“Listen to your elders” is something we often hear, and what could be more of an elder than a 2,500-year-old fungus that’s alive and well in the Great Lakes region.
In 1992, scientist and forest pathologist Johann Bruhn discovered a very large mycelium – the root-like structure forming a fungal colony – in Crystal Falls, Michigan.
“Listen to your elders” is something we often hear, and what could be more of an elder than a 2,500-year-old fungus that’s alive and well in the Great Lakes region.
In 1992, scientist and forest pathologist Johann Bruhn discovered a very large mycelium – the root-like structure forming a fungal colony – in Crystal Falls, Michigan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/life-lessons-big-mushroom/
By Marc Levy, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — More than two years after he started work on it, Gov. Tom Wolf is set to enact the centerpiece of his plan to fight climate change, making Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy — but it might be a short-lived victory.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-greenhouse-gas-state-climate-step/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers on Friday signed an executive order creating a new office of environmental justice, announcing the move on Earth Day.
Republicans last year removed the office from Evers’ proposed budget. But the Democrat up for reelection this November got around them by creating it through an executive order.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-evers-office-environmental-justice/
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — As climate change bakes the planet, dozens of nations and many local governments are putting a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions that are increasing flooding, droughts and other costly catastrophes.
Pennsylvania on Saturday becomes the first major fossil fuel-producing state in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/climate-change-pricing-carbon/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/whats-automated-surface-observing-system-asos
This lesson will explore the phenomenon of fungal networks in the city of Crystal Falls, MI to help students learn some of the science of the fungi kingdom. They will learn how fungi help plants to communicate with each other and contribute to everyday foods we enjoy. Learners will engage in experiments to investigate the factors that affect mold growth on bread, how temperature influences yeast growth, and create a model to explain fungal networks.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/2204-fungus-lesson-plan/
Connor is a program specialist with GLC’s water quality and water infrastructure program. In this role, he helps to manage the GLSNRP grant program, support water quality working groups, and assist with Blue Accounting’s water content.
Prior to the Commission, Connor spent time as a watershed educator in West Virginia and as a communications associate with the Great Lakes NOAA B-WET program. He holds a master’s degree in environmental education and communication from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Virginia.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/staff/connor-roessler
The final River Talk for this season turns its focus to series partner Wisconsin Sea Grant, as the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary year.
On Wednesday, May 11, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in person at the Lake Superior Estuarium (3 Marina Dr., Superior, Wisconsin) and from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom, Sea Grant Director Jim Hurley will present, “Sea Grant at 50: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” examining the formation of this science-based organization devoted to the sustainable use and protection of Great Lakes resources. He’ll also discuss Sea Grant’s current work and where it is headed as it looks ahead to the next 50 years.
The in-person event will begin with social time featuring cake and refreshments. Hurley’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. and will be available virtually (see Zoom link below).
Hurley is also a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests include the cycling of mercury in the Great Lakes. He is the third director in Wisconsin Sea Grant’s history, having taken the helm in 2012. From 2017 to 2019, he also served as president of the national Sea Grant Association.
“I’m fortunate to be able to build on the foundation laid by my predecessors, founding director Bob Ragotzkie and Anders Andren,” Hurley said. “As the Sea Grant program was being created on the national level in the 1960s, Ragotzkie really stood up for the Great Lakes to ensure that these inland seas were a part of the program, and not just our ocean coasts. We are still reaping the benefits of his vision. We’re also actively considering how we can best serve the people of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes in our present moment and moving forward.”
Wisconsin Sea Grant works in many areas, from commercial fisheries and aquaculture, to aquatic invasive species, to dealing with emerging contaminants in our water. It is a program of the University of Wisconsin System, with headquarters on the Madison campus and additional staff at field offices around the state, including Superior, Green Bay, Manitowoc, Milwaukee and Kenosha County.
The organization also funds a robust portfolio of Great Lakes- and water-related research conducted at campuses around the state.
Zoom link:
https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/95345823876?pwd=QlplY1o3TnJDbXBGRG40U1o3UW1idz09
Meeting ID: 953 4582 3876
Passcode: 306955
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,95345823876# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,95345823876# US (Chicago)
The River Talks are sponsored by The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Wisconsin Sea Grant Program.
The post River Talk series ends season with exploration of Sea Grant’s past and future first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/river-talk-series-ends-season-with-exploration-of-sea-grants-past-and-future/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=river-talk-series-ends-season-with-exploration-of-sea-grants-past-and-future
Suburban ponds are experiencing ecosystem changes due to fertilizers, lawn treatments, and human waste and population. Climate change could also play a role.
The post Commentary: Suburban ponds threaten dog walkers and water quality first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/04/26/commentary-suburban-ponds-threaten-dog-walkers-and-water-quality/
Throughout the Great Lakes region and across the United States, water systems are aging.
In some communities, this means water bills that residents can’t afford or water that’s unsafe to drink. It’s also leading to increased pollution in some of Michigan’s most pristine lakes. From shrinking older cities and small towns to the comparatively thriving suburbs, the true cost of water has been deferred for decades.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/waters-true-cost-events/
In this episode sneak peek watch party, join GLN Producer Anna Sysling for a preview of the May show and a conversation with several guests who all played a part in this episode’s story about the complicated financial, public health and infrastructural implications of our drinking water.
Catch more news at Great Lakes Now:
Join the Conversations: Events on “Water’s True Cost” will answer your questions about water infrastructure
The Catch: Benton Harbor’s lead pipes and the plan to replace them
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/waters-true-cost-watch-party/
Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) today released a video highlighting work to restore natural shoreline at Brandenburg Park along Lake St. Clair in Michigan. A partnership led by the GLC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) replaced a failing metal sea wall with naturalized shoreline and offshore shoals to reduce wave energy and increase resiliency to varying water levels, improving fish and wildlife habitat and enhancing community access to the waterfront. Brandenburg Park’s pier is one of only a few in Metro Detroit from which individuals can fish and view wildlife on Lake St. Clair. Its public boat launch attracts boating and fishing enthusiasts from all over the county and throughout the region.
“Our Brandenburg Park project has improved fish and wildlife habitat, coastal resilience, and community access to Lake St. Clair,” said Todd Ambs, Chair of the Great Lakes Commission. “We’ve already seen an 84% increase in fish abundance and nearly 500% increase in water celery, an important native aquatic plant species. The GLC is proud to work with our federal, state, and local partners to implement exciting projects like this one across the region.”
Brandenburg Park is one of five projects that GLC and NOAA are leading in high priority coastal areas in the Great Lakes basin. A team including Chesterfield Township, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes, and Environment, and OHM Advisors collaborated with GLC and NOAA to replace 740 linear feet of hardened shoreline, restore over three acres of nearshore habitat along Lake St. Clair and implement monitoring and outreach activities. The video, produced by Great Lakes Outreach Media, reviews prior conditions of the site, explains the restoration methods that were implemented, and highlights the use of long-term solutions to the basin-wide issue of shoreline erosion
For more information, visit https://www.glc.org/work/priorityareas/brandenburg.
The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Todd L. Ambs, deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (retired), is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/news/brandenburg-042522
By Beth Edwards, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Some northern Indiana residents remain skeptical that communities in the area will be free of contamination from toxic coal ash, despite a renewed commitment by government agencies and one of the state’s biggest energy companies to clean up polluted sites and transition to renewable energy sources.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/indiana-residents-coal-ash-cleanup/
Volunteers gathered at Wendy Park in Cleveland to clean up the beach during Earth Day weekend. The litter picked up this year along the shores of the Great Lakes could put the total amount of trash that’s been kept out of our lakes at over half a million pounds. Read the full story by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-beachcleanupwendypark
The Meijer company has donated $1 million toward cleaning up the Great Lakes. The money will be used by the Council of the Great Lakes Region to clean up beaches and waterways throughout the Midwest and to educate the public about plastics pollution. Read the full story by WGRT – Port Huron, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-beachcleanupdonation
In New York, nearly 300 Earth Week volunteers gathered at Hamburg’s Woodlawn Beach, hauling away a winter’s worth of debris deposited on shore. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-earthweekcleanup
Algal blooms cause lower housing prices in Lake Erie communities, according to a study published earlier this year in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. View the full video story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-housingprices
If you’re at a Great Lakes port this season, you might see one of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ large fisheries research vessels conducting annual fish surveys. The vessels are based out of Marquette, Alpena, Charlevoix and Harrison Township harbors in Michigan. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Negaunee, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-fishpopulations
In light of the present crisis unfolding on The Sullivans – and the fact that epoxy is a temporary fix for holes in its hull that caused it to list severely last week – a larger plan to protect the future of the ship has risen in importance. Read the full story by the Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-thesullivans
After last year’s free parking program for beaches, the city has decided to charge $15 for the season. Trish Sorrenti, corporate executive administrator, said last year’s free parking program was a struggle for staff. Read the full story by the St. Catherines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-beachparking
As the invasive tench tries to make inroads in the St. Lawrence River from east to west, another aquatic invasive critter, cousin to the round goby, is making its mark from the opposite direction. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-invasivegobies
In March, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the Building Michigan Together Plan, which included the largest infrastructure investment in state history. Included in that investment is nearly $2 billion for water infrastructure. Read the full story by the Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-waterinfrastructure
An area like the Great Lakes that has rain and higher temperatures in the summer, followed by a cold, snowy winter, is best suited for maple production. But the Great Lakes maple season is evolving as climate change increasingly impacts maple syrup production with shorter harvest seasons, less sugar production and unreliable sap flow. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220425-sugaring
The spring season of Wisconsin’s Sea Grant’s “Lake Talks” series concludes Thursday, May 12, from 7-8 p.m. The event will focus on “Harmful algal blooms and your health.”
The online event is open to everyone, though registration is required. (Register for this Zoom event now.) The hour includes time for audience questions.
Jordan Murray gestures at some blue-green algae that has accumulated along the shoreline of Lake Monona at Brittingham Park in Madison. (Submitted photo)
Featured speaker Jordan Murray is a Wisconsin Water Resources Science-Policy Fellow. She serves as Harmful Algal Blooms Program Coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) in its Division of Public Health. Her fellowship is jointly supported by DHS and the Aquatic Sciences Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Murray will give an overview of the harmful algal bloom (HAB) program at DHS and describe her role as coordinator. She’ll also cover how HABs can affect health. You’ll learn practical steps you can take to avoid exposure and keep yourself, your loved ones and pets healthy while enjoying Wisconsin’s abundant lakes.
The timing of Murray’s presentation is apt, as blue-green algae season typically begins in May as temperatures warm.
The presence of the algae—natural organisms found in all Wisconsin water bodies—is not bad in and of itself. However, problems arise when the algae grows to high levels and forms blooms that are often “scummy” or pea soup-like in appearance and pose health hazards.
Murray holds a master’s degree in public health, with a concentration in epidemiology, from the University of Toledo. A Toledo native, she remembers the period in 2014 when a major bloom in Lake Erie (source of the city’s drinking water) meant that residents were warned not to drink—or even touch—the water coming out of their taps.
“This public health issue is very personal to me,” she said, “so it’s fulfilling to do work around an issue that has so greatly affected my home and community.”
Murray’s scientific background and personal experience fuel her commitment to keeping people safe. With climate change leading to a warmer and wetter Wisconsin, bloom intensity is on the rise, making it important to raise public awareness about HABs.
For Lake Talks event and registration information, visit the Sea Grant website, or follow Wisconsin Sea Grant on Facebook or Twitter. You can register for Murray’s presentation on harmful algal blooms now.
For questions about this series, contact Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator Jennifer Smith.
The post Learn how to stay safe from harmful algal blooms at “Lake Talks” presentation first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/learn-how-to-stay-safe-from-harmful-algal-blooms-at-lake-talks-presentation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=learn-how-to-stay-safe-from-harmful-algal-blooms-at-lake-talks-presentation
By Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer
With climate change, plastic pollution and a potential sixth mass extinction, humanity has made some incredible messes in the world.
But when people, political factions and nations have pulled together, they have also cleaned up some of those human-caused environmental problems, including healing the ozone hole, clearing perpetually smoggy air and saving many species from the brink of extinction.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-healing-ozone-hole-smog-eagles/
Dangerous metals such as arsenic and mercury have been found in wild rice beds located on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation and surrounding areas, according to research from Michigan Technological University scientists and their associates.
The post Tribes work to restore wild rice in areas contaminated by mining first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/04/25/tribes-work-to-restore-wild-rice-in-areas-contaminated-by-mining/
Our Adopt-a-Beach Program has grown tremendously over the past 30 years. That’s due to community members of all ages coming together to keep our beaches and shorelines clean. As we continue to celebrate National Volunteer Week, we wanted to highlight how our Adopt-a-Beach program allows everyone to get involved no matter their age. Read how one community member, Nicole Hutchins in her own words reflects on how the Adopt-a-Beach program has impacted her and a group of students, who have been cleaning beaches since 2007 to do their part in supporting the Great Lakes.
Growing up in Central Lake, I have always loved the beautiful lakes around us and a passion for protecting them. I returned to the area and quickly realized that recycling and community trash pick-ups were not established. This was shocking because recycling was everywhere I traveled/lived while in the army. So rather than accept it, I started to look for ways that I could make a change that involved the community. Lucky for me, I stumbled across the Alliance for the Great Lakes Adopt-a-Beach program while browsing the internet. This was just what I was looking for. I could not wait to get started, and who better to start with than the young people of our community (My daughter’s sixth-grade class).
“I’ve always been compelled by nature, and the beach cleanup provides a great opportunity to help the planet and socialize with my friends!”
-Aubrey
I shared my idea with Central Lake Public School, and they jumped on board as it was a terrific opportunity to teach about protecting our Great Lakes and our environment. I was invited into the classroom to present to the kids, and to my surprise, they were all extremely excited to participate in Adopt-a-Beach!
“I enjoy our annual trash cleanup; not only is it fun, it shows us how to respect nature.” –
-Quintin
The spring of 2007 was our first beach cleanup event. The kids successfully removed over 100lbs of trash from the Antrim Creek Natural Area in Ellsworth, on Lake Michigan. The area had always seemed clean to the kids, so they were amazed at how fast a wrapper here, a plastic cup there, could add up to so much trash.
“The beach cleanup has been such an amazing opportunity for us to get out and explore. Also, learning about cleaning the environment and clean water is extremely important for younger generations, and I’m glad we had the experience of being involved in it for six years!
-Journey
They loved it so much that we have kept it up every year since 2007. This year will be the group’s last cleanup – they are graduating high school – but I know what they have learned will go with them wherever they go.
Central Lake Class of 2023
The post Learning Outside the Classroom: Volunteer Spotlight appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/04/learning-outside-the-classroom-volunteer-spotlight/
Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.
— Laura Gersony, Fresh Editor
This Week’s Watersheds
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/wisconsin-judge-forever-chemicals-cleanup/
It’s faster and easier to get your passes for cruising through the locks this year!
All passes may be purchased online starting immediately. Day passes, season passes, even commercial vessel and special event passes can be purchased with a click of a button at this link: https://foxlocks.org/passes/ . To make it even easier, we ask you to set up an individual account and you’ll be able to track all your purchases from Fox Locks. Visit this secure link: https://foxlocks.org/my-account/
When you purchase a season pass (just $100 for months of fun!) we will send you a sticker to affix to your boat. Please remember to allow time to get those passes to you in the mail.
When you purchase a day pass, you’ll be able to select the day on which you want to use the pass. You’ll receive an email confirming your purchase with a line item indicating the day for which the pass is valid. Just remember to have your smart phone with you when you go boating and you can either show your phone to the lock tender, or take a screen shot and text it to the lock tender to verify you purchased a pass.
You don’t need to specify which lock(s) you want to visit, just purchase the day pass, save your email, and show it to the lock tenders when you enter the lock. If there are any questions, please contact our offices at 920-455-9174 or email generalist1@foxlocks.org.
Blog – Fox Locks
http://foxlocks.org/2022/04/22/important-updates-for-2022-season%EF%BF%BC/
For the first time, we are opening two locks to take advantage of the opening day of the inland waters fishing season May 7. Both the DePere lock and the Little Kaukauna (Little Rapids) locks will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-8pm and full schedules are at this link https://foxlocks.org/schedule-and-operations/lock-hours-procedures/.
The full lock system opens Saturday, May 28, and the DePere and Little Kaukauna locks will be open 7 days a week during the season.
We hope to see you at the locks and remember to share pictures of your catch on our Facebook page at this link: https://www.facebook.com/foxlockswi
Blog – Fox Locks
http://foxlocks.org/2022/04/22/cast-off-for-fishing-may-7%EF%BF%BC/
For the first time, we are opening two locks to take advantage of the opening day of the inland waters fishing season May 7. Both the DePere lock and the Little Kaukauna (Little Rapids) locks will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-8pm and full schedules are at this link https://foxlocks.org/schedule-and-operations/lock-hours-procedures/.
The full lock system opens Saturday, May 28, and the DePere and Little Kaukauna locks will be open 7 days a week during the season.
We hope to see you at the locks and remember to share pictures of your catch on our Facebook page at this link: https://www.facebook.com/foxlockswi
Blog – Fox Locks
http://foxlocks.org/2022/04/22/elementor-41729/
By Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press
Michigan’s Democratic governor wants a nuclear power plant on Lake Michigan to stay open and she’s asking the federal government to pay for it.
But the owner of the Palisades Power Plant says it’s too late — the plant will be shut down in May as scheduled.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-whitmer-federal-aid-nuclear-plant/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
On April 15, 2022, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA, IEPA, or Agency) approved a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for Williamson Energy, LLC Pond Creek Mine No.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/energy-news-roundup-ontario-natural-gas-energy-department-cybersecurity/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/sanctsound-studying-underwater-world-sound
Nearly 22 million pounds of plastic debris get into the Great Lakes each year, according to a Rochester Institute of Technology study. Beach cleanups help combat that by collecting plastic and other litter found on beaches and by raising awareness about the problem. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-plastic
The Great Lakes Water Authority in Detroit announced that due to the continued high level of performance of its Water Resource Recovery Facility, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has terminated the Administrative Consent Order it imposed more than a decade ago due to frequent non-compliance of the utility’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Read the full story by DBusiness.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-glwa
A rare Great Lakes piping plover was spotted this week at Rainbow Beach in Chicago, which was recently named by birders as the most promising new nesting site for the endangered bird. Neighbors hope to encourage the plover to stay by cleaning the beach this weekend. Read the full story by Block Club Chicago.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-plover
Milwaukee was selected as one of more than a dozen cities deemed to be “climate havens” – places that could avoid the worst effects of natural disasters and support larger populations, according to a report from CNBC. Making the list are also several other cities close to the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WTMJ-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-climate-haven
Workers and volunteer fire personnel were at work along the Olcott region lakeshore, filling and laying sandbags in trouble spots in order to stem potential erosion and flooding. This work is not uncommon for this time of year, as water levels in Lake Ontario begin to rise. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-water-level
On the shores of Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and other North Country water bodies lie unique communities driven by seasonal tourism. Despite many challenges in the past few years, the communities have been driven in part by the marine industry, which has proven to thrive. Read the full story by WWTI-TV – Henderson Harbor, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-marine-industry
The Town of Marathon and Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, Ontario, are looking to revive the port facilities at the site of the former Marathon Pulp mill. Read the full story by Northern Ontario Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-port
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources stated that it and partner organizations will begin conducting an acoustic telemetry study this month that looks at walleye in the Saginaw Bay region of Lake Huron and their spawning habits. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-walleye
An Illinois bill that requires life equipment to be available along the Lake Michigan coasts was passed by both houses of the state’s Congress after activists pushed for increased safety measures following multiple drownings. Read the full by the Loyola Phoenix.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-rescue-equipment
Changing ecosystems and the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing Lake Michigan commercial fishing companies to change where they fish and how they sell their products. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220422-fishing
The invasive emerald ash borer has the potential to destroy over 3 million acres of black ash wetlands across the region, according to a recent study published in the journal Ecological Applications.
The post Emerald ash borer turns forest into wetlands first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/04/22/emerald-ash-borer-turns-forest-into-wetlands/
By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear a challenge by environmentalists over portions of a lower court ruling involving a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals in January reversed a 2018 decision by state regulators to issue PolyMet Mining Corp.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-minnesota-supreme-court-polymet-case/
By John Flesher, Associated Press
LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) — Sprawled like a gigantic swimming pool atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is an asphalt-and-clay pond holding enough water to produce electricity for 1.6 million households.
It’s part of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, which uses simple technology: Water is piped from a lower reservoir — the lake, in this case — to an upper one, then released downhill through supersized turbines.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-worlds-largest-batteries/
Media and the public are invited to a free meeting about critical South Dakota-area water issues on Thursday, April 27, in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Region 3: Great Lakes
http://www.usgs.gov/news/state-news-release/media-alert-public-invitation-remembering-1972-flood-planning-future-water
An area like the Great Lakes that has rain and higher temperatures in the summer, followed by a cold, snowy winter, is best suited for maple production.
But the Great Lakes maple season is evolving as climate change increasingly impacts maple syrup production with shorter harvest seasons, less sugar production and unreliable sap flow.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/great-lakes-sugaring-season/
We’re back! The Great Lakes Conference 2022 will be held from Tuesday, October 18 to Wednesday, October 19, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is excited to announce that we will be holding an in-person Great Lakes conference this year, October 18-19, in Milwaukee. The decision to have an in-person conference was made with care. We will be following the latest COVID-19 safety recommendations at the local, state, and federal levels and will adjust the event, as needed, to keep attendees as safe as possible.
Since we haven’t been able to meet in-person for a few years, we want this year’s conference to be about coming together as a Great Lakes community. The first day will include optional afternoon field trips and an evening reception, and the second day will include a full day of plenaries and breakout sessions.
Regarding breakout sessions, there will be a limited number at this year’s conference—approximately eight slots on Wednesday, October 19. We are seeking proposals for these sessions from individuals and local, tribal, state, regional, and national organizations working on issues of relevance to Great Lakes restoration. The Coalition is dedicated to using the conference platform to highlight all voices of the Great Lakes region and strives to be inclusive of the entire Great Lakes community.
We strongly encourage applications from those representing culturally and racially diverse communities, as well as groups or individuals representing or supporting work the communities most impacted by pollution throughout the Great Lakes region.
The deadline to submit proposals is May 20, 2022. Further information and application instructions can be found through this link.
For questions regarding session proposals or the conference in general, contact Celia Haven at HavenC@nwf.org or Laura Rubin at RubinL@nwf.org.
As the conference planning moves forward, we will share registration information and updates on the agenda. In the meantime, block off October 18-19 on your calendars. We hope to see you there!
The post Great Lakes Conference: Save-the-Date and Submit Your Proposals! appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/great-lakes-conference-save-the-date-and-submit-your-proposals/
