper peninsula which was the country’s first designated national lakeshore in 1966. Last year, more than 1.3 million people visited the park which is seasonally staffed for around 400,000-500,000 visitors. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220606-pictured-rocks

Patrick Canniff

In the closing round of the 2022 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, all three finalists offered ideas for dealing with threats to water supply. Innovation in water is one of Wisconsin’s most vital resources for many reasons and offers hope in the years ahead as pressures mount on the supply and quality of fresh water in Wisconsin and beyond. Read the full story by Madison.com.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220606-wisconsin-innovation

Patrick Canniff

Flooding on the Minnesota-Ontario border is a disaster of historic proportions and causing millions of dollars in damages. Measurements of the flooding have topped those of the record 1950 flood that have been measured among other lakes and rivers in the watershed and increasing concern about leached mine pollutants. Read the full story by StarTribune.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220606-flooding-mines

Patrick Canniff

Anglers and people using the St. Marys Rapids in Sault Ste. Marie, ON are advised that the area will see the highest flow since 2019 after June 6. The compensating works gate movements are scheduled for June 6 and will increase the flow to approximately 720 cubic meters per second, or 25.4 thousand cubic feet per second. Read the full story by SooToday.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220606-lake-flows

Patrick Canniff

Four years ago, fisheries management biologist Heather Hettinger began stocking Elk Lake with brown trout. In 2018, she stocked 40,000 fish. In 2019, 40,000 more. The count of brown trout stocked into Elk Lake is now over 180,000. And yet, according to the reports Hettinger receives in her role with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, very few have been caught. Read the full story by Record-Eagle.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220606-trout-missing

Patrick Canniff

“Thank God that smell is gone”: Detroit incinerator to be demolished after decades of complaints

By Briana Rice, Michigan Radio

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/detroit-incinerator-demolished-complaints/

Michigan Radio

Minnesota state legislators approved a bill funding more than 40 high-priority conservation projects, including culvert improvements benefiting brook trout populations as a part of Minnesota’s Outdoor Heritage Fund. Read the full story by WTIP – Grand Marais, MN.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220606-mn-trout

Patrick Canniff

A culvert washout in Superior, Wisconsin, during a flood in 2012. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

A new program for community leaders in northern Wisconsin who are looking for ways to address climate change is available through Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve.

The Lake Superior Climate Champions Program provides a yearlong opportunity for community teams to work on a goal of their choosing that addresses climate change, with a minimum of $2,500 in funding, guidance from Sea Grant and Reserve staff members and the chance to connect with other communities working on climate challenges.

Participating teams of two to four people must be from one of the four coastal counties (Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland or Iron). The teams should include community members in decision-making roles, such as tribal or county government staff, elected officials, members of local boards and committees or regional intergovernmental committees.

“All across Lake Superior’s coastal communities, we feel the impacts of climate change firsthand,” said Karina Heim, coastal training program coordinator with the Lake Superior Reserve. “Finding time and the capacity to address climate issues can be a challenge for local leaders. Our Climate Champions Program offers dedicated support for climate work.”

Teams who want to participate need to apply online by Aug. 1 at: bit.ly/39Zovej. Two teams will be selected for 2022 and the program will begin in the fall.

Examples of projects include: finding and using an assessment or planning tool to prepare for climate challenges (flooding, public health, etc.), planning a workshop or a facilitated process that allows for climate change learning and dialog and incorporating climate change considerations into an existing project or process, such as land-use planning or stormwater management.

For more information, visit lakesuperiornerr.org/focus-areas/coastal-leadership/lake-superior-climate-champions/.

The post Lake Superior Climate Champions Program Available for Communities first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/lake-superior-climate-champions-program-available-for-communities/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lake-superior-climate-champions-program-available-for-communities

Marie Zhuikov

Great Lakes Moment: Rewilding Metropolitan Detroit

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.

The practice of rewilding is frequently carried out in wilderness areas, but cities like Detroit are beginning to reintroduce native species of plants and animals to enhance biodiversity and reap all the benefits of making nature part of everyday urban life.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-moment-rewilding-metropolitan-detroit/

John Hartig

Michigan watersheds are still wracked with pollution from decades ago, along with new runoff. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan would make preserving land and water a statewide priority. 

The post Watershed groups fight decades-old pollution first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/06/06/watershed-groups-fight-decades-old-pollution/

Guest Contributor

The Catch: Policy news facing the Great Lakes region

This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.

In Chicago, journalist Laura Gersony is rolling out a new biweekly offering from Circle of Blue called Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/the-catch-policy-news-great-lakes-region/

GLN Editor

The former Valley View Pork farms near Walkerville, Michigan, are at the center of a Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy investigation into PFAS groundwater and soil contamination after leather tannery sludge waste was spread on fields there starting in the mid-1990s. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220603-tannery

Laura Andrews

The scraggly cedars growing on Lake Michigan’s white limestone cliffs are amazing. With an estimated age of 1,400 years in one case, they are the oldest living trees in Michigan, having sprouted centuries before Europeans settled North America and likely dating back to the era of the vanished Hopewell indigenous culture. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220603-clifftrees

Laura Andrews

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources approved a water withdrawal and consumptive use permit for Massachusetts-based Aquabounty on March 14. The permit will allow operators to pull about 28 million gallons from the Michindoh Aquifer to fill salmon tanks, plus about four million gallons per day thereafter. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220603-salmonfarm

Laura Andrews

With the recent expansion of service, Duluth-Superior is the only U.S. port besides Cleveland, Ohio, that’s capable of handling maritime container shipments on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220603-supplychain

Laura Andrews

Michigan’s summer is looking sweet: Water levels are receding, summer is expected to be hotter than normal, fisheries are strong, invasive species are mostly in check and algae blooms are expected to remain relatively low. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220603-amplefish

Laura Andrews

Lighthouses traditionally warn sailors away from land, but this year, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes — Marblehead Lighthouse in Ohio — will be attracting visitors like moths to a flame. Read the full story by the Columbus Dispatch.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220603-marblehead

Laura Andrews

Didymo, most commonly referred to as rock snot, is a kind of algae that continues to spread in Michigan’s Manistee River. The appearance of rock snot was first reported last fall, and it still continues to be a problem. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220603-rocksnot

Laura Andrews