After major work this weekend, one of the tall ships in Erie, Pennsylvania, the Lettie G. Howard, has a new mast and is close to being ready to setting sail on Lake Erie. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-lakeerie-tallship
Despite hitting some rocky waters recently, it’s full steam ahead for the SS Badger this year, with the popular Lake Michigan car ferry setting sail for its 71st season May 17. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-ss-badger
The owner of an unlicensed mid-Michigan RV park is accused of violating environmental laws and jeopardizing water quality by discharging raw sewage into groundwater. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-michiganrvpark-sewage-discharge
One year after an effort was rejected by regulators, a new plan is in motion to restore the rapids to the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240513-grandriver-rapids
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.c97a973e05d1724d696e2c05beb0b825721f8dfb.001.1.cap
Readers across the Great Lakes states and Canada this year will participate in a basin-wide book club hosted by the Library of the Great Lakes.
From now until September 2025 participants will read Michigan author Sally Cole-Misch’s The Best Part of Us and Ontario author Joanne Robertson’s children’s book, The Water Walker.
The post Need a summer read? Join this basin-wide book club first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/05/13/need-a-summer-read-join-this-basin-wide-book-club/
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.15ee385df85b64e9137bfb9b6191eb21bf316430.001.1.cap
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.81052c68c752e1c4de233394df96b1fbab1dab1d.001.1.cap
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.44bb14a89cc18e398ccbbee0bf7337d085176fc6.001.1.cap
The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) is looking for support on a proposed Buffalo Reef stamp sand removal plan. Mining stamp sands are encroaching on the 22,000-foot reef and its status as spawning grounds for whitefish and trout. The sands would be moved to an upland location, stabilized, and monitored for any outflow. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-stamp-sand-removal
A White House official visited the Lake Elmo, Minnesota high school known as “ground zero” for PFAS contamination. Last year, state lawmakers passed Amara’s Law, named for a Tartan High School graduate who spent the last few months of her life lobbying Minnesota state lawmakers to crack down on the “forever chemicals” which contributed to her liver cancer diagnosis. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-pfas-visit
More than 15 years after the Great Lakes Compact was signed, For Love of Water (FLOW), a Great Lakes advocacy organization, has reevaluated the compact and its goal of protecting lake water from being diverted by canals, aqueducts, pipelines, vessels, tunnels or tanker trucks. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-compact-review
The S.S. Badger is fully recovered and ready for another season on Lake Michigan’s open waters. The opening voyage for the 410-foot boat will be manned by 100 employees, ready to take the trip across the lake. The trip shortens a 7-8.5 hour, over 400-mile journey to a 60-mile jaunt taking 4 hours. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-carferry-voyage
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel will apply lampricides to the Cedar River in Michigan to kill sea lamprey larvae burrowed in the stream bottom. Applications will be conducted between May 21-30 in accordance with State of Michigan permits. Read the full story by the EagleHerald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-lamprey-control
A renewable energy company announced it will use the shores of Lake Erie in Harborcreek Township, Pennsylvania, as the spot to test how wave energy converters hold up to different marine conditions while also focusing on sustainability, energy efficiency and potential impacts on local ecosystems. Read the full story by WKBN-TV – Youngstown, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-renewable-testing
U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow, co-chair of the U.S. Senate Great Lakes Task Force, and Gary Peters applauded the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passage of its bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024. The legislation would extend the program for another five years through 2031 and increase annual funding authorization from $475 million $500 million. Read the full story by the Oscoda Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-restoration-program
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced that over six million fish had been restocked throughout the state’s inland waters and the Great Lakes in 2023. Over 1.3 million Chinook Salmon and 450,000 Brown Trout were stocked in Wisconsin’s Great Lakes. Read the full story by WFRV-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-fish-stocking
A former lightkeeper reminisced on her family’s stay at Trowbridge Light Station, off the northern shore of Lake Superior, from March to December while the lake was free of ice. Duties included everything from manual labour, to working with generators and radio equipment. Important work, as those activities helped to keep the waters safe for the booming shipping industry on the great lake. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-lighthouse-keeper
Beginning in the 1940s, businesses started using the Rouge River in southeast Michigan as a dumping ground for industrial pollution. Local activists formed the Friends of the Rouge in 1986. A coordinator of its flagship program, Rouge Rescue, recounted his involvement at the annual event where they organize volunteers across the watershed to remove trash from the river. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240510-cleanup-activist
Like clockwork, Michigan’s Ford Lake and its downstream neighbor, Belleville Lake, turn bright green every summer due to harmful algal blooms.
The lakes, located near Ypsilanti in the southeast part of the state, have struggled for decades with phosphorus pollution that spurs algae growth.
The post Dams may power a stop harmful algal blooms in urban lakes, expert says first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/05/10/dams-may-power-a-stop-harmful-algal-blooms-in-urban-lakes-expert-says/
White House official and chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Brenda Mallory, visited Minnesota’s Tartan High School on May 6 to tour the area known as “ground zero” for PFAS contamination. The Lake Elmo school is located in a “plume” created by Minnesota multinational chemical giant, 3M.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/pfas-news-roundup-white-house-official-visits-minnesota-high-school-in-town-known-as-ground-zero-for-pfas/
In 2010, Congress established the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to allow the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), working in collaboration with other federal agencies, states, and tribes, to fund projects to restore and protect the Great Lakes. To date, the GLRI has funded more than 7,563 individual projects totaling $3.7 billion and has greatly improved the quality of life in the region. GLRI projects restore habitat, reduce non-point source pollution, prevent the establishment or spread of invasive species, and clean up toxic legacy pollution. In recognition of the importance of this program, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 invested an additional $1 billion to accelerate the cleanup of toxic legacy pollution at “Areas of Concern” throughout the region.
This year is another important year for the GLRI. Congress is considering bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and extend the program for an additional five years at $500 million per year from 2027-2031. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) in the Senate, and Representatives David Joyce (R-OH), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) in the House, have introduced legislation to reauthorize the GLRI.
On May 1, 2024, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved the legislation thereby clearing the way for full Senate passage later this year. On the House side, the bill has 31 Republican and Democratic cosponsors, and we continue to advocate that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approve the bill and send it to the full House for approval.
In addition to GLRI’s reauthorization, the Alliance for the Great Lakes worked in partnership with the Healing Our Waters–Great Lakes Coalition to suggest ways the EPA could improve its next GLRI Action Plan. The Action Plan is important because it identifies five-year priorities for GLRI funding. We encouraged EPA to address climate change resilience and to focus on the needs of underserved communities. We also made specific suggestions for each part of the Action Plan.
EPA adopted many of our recommendations in its recently released draft “Action Plan IV.” When complete, it will guide GLRI funding to projects from 2025 to 2029. Climate change is now better incorporated into the draft action plan with projected climate change impacts being emphasized during the design and implementation of GLRI projects. There is increased focus on meaningfully involving underserved communities in decisions about addressing issues in their communities and accruing benefits from GLRI projects. We would still like to see additional emphasis in both areas consistent with our earlier comments.
EPA would like your feedback on the draft Action Plan IV. You can read the action plan and provide comments to EPA until May 24, and we hope you will.
The post 2024: An Important Year for Great Lakes Restoration appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2024/05/2024-an-important-year-for-great-lakes-restoration/
White suckers in Silver Creek. Image credit: Titus Seilheimer, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Spring is when that I head to the streambank most days and look for fish. And not just fish, I also follow the seasonal progression of spring and log those observations as part of the Great Lakes BioBlitz. I really look forward to slowing down and taking time to look at the daily changes. Although I’ve spent more than 20 years studying fish and wetlands, that work tends to be busier and more hectic with lots of travel between different sites. Both the Great Lakes Bioblitz and the sucker monitoring I do for the Shedd Aquarium take me to Silver Creek Park in Manitowoc first thing in the morning five days a week to look for fish and other animals.
It is also a time of sounds, from the seasonally evolving chorus of birds to the splash of fish in the stream. There are two distinct fish splash sounds right now: the vigorous splashing of a couple spawning suckers and the “ploink” splash of a surface-feeding steelhead trout. Suckers spawn in shallow water with a single female and several males. There is a lot of thrashing with fins and tails often breaking the surface. This year I’ve been alerted to the presence of suckers more than once by their splashing spawning activities. Thanks friends, I might have missed you otherwise.
The other sound is from the trout in Silver Creek—that cheerful little “ploink” splash of a feeding steelhead smolt. The creek is one of the stocking locations where the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources plants two types of rainbow trout (also called “steelhead” because they run to the ocean/lake like salmon and get very silvery). The two types (strains) of steelhead are Ganaraska and Chambers Creek, both from Pacific drainages in the western United States. They are stocked as yearlings, and typically thousands of each type are released.
Trout lilies. Image credit: Titus Seilheimer, Wisconsin Sea Grant
You know when steelhead show up because they vigorously feed on the surface. They tend to sit in the deeper pools, facing upstream, swimming just enough to stay in place until they shoot to the surface to gulp down some unsuspecting bug. These stocked trout will head to Lake Michigan and grow big until they return to Silver Creek as adults to spawn. (You can see a pair of spawning steelhead in this video.) Steelhead are popular with anglers on the lake, but people can also catch them in the stream when they return to spawn—no boat required.
As a monitor for the Shedd Aquariums sucker monitoring program, I visit Silver Creek every day. Volunteers go to the same part of the stream and stand for 10 minutes looking for and then counting white suckers. Our monitoring station will contribute to a larger project that looks at suckers in Lake Michigan from Illinois to Door County and also on Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan.
Water temperature is an important cue for suckers to know that it is time to move upstream from Lake Michigan to their spawning areas. This project will teach us more about how these cues might differ along a south to north gradient and be an important dataset in documenting the changes that climate disruption is causing to the natural world.
Coming out of winter, I value the time I spend watching the stream and looking for fish. I also get to watch the yellow trout lilies emerge and bloom, followed by the wild onions, mayapples and trillium. Sometimes there’s a muskrat or mink saying hello. Spring is a beautiful time to get outside and slowly watch the season!
The post Slowing down for science first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/slowing-down-for-science/
Human engineering solves age-old problems each day.
But the natural environment has been engineering solutions to solve problems for thousands of years. People are catching on.
The post Nature has clues to solve environmental problems first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/05/09/nature-has-clues-to-solve-environmental-problems/
By Zach Lassen
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
This story is from Planet Detroit’s Neighborhood Reporting Lab, where community reporters write about health and climate issues in their neighborhood. Neighborhood Reporting Lab is supported by the Americana and Kresge Foundations.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/meet-the-man-who-has-been-cleaning-the-rouge-river-for-35-years/
In its first early season forecast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that April’s record rainfall will probably lead to a moderate or large algal bloom in western Lake Erie. Though still highly variable, NOAA currently predicts this summer’s bloom will be at least a 4.5 and as high as a 7.5 on its 10-point severity scale. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-erie-bloom
Scientists have found evidence the flathead catfish—a species from the southern U.S. known for its huge size and monstrous appetite for fish—has established itself in the Thames River in southwestern Ontario. Read the full story by the CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-catfish-canada
Fifty-five years after Ohio’s Cuyahoga River last caught fire, its health continues to improve; but determining what prevention and cleanup practices are most effective remains difficult. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-cuyahoga-comeback
For the last four years, the Cleveland Water Alliance has launched computerized smart buoys in Lake Erie to monitor water conditions. The month of May marks the start of what they call their smart lake season. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-erie-buoys
$20 million will be pumped in to rebuild the crumbling breakwall on Sodus Bay in New York. The project will protect the shoreline from severe flooding, including communities who got slammed during the springs of 2017 and 2019. Read the full story by WHAM-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-sodus-breakwall
Lake whitefish is an important commercial fishery in Lake Erie and is culturally and economically important to local First Nations. Although Lake Erie’s population has declined in recent years due to poor survival during their first year of life, fishery biologists have shown that the Detroit River is an important source for young lake whitefish. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-whitefish-recruitment
At their height, there were 30 U.S. naval militias but now there are only three; and New York’s is one of them. From protecting ship passengers during a cholera outbreak in 1892 to preventing flooding off Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in recent years, the militia has missions across the state’s coastline. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1 – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-naval-militia
In pursuit of a deeper understanding of the Great Lakes, a novice sailor embarked on a journey from Traverse City to the Atlantic Ocean and wrote a book detailing his adventure. Coinciding with a 20th Anniversary Edition of the book, the author discusses his work, and his hopes and concerns for the future of these waters. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-author-interview
A section of US-2 in Delta County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was recently damaged by high water, forcing officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation to close the road to all traffic. Emergency repairs will take two to three weeks. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-highway-damaged
A second fishery in Leelanau County, Michigan, has signed a compact committing to the use of 100 percent of each Great Lakes-caught fish. Read the full story by The Leelanau Ticker.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240508-fish-pledge
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202404
Trolling for muskie in the St. Louis River. Image credit: Todd Furo
Between the Fond du Lac Dam and Minnesota and Wisconsin points, the St. Louis River Estuary is becoming a destination for many types of water recreation. Thanks to pollution remedies and controls combined with habitat restoration, the river is cleaner than it has been in decades.
Despite these improvements, there are still safety hazards people should consider before recreating in the estuary. Whether people swim, paddle, hunt waterfowl, fish, sail or pleasure cruise on the river, local partners including the St. Louis River Area of Concern Coordinators and Sea Grant Programs in Minnesota and Wisconsin offer a web page with tips for appropriate precautions.
A shorter, “quick tips” fact sheet with similar information can be downloaded from here.
“We receive a lot of inquiries from people who want to know if it’s safe to swim in the estuary now,” said Barb Huberty, St. Louis River Area of Concern coordinator with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “I reached out to the Sea Grant programs for help because of their community connections and communications expertise. We worked since last fall to gather input on what should be included in the fact sheet and web page from various water safety and harbor groups, and we are happy to have compiled information to give people.”
The text was written by Kelsey Prihoda, Great Lakes transportation extension educator with Minnesota Sea Grant. Editing and design services were provided by Wisconsin Sea Grant, which also distributes the information.
The post Heading for the St. Louis River? Local groups offer water safety tips first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/heading-for-the-st-louis-river-local-groups-offer-water-safety-tips/
Jerry Dennis wasn’t seeking adventure when as a novice sailor he joined a veteran captain and crew to sail from Traverse City to the Atlantic Ocean. He was looking for a deeper understanding of the Great Lakes, but adventure found him.
Similarly, he wasn’t seeking notoriety when he wrote The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas, which was based on the sailing adventure.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/michigan-author-reflects-on-20th-anniversary-of-landmark-book-the-living-great-lakes/
Fifty-five years after the Cuyahoga River last caught fire, its health continues to improve.
But determining what prevention and cleanup practices are most effective remains difficult.
The post Cuyahoga comeback: Remediation is working but it’s hard to measure first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/05/08/cuyahoga-comeback-remediation-is-working-but-its-hard-to-measure/
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
Current watches, warnings, and advisories for Brown County (WIC009) WI
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.1457631cbf0a1f726759a05839f58526fd9d6b30.001.1.cap
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Walking around Traverse City, it’s hard to miss the yard signs with a smiling cartoon bee proclaiming “No Mow May.”
The signs are part of a conservation initiative aimed at raising awareness of how lawn care can impact pollinators and plant life.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/no-mow-may-grows-in-traverse-city/
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
https://noaaglerl.blog/2024/05/07/award-winning-science-celebrating-public-service-recognition-week-during-glerls-50th-year/
This story is a part of “A Year in the Wild Kitchen of the Great Lakes,” a series in partnership with expert forager Lisa M. Rose with the mission of nurturing a deeper connection with the natural world through foraging.
As spring unfolds its vibrant hues, what better way to celebrate the season than by embracing the often overlooked splendor of dandelions and violets?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/foragings-spring-backyard-splendor-dandelions-and-violets/
A Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision that upheld the state’s first ordinance requiring bird-friendly building construction could spread similar policies to other cities.
Already Middleton, Wisconsin, has passed such an ordinance following the ruling last October, said Brenna Marsicek, director of outreach at the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance.
The post Wisconsin court case paves way for bird-friendly buildings first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2024/05/07/wisconsin-court-case-paves-way-for-bird-friendly-buildings/
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.
Lake whitefish is an important commercial fishery in Lake Erie and is culturally and economically important to local First Nations.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/great-lakes-moment-detroit-rivers-important-role-in-lake-whitefish/
On May 3, Great Lakes surface waters were very close to beating the 2012 record for all-time warmest water. It can be expected that the lakes will be warmer than normal throughout the summer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-water-temps
New York native Robert Gioia has been confirmed to the International Joint Commission (IJC), which was established by the Boundary Treaty of 1909 to prevent and resolve disputes over the U.S. and Canada’s shared waterways, including the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by the Finger Lakes Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-ijc-commissioner
Parks Canada broke ground on Saturday on the new Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area Administration and Visitors Centre. The center is being constructed on the Nipigon Marina and will allow visitors to learn about some of the things Parks Canada does to keep the big lake healthy. Read the full story by SN News Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-lake-superior-national-marine-conservation-area
In 2019, the state of Illinois confirmed what advocates had long suspected, coal ash from the Waukegan Generating Station had leached into nearby groundwater right next to Lake Michigan. Plans were submitted to clean up the operation, but those plans are still on hold. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-coal-ash
The Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener took place on Saturday and anglers were eagerly waiting to drop a line, hoping to reel in trout, bass, walleye and muskie. But the state’s unseasonably warm winter may have had an effect on fish hatch for some species. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240505-spring-fishing-mn
