Asian carp on our plates—not in our water
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/11/19/asian-carp-on-our-plates-not-in-our-water/
Flint water lawsuit settlement now totals about $641 million

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed on behalf of residents of Flint, Michigan, who were harmed by lead-tainted water now totals about $641 million, officials revealed Tuesday.
The lawsuit was the result of workers following state environmental officials’ advice not to use anti-corrosive additives.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/ap-flint-water-lawsuit-settlement/
As Great Lakes pummel Michigan, beach towns rush to set development rules
As high water levels persist in the Great Lakes, Michigan communities are revisiting their coastal land use policies that allowed residents to build homes precariously close to the shoreline, with devastating consequences when Great Lakes water levels inevitably rise. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-land-use-planning
Time runs out for a U.S.-Canada oil pipeline
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s move to shut down the section of the Line 5 oil pipeline that runs through the Mackinaw Straits relies on the state’s public trust doctrine that compels state authorities to protect the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The New York Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-public-trust
New interactive map details all existing Great Lakes lighthouses
The Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association has published an online interactive map of lighthouses in the Great Lakes region. The map lets users learn more about the history of the lighthouses and information for visiting. Read the full story by WKFR – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-lighthouse-map
Kingston’s Marine Museum of the Great Lakes unveils plans to acquire Titanic-era steamship
The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston, Ontario, launched a major fundraising campaign to renovate their new waterfront home and announced plans to acquire a Titanic-era steamship that will serve as a centerpiece for the new museum. Read the full story by Global News Canada.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-museum
Isle Royale named in National Geographic’s ‘Best of the World 2021’ list
National Geographic featured Isle Royale on Lake Superior as on the top places to visit in 2021 and described the island as “a best-kept secret of a national park” and “edge-of-nowhere remote.” Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-isle-royale
City of Flint, other defendants agree to settle water lawsuit as total boosted to $641.2M
The city of Flint and two other defendants joined the $600-million Flint water crisis settlement the state of Michigan announced in August, bringing the total value of the settlement in the lead poisoning case to $641.2 million. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-flint-settlement
Feds launch nuclear-waste strategy review amid elusive solutions for toxic waste
Following public opposition to the planned construction of a nuclear waste storage facility near Lake Huron, the Canadian federal government has launched a new initiative aimed at finding long-term solutions for the growing quantity of radioactive waste produced by Canada’s nuclear reactors. Read the full story by the Times Colonist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-nuclear-waste
Mapping Michigan’s most climate-resilient landscapes
A new mapping tool from The Nature Conservancy shows areas with habitat and ecosystems in Michigan that can adapt to allow native species to thrive. The map also highlights connecting corridors that would allow species to move safely within and between these climate-resilient areas. Read the full story by the Metro Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-resilience-maps
Outdoor enthusiasts keep volunteer marine rescue unit busy in 2020
Volunteer search and rescue teams on Lake Ontario have responded to a record-breaking number of rescue missions this year as more Ontario residents flocked to the lake this year for “staycations” during the pandemic. Read the full story by Y108 – Hamilton, ON.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-marine-rescues
South Haven officials form committee to address beach, water safety concerns
Three drownings in Lake Michigan this past summer and more than a dozen water rescues has prompted City Council members in South Haven, Michigan, to form a committee to examine whether changes need to be made to the current beach and water safety plan, including adding lifeguards to the beach. Read the full story by The Herald-Palladium.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020118-south-haven
As Great Lakes pummel Michigan, beach towns rush to set development rules

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/great-lakes-pummel-michigan-beach-towns-development-rules/
Coalition to Congress: Support Great Lakes, Clean Water in Final Bills
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (November 18, 2020) – In letters sent to the U.S. House and Senate today, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is urging Congress, as it wraps up business for the year, to support Great Lakes and clean water priorities that protect the drinking water of more than 30 million people, safeguard children from toxic lead contamination, prevent the shut-off of water to families, and confront the chronic problem of sewage fouling local waters.
“Congress has the opportunity to protect the drinking water, public health, and jobs of millions of people in the Great Lakes region, and we urge our elected officials to push these critical legislative priorities across the finish line,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “There’s important work left to do, and it’s time to get it done. The water problems will only get worse and more costly to solve.”
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is asking Congress to support five legislative priorities, as elected officials work to complete a federal budget by Dec. 11 and wrap up end-of-year business.
- Prioritize COVID-19 relief that includes a moratorium of water shut-offs to vulnerable communities and assistance to people and water utilities.
- Support Great Lakes and clean water priorities, including $335 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, as well as more than $11 billion in House-backed supplemental funding that will put people to work and create local jobs for drinking water and sewage treatment infrastructure, toxic lead abatement, and assistance for vulnerable and tribal communities.
- Reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (as proposed by H.R. 4031 and S. 2295) with annual incremental increases to its original funding level of $475 million per year.
- Support Great Lakes priorities in the Water Resources Development Act, including investments in water infrastructure, research, and community assistance.
- Invest in drinking water and sewage treatment infrastructure to help get at the more than $188 billion in need for projects in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The Coalition urges Congress to prioritize climate resiliency and supporting communities facing economic hardship by providing additional investments for disadvantaged communities and promoting investment in nature-based infrastructure projects.
The post Coalition to Congress: Support Great Lakes, Clean Water in Final Bills appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/coalition-to-congress-support-great-lakes-clean-water-in-final-bills/
A Warming Earth is Also a Wetter Earth
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/warming-earth-also-wetter-earth
A Warming Earth is Also a Wetter Earth
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/warming-earth-also-wetter-earth
Cherry growers want to get in on the snacking trend
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/11/18/cherry-growers-want-to-get-in-on-the-snacking-trend/
Campus Clues to COVID-19: Sewage testing key to detecting early infections

Scientists at dozens of colleges and universities around the country are hoping early detection of COVID-19 infections can come from a not-so-glamorous sampling process.
With collection devices set up in campus sewer systems, researchers are sampling waste from residence halls and other buildings for evidence of the virus.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/campus-covid-19-sewage-testing-early-infections/
Peters Bill to update Great Lakes environmental sensitivity index maps passes Senate
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today applauded Senate passage of his bipartisan legislation to update the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WLNS – TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-great-lakes-bill
Study shows aquatic landscape changes, human impact on Chicago-area plants, animal life
Over the decades, wetlands and other water bodies in Cook County, Illinois, have decreased by a third, while swamps and marshes have been drained or converted into lakes and ponds, causing havoc for wildlife, according to a recent study by a group of graduate students and their professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-chicago-landscape
Canadian officials displeased with Whitmer’s call to shut down Line 5 in Straits
Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement Friday that she will revoke the 1953 easement allowing the controversial Line 5 twin oil and gas pipelines to continue operation on the Straits of Mackinac lake bottom isn’t winning her fans among Canadian officials. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-line5
Booker slams CAFOs, calling them ‘grave threat to public health’ in Lake Erie region
The policy debate over algae-forming farm nutrients in the western Lake Erie region drew a familiar face from the national political scene on Monday when U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) appeared as a featured speaker on a virtual seminar sponsored by the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-cafo
So Great, So Fragile: Episodic series focuses on issues impacting the Great Lakes
WLS-TV Channel 7 in Chicago, Illinois, has partnered with National Geographic as they release a special cover story on “Saving Our Great Lakes” to discuss some of the challenges facing this precious natural resource. Read and hear the full story by WLS-TV- Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-natgeo
Court reserves judgment in SBP plover appeal
South Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada went to court Monday to argue it shouldn’t have been convicted of twice violating the Endangered Species Act by its 2017 raking and reshaping endangered piping plover beach habitat. Read the full story by The Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-plover-esa
Canadian company marketing dog food made from invasive Asian carp
A Canadian company has launched a new dog food product that provides pooches with protein while removing an invasive species from North American waterways. Read the full story by Seafood Source.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020117-carp-dog-food
Rollbacks, Climate, Justice: Environmental attorney on Biden’s commitments, opportunities and challenges

For President-elect Joe Biden, the environment and climate change as campaign issues weren’t tucked away in an obscure position paper. Neither was his intent to focus on environmental justice if elected.
Biden also put a spotlight on President Trump’s rollback via executive order of nearly 100 environmental protections in his four years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/rollbacks-climate-justice-environmental-attorney-president-elect-biden/
Study shows aquatic landscape changes, human impact on Chicago-area plants, animal life
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/11/17/study-shows-aquatic-landscape-changes-human-impact-on-chicago-area-plants-animal-life/
Special Weather Statement issued November 16 at 7:01PM CST by NWS
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F706748B4.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F7067C35CWI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
COVID-19 pushed people outdoors. Michigan’s ski industry is ready for them.

By Paula Gardner, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Doubling the size of a factory during a global pandemic may not fit a traditional business plan.
But Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis is based in Northern Michigan, where it’s making a product that helps to define the winter economy for the ski-maker’s home in Boyne City and across the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/covid-19-outdoor-recreation-michigan-ski-industry/
Flood Resilience Scorecard can help communities plan for high water

Flooding in Wisconsin. Image credit: Wisconsin Emergency Management
The annual amount of rain and snowfall is rising in Wisconsin. Over the past 70 years, the intensity of storms has increased, bringing more rain in a shorter amount of time, which can lead to flooding. To help communities cope and prepare, Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has developed a Flood Resilience Scorecard.

Emma Holtan. Submitted photo
Emma Holtan, flood resilience intern with the DHS Climate and Health Program, described the new proactive tool. “Basically, it’s a comprehensive questionnaire that a local official can move through with a team of assembled staff, experts and community members. Together, they move through three different parts of the scorecard that address different aspects of their community and the way they relate to flood resilience.”
The three modules address environmental features of flood vulnerability, sustainable community policies and plans, and building social resilience. Although the scorecard questionnaire is in-depth, the answers are multiple choice and resources are provided in the document for reference.
Holtan was hired this past May with the goal of working with the community of Washburn, Wisconsin, to test-run the scorecard by completing it with Washburn staff. The necessity of social distancing changed those plans.
Margaret Thelen, DHS climate and health program manager, said, “We had Emma complete it on her own with very little familiarity with the municipality. She completed it in about eight hours. That’s with looking up municipal code, reading through social media, reading through websites. If you’ve ever looked through municipal code – ooof! So, bless her for doing that. If a local planner or emergency manager or a local public health official were to complete it, they could do it in less time if they knew where to look and who to ask for the scorecard questions.”

Margaret Thelen. Submitted photo.
Thelen said the idea for the scorecard came from Sea Grant’s Coastal Resilience Self-Assessment. This project is designed for communities in southeastern Wisconsin that are heavily impacted by coastal storms, fluctuating Lake Michigan water levels and erosion.
“Sea Grant got brought in because we were working on very similar products,” Thelen said. “We could share best practices and share what works. They’ve been an invaluable partner on this project.”
Even if a community’s score is low after going through the process, Holtan said that’s all right. “If your score is lower or doesn’t meet a certain favorable threshold, then there’s a list of recommendations that you or your community may choose to implement if you have the necessary funding and resources. So, it’s really a tool that helps prioritize actions that will make your community more flood resilient and does so in a more holistic and comprehensive way, which I think is really cool.”
Holtan and Thelen said plans are in the works to make the scoring process more interactive. They also plan to develop a listing of funding sources for communities to make changes, a facilitation guide and a database of scorecard outcomes.
Holtan said the effort to complete the scorecard is worth it. “I feel like in Wisconsin we’re relatively safe from a lot of climate disasters that we’re seeing, but flooding is creeping up on us pretty fast and could be extremely detrimental. The opportunity to use this tool in the planning process of preparing for the climate changing is amazing. You get an in-depth look at your community in a way that most other tools don’t ask you to do. It’s to a community’s benefit to use this tool and to work together to prepare for a future that is safer for everybody.”
The scorecard was recently presented by Holtan and Natalie Chin, Wisconsin Sea Grant climate and tourism outreach specialist, at a Coastal Hazards of (Lake) Superior meeting. A PDF of the scorecard and individual models can be downloaded from the website.
If your community is interested in partnering with Sea Grant to go through the scorecard or has already completed it, let Chin know by emailing: nchin5@aqua.wisc.edu.
The post Flood Resilience Scorecard can help communities plan for high water first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/flood-resilience-scorecard-can-help-communities-plan-for-high-water/
Special Weather Statement issued November 16 at 1:57PM CST by NWS
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F705ADB74.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F705B3A60WI.GRBSPSGRB.d65efe55088dd94d9c460efb2df919a6
Public Survey Now Available for our Frost/Freeze Products – Open until 12/17
Green Bay, WI
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/frostfreeze
The Resilience Ecosystem
News | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
News | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
https://toolkit.climate.gov/news/resilience-ecosystem
Great Lakes Commission to grant Fort Wayne 200K for flood protection and draining improvements
The Great Lakes Commission is granting Fort Wayne $200,000 for the Colonial Heritage improvement project. Read the full story by WANE-TV – Fort Wayne, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-oil-pipeline
Ontario tries to keep Great Lakes oil pipeline flowing, despite Michigan’s planned shutdown
Ontario minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines says the province is “profoundly disappointed” with the Governor of Michigan’s decision to shut down the Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straight of Mackinac and will work to keep the pipeline flowing. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-oil-pipeline
Line 5 shutdown order ‘creates a scenario’ for stopping Enbridge tunnel
The days may now be numbered for the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, but state regulators say permitting for the company’s proposed tunnel project is not affected by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s move to shut down the pipeline by terminating the easement that allows it to cross the lakebed. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-line-5-shutdown
Turning toxic lemons into lemonade, from algae to biofuel
An algal turf scrubber could be the solution to a problem that threatens to suffocate the ecosystem of the Great Lakes: algal blooms. The algal turf scrubber filters water over a designated area for algae to grow and eventually be harvested for use as biofuel. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-algae-biofuel
COMMENTARY: GTA’s workhorse wetlands are under threat
Urban wetlands in the Greater Toronto Area are under threat by a recent warehouse building proposal. Read the full story by The Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-wetlands-under-threat
Renewed calls to bolster protections for MN’s water supplies
The Great Lakes region contains one-fifth of the world’s freshwater supply. Environmental groups say that abundance will make states such as Minnesota a high priority for other regions wanting to bolster their dwindling supplies. Read the full story by Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-minnesota-water-supply
Cost-sharing funds available for LaPointe Drain watershed in south county
Area growers can take their farm management to the next level and help improve Western Lake Erie Basin water quality by taking part in a new cost-sharing funding opportunity to achieve nutrient and sediment reduction goals outlined in the S.S. LaPointe Watershed Management Plan. Read the full story by The Monroe News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-lapointe-drain
CSI Great Lakes: genetic material helps researchers find invaders
Environmental DNA is a genetic material Great Lakes researchers have used to detect the presence of species for about the last 10 years. Now it’s playing an increasingly important — but sometimes controversial — role in monitoring invasive species. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-edna
Former Guam serviceman discovers shipwreck in Lake Ontario
Daniel Gildea didn’t set out to find a shipwreck. But when he deployed his underwater equipment to Henderson Bay in Lake Ontario, New York, there it was: a three-masted wooden schooner that dated back to the mid-18th century. Read the full story by Pacific Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-shipwreck-discovery
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa debuts fishing company
It was a historic day on the Red Cliff Reservation Saturday as the band opened their first fishing company to share the fish caught in Lake Superior with the rest of the Northland. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Bayfield, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020116-red-cliff-band
Q&A: What Michigan’s move to shut down Enbridge Line 5 means

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/michigan-shut-down-enbridge-line-5-means/
Reward offered for information surrounding raptor parts found in Woodbury, Minnesota
Fish and Wildlife Service News
Fish and Wildlife Service News
http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=%0Areward-offered-for-information-surrounding-raptor-parts-found-in-&_ID=36805
Black squirrels in Michigan and elsewhere could be evolution in action
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/11/16/black-squirrels-in-michigan-and-elsewhere-could-be-evolution-in-action/
Wind Advisory issued November 15 at 6:02PM CST until November 15 at 9:00PM CST by NWS
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F7057DFC8.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3
Wind Advisory issued November 15 at 2:53PM CST until November 15 at 9:00PM CST by NWS
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F704BBEB4.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3
Wind Advisory issued November 15 at 10:35AM CST until November 15 at 9:00PM CST by NWS
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F704B1B6C.WindAdvisory.125F70585430WI.GRBNPWGRB.435931cb53f9e913918d73b6259047a3

