There are 55 lighthouses along Wisconsin’s shores, the majority dating back to the 1800s. For centuries, the beacons of light ensured the safe passage of ships crossing the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Up North News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231208-wisconsin-lighthouses
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s plans to generate all of Michigan’s energy from renewable sources by 2040 may have positive and negative consequences for the state’s waters. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231208-energy-plan
There are multiple ways PFAS can be absorbed by beef, dairy, poultry, and fish, including by sewage sludge that has been contaminated with PFAS and applied to the land as fertilizer. Ground and surface water can act as another source for PFAS contamination. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231208-pfas-contamination
Engineers will install more defenses to keep invasive fish from getting past a crucial choke point at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam along the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois. The plan includes using noisemakers, a bubble curtain, an electric barrier, and flushing lock. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231208-invasive-carp
DTE Energy and The Nature Conservancy have partnered to remove close to 150 acres of invasive phragmites on the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant property in Newport, Michigan. The large, perennial reeds found in wetlands are putting the Great Lakes at risk. Read the full story by Monroe Evening News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231208-phragmites-removal
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202311
By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue
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/2023/12/will-energy-from-manure-help-or-harm-water-quality-in-michigan/
Euan Reavie presents at River Talks. Image credit: Michael Anderson
Harmful algal blooms are becoming more of a concern in the St. Louis River Estuary and Lake Superior. The reasons behind this were described during the November River Talk by Euan Reavie, senior research associate at the University of Minnesota’s Natural Resources Research Institute.
Harmful algal blooms, also known as HABs, appear as mats of bright green algae that float on the surface of the water or sometimes lay on the bottoms of large rivers or lakes. Not all algal blooms are toxic, but some are, and scientists are looking into what triggers the release of toxins in the blooms.
“Based on anecdotal and real observations, it does seem to be something that’s getting worse in Western Lake Superior,” Reavie said. “Whoever thought we’d be getting algal blooms out in the nutrient-poor waters of Lake Superior, making their way all the way up to the Apostle Islands?”
Water quality in the St. Louis River has improved over the years thanks to sanitary sewer districts coming online in Duluth and Superior in the 1970s, environmental regulations, and cleanup efforts. However, excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen are still of concern and are a focus of attention from management agencies.
Reavie’s research team came into the picture in the early 2010s when they were asked to research nutrient levels in hopes of confirming that they were decreasing. They collected sediment samples (cores) to reconstruct the history of nutrients in the estuary. The scientists analyzed the samples for different types of fossil algae, which offer signals about what types of nutrients were available in the past because different algae species prefer different levels of nutrients.
Diatoms are the most abundant type of algae in the Western Lake Superior system. Reavie showed how the assemblages of these species changed after European settlement and after water cleanup efforts in the 1970s.
Over the past several years, algae blooms have been noted along the shore of Lake Superior near Cornucopia, Wisconsin, and in the estuary at Barker’s Island and Allouez Bay. Reavie said that sediment samples from the present day in sheltered bays like Allouez Bay show diatom species that like high levels of nutrients. He said the data show a “fairly consistent” increase in phosphorus in the system. “Not good news for the bays in the estuary,” he said.
The team also found cyanopigments in the samples, which indicate recent increases in algae. “There appear to be some new problems in these nearshore areas despite the fact that we’ve reduced the flux of nutrients into the system. Something new is going on here,” Reavie said.
One culprit could be more intense storms due to climate change. Storms wash a lot of nutrients from the land into the water and then the currents carry them through the estuary and harbor, and out into Lake Superior along its South Shore.
“Just knowing that the blooms tend to follow storms is not enough. There’s probably a seasonal aspect to all this, as well,” he said. Warmth is one factor, but Reavie said there have also been algae blooms under the ice. Low dissolved oxygen levels in water could be another factor, resulting in a chemical reaction that releases stored nutrients in sediments.
His team has begun developing an early warning system to sort out what is going on. It involves incorporating weather data, water quality data and algae data from eight stations in the estuary. They hope to offer initial findings at the March 2024 St. Louis River Summit.
For more information, visit the team’s website.
The next River Talk is scheduled for March 13, 2024. Brandon Krumwide with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will present, “What Lies Below? Underwater Mapping of the Great Lakes,” at 6:30 p.m. in the Lake Superior Estuarium (3 Marina Drive, Superior, Wisconsin).
The post Understanding harmful algal blooms in the St. Louis River Estuary presents challenges first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/understanding-harmful-algal-blooms-in-the-st-louis-river-estuary-presents-challenges/
An announcement was made earlier this week that the EPA wants to get rid of lead pipes that provide drinking water within the next decade. However, the EPA mandate makes an exception for places where it would be almost impossible to replace all of the lead pipes within 10 years, including Chicago. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-lead-pipes
Stand Up for Great Lakes, a group of three men who’ve paddle boarded across all of five of the Great Lakes, said on Tuesday they have donated $25,200 to the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-stand-up-for-great-lakes
The Army Corps of Engineers is set to start building a barrier near Chicago to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes next October. But Illinois still has not signed a Project Partnership agreement that would make it responsible for problems that arise such as environmental cleanups. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-invasive-carp-barrier
A pair of filmmakers who spent two years shooting footage for a documentary about invasive mussels in the Great Lakes accidentally discovered a 128-year-old shipwreck that vanished in 1895.The wreck is believed to be the Africa, which disappeared in 1895. Read the full story by Business Insider.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-lake-huron-shipwreck
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Friday that officials caught 296 silver carp, 23 grass carp and four bighead carp in what the agency called the largest single capture of invasive carp in Minnesota to date. DNR staff think it is likely the fish moved upstream and didn’t hatch in Minnesota waters. Read the full story by WCCO-TV – Minneapolis, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-invasive-carp
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to generate all of Michigan’s energy from renewable sources by 2040 is meant to limit climate change gases. But the development of a new renewable energy sector to produce methane from liquid manure produced by large livestock feeding operations, also has consequences on the state’s waters. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-manure-energy
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Office of Coastal Management has launched two new online resources to help Ohioans and visitors discover publicly accessible parklands and protected lands along Ohio’s 312-mile Lake Erie shore and along the major rivers that flow into the lake. Read the full story by The Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-erie-shoreline-map
Ohio Rep. Dave Joyce introduced a bill to reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act through 2028. The bill would develop and coordinate effective responses to harmful algal blooms and monitor the blooms. Read the full story by the Star Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-hab-bill
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers say a critical bridge between the bordering states on Lake Superior needs to be replaced. Their transportation departments have requested over $1 billion in federal funding to rebuild the John A. Blatnik Bridge, which connects Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231206-blatnik-bridge
Application deadline: January 15, 2024 | Download PDF
The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) has an immediate opening for a geographic information system (GIS) specialist. This person will work under the direction of the GIS project manager to support projects involving mapping and geospatial analysis. The primary focus of this position will be to support GLC’s work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other partners to gather, update and curate data to support planning and response activities under the Oil Pollution Act. A smaller proportion of time will be dedicated to supporting projects related to other priority areas included in the GLC’s strategic plan, such as aquatic invasive species and water quality.
The GIS specialist will be responsible for a variety of activities including the acquisition of data from federal, state, provincial and nongovernmental sources throughout the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region; the creation and editing of geospatial data in the ESRI GIS environment; data analysis; the production of maps, charts, graphs and written reports; and the publication of data through online mapping services and web-based map viewers.
Specific responsibilities include:
Applicants should possess a bachelor’s degree in geography, data science, natural resources, or another related field with exposure to GIS applications, or an equivalent amount of work experience, and the following qualifications:
The ideal candidate will also bring one or more of the following skills and experience to the position:
Position Classification
The position is classified as full-time, limited term as defined by the GLC’s personnel policies. The appointment term is one year with the potential to extend based on mutual interest and continued funding availability. The desired starting time for this position is February 2024.
Compensation and Benefits
The salary for this position is $56,000 for one year. The position is eligible for certain benefits, including leave time, flexible and telework schedules, and medical, dental and vision insurance.
Work Environment
The location for this position is the GLC office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A partial telework schedule may be considered under the GLC’s flexible schedule and telework policy.
Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume stating their interest in and qualifications for the position in a single e-mail to vacancy@glc.org. Please use the subject line “Vacancy: GIS.” All required items must be provided for an application to receive consideration. No phone calls, please.
The Great Lakes Commission 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.
Equal Opportunity Employer
The Great Lakes Commission strives to create an inclusive, diverse and non-discriminatory workplace. The Great Lakes Commission is an equal opportunity employer; the Great Lakes Commission complies with applicable federal, state and local laws prohibiting discrimination. It is Great Lakes Commission policy that no person shall be discriminated against, as an employee or applicant for employment, because of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/news/position-available-gis-specialist-2023
Application deadline: April 15, 2024 | Download PDF
The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) has an immediate opening for a financial operations specialist to assist with administrative and financial duties for the GLC. The GLC manages dozens of federal and nonfederal grants and contracts, ranging in size from $10,000 to $10 million. A significant portion of this funding is passed through to local partners and contractors annually for habitat restoration, invasive species prevention and control, and nutrient reduction. This position will work under the direction of the financial operations manager, providing support for general financial operations and assisting other staff in financial administration of grants and contracts managed by the GLC.
The financial operations specialist will be responsible for various daily, monthly, and annual accounting activities, record keeping, establishing, and ensuring compliance to policies and procedures, conducting financial reconciliations and reports for grants and contracts, and other administrative tasks. In addition, the financial operations specialist will be responsible for improving coordination among the Commission’s financial, programmatic, and administrative operations by assisting staff with project budgeting and financial reporting.
Specific responsibilities include:
The ideal candidate will have a degree in accounting, finance, or business with some relevant work experience involving accounting, financial management, grant management, and administrative duties, and generally meet the following qualifications:
Position Classification and Compensation
The position is classified as regular, full-time as defined by the GLC’s personnel policies. The starting salary range for this position is $55,000 – $58,000 per year depending on education, skills, and experience. The GLC offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits, including leave time, flexible schedules, medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Work Environment
The location for this position is the GLC office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A partial telework schedule may be considered under the GLC’s flexible schedule and telework policy.
Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume stating their interest in and qualifications for the position in a single email to vacancy@glc.org. Please use the subject line “Vacancy: Finance.” All required items must be provided for an application to receive consideration. No phone calls, please.
The Great Lakes Commission 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.
Equal Opportunity Employer
The Great Lakes Commission strives to create an inclusive, diverse, and non-discriminatory workplace. The Great Lakes Commission is an equal opportunity employer; the Great Lakes Commission complies with applicable federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination. It is Great Lakes Commission policy that no person shall be discriminated against, as an employee or applicant for employment, because of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/news/position-available-financial-2024
A recent study discovered a fast evolution of coronavirus in free-ranging white-tailed deer throughout Ohio. It implied possible animal-to-human transmission.
The study, published this year in August, found that the virus SARS-CoV-2 was introduced from humans to white-tailed deer more than 30 times in Ohio from November 2021 to March 2022.
The post Ohio white-tailed deer get coronavirus – from people first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/12/06/ohio-white-tailed-deer-get-coronavirus-from-people/
By Siri Chilukuri, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist and was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. You can subscribe to Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
The announcement earlier this week — that the EPA wants to get rid of lead pipes that provide drinking water within the next decade — sounded like good news, especially in Chicago, which has the most lead water pipes of any city in the United States.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/the-epa-is-aiming-to-get-rid-of-lead-pipes-in-10-years-but-not-in-chicago/
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.
Southwest Detroit has long been known for its heavy industry.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/great-lakes-moment-creating-a-green-oasis-in-southwest-detroit/
Sea Grant staff learned more about aquaponics from a tour of the Superior Fresh facility in Wisconsin. Here they stand in front of some Atlantic salmon being readied for market. From left to right: Sharon Moen, Jenna Mertz, Marie Zhuikov, Emma Hauser. Image credit: Kyle Woolever, Superior Fresh.
Superior Fresh knows what it takes to raise fish on land and plants in water.
The aquaponics business, located on 800 acres of rolling woodland and prairie in Hixton, Wisconsin, has been raising Atlantic salmon and growing salad greens in its indoor facilities since 2017. The business reports it’s the largest of its kind in the world, producing 1.5 million pounds of salmon per year plus organic-certified salad greens.
It’s a big operation, and one I had the chance to tour in late October with a small group from Wisconsin Sea Grant that included Sharon Moen, food-fish outreach coordinator; Emma Hauser, aquaculture outreach and education specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant and the UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF); and Marie Zhuikov, fellow science communicator.
It was good opportunity for me, a newcomer to Sea Grant and the world of aquaculture, to learn more about fish farming and Superior Fresh’s recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). Wisconsin Sea Grant supports aquaculture research, including Hauser’s work in outreach, education and workforce development at NADF. Many of the interns NADF hosts go on to work at Superior Fresh—a fact evidenced by all the friendly faces Hauser recognized during our tour.
After pulling plastic coverings over our shoes (which required some artful hopping on my part), we followed Kyle Woolever, director of operations and a UW-Stevens Point graduate, as he showed us around the facility, which recently experienced a 60,000-square-foot expansion. He explained that the building houses half a million fish, all of which are reared in and transferred between tanks based on fish size and stage of lifecycle. Salmon are raised from egg to market size—which is about 10 pounds in just over two years.
All those fish, of course, require a constant flow of water. Gesturing toward the big tanks, Woolever talked about the water footprint of the facility.
“Two small wells are raising all of what you’re going to see on 50 [gallons per minute],” he said. (Residential wells pump between five and 10 gallons per minute.)
How does Superior Fresh raise salmon using relatively little water? The answer is their RAS, which includes high-tech equipment and monitoring to effectively clean and recycle the water throughout the facility. This water is also used in the greenhouse, where leafy greens further remove the nutrients they need to grow. The water then returns to the fish, and the cycle restarts.
Superior Fresh captures all wastewater from the production system by irrigating over 50 acres of native grasses and alfalfa, while operating with zero wastewater discharge. The grasses and alfalfa are cut and baled several times annually and are used by local farmers for cattle bedding. The business also uses other regenerative farming practices, such as creating a soil amendment from digested fish manure, which can be injected into fields before planting.
After touring the aquaculture facility, Woolever led us to the greenhouse, where the thrum of churning water faded to the quiet sound of plants photosynthesizing. It’s here where the nutrient-rich fish water fuels the growth of Superior Fresh’s organic salad greens.
Entering the greenhouse was an arresting sight. Rows of white rafts filled with lettuce, kale, mustard, arugula and sorrel floated in long tanks of water. Sam Heward, greenhouse manager, explained how plants make a linear journey from one side of “the pond” to the other. Baby greens spend about three weeks on the water before harvest.
The greenhouse is warm and bright and, we joke, the perfect place to be in winter. And it’s not just plants and humans that enjoy the summer-like conditions.
“It’s a perfect environment for plants,” said Heward, “which makes it also a perfect environment for [plant] diseases.”
The team is vigilant about watching for root disease and will change varieties or flush the tank if problems arise.
By the end of the tour, it was clear that Superior Fresh is working so that Atlantic salmon don’t have to be airfreighted across oceans from Chile or northern Europe—they can come from your local community—and greens don’t have to be grown thousands of miles away in sun-soaked states. In other words, they’re successfully forging another way to eat Wisconsin fish (with a side of salad).
The post A peek inside Superior Fresh first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/a-peek-inside-superior-fresh/
Canada is turning to Indigenous fire safety knowledge after record wildfires raged across the country last summer.
“One big issue with Indigenous services is there’s a gap,” Lazare said. “What we are doing is closing that gap to make sure First Nations are included.”
The post Indigenous firefighters lead fire safety efforts after record Canadian wildfires first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/12/05/indigenous-firefighters-lead-fire-safety-efforts-after-record-canadian-wildfires/
Twenty-four animals were turned in at an exotic pet surrender event at the Ledgeview Nature Center in Calumet County on Sunday December 3rd. Included in the surrenders were a blue-tongue skink, two bearded dragons, 18 guinea pigs, a chameleon and two yellow bellied sliders!
Area organizations were on hand accepting fish, invertebrates, reptiles, pet birds, small mammals, and plants — no questions asked.
In some areas, there are no rehoming options for exotic animals such as fish, birds, and reptiles. Some pet owners that are unable to care for their pet may think that releasing the animal is the right thing to do, however, releasing a pet is harmful for the animal and the environment. Pet Surrender events are now being held across Wisconsin help provide an avenue to pet owners to rehome pets without harming the pet or the environment.
There are multiple places that are currently tackling issues from illegally released domestic and exotic animals. The most well known 
example are the Burmese pythons that have had an enormous impact on the Everglades in Florida. However, multiple cases of released pets causing problems in our waters occur every year including an alligator found on the shores of Lake Michigan just a few weeks ago! Released pets can easily become nuisance or invasive species if they start a breeding population.
The Pet Surrender event brought together a collection of area rehoming partners that provide responsible alternatives to release for exotic pet owners who are no longer able to care for their pets. J&R Aquatic Animal Rescue (JRAAR) hosted the December 3rd th event with help from the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance and University of Wisconsin Sea Grant/Water Resources Institutes.
Want to learn more about the Pet Surrender Network? Visit the J&R Aquatic Animal Rescue website at www.jraar.org.
Photo Credit: J&R Aquatic Animal Rescue
Questions? Comments? Contact Chris Acy, the AIS Coordinator covering Brown, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties at (920) 460-3674 or chris@fwwa.org!
Follow the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Winnebago Waterways Facebook page or @WinnWaterways on X! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.
Check out the Keepers of the Fox Program at https://fwwa.org/watershed-recovery/lower-fox-recovery/
Winnebago Waterways and Keepers of the Fox are Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance programs. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization working to protect and restore water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.
Reporting invasive species is a first step in containing their spread. Maintaining and restoring our waters and landscapes can reduce the impacts even when we don’t have other management options to an invasive species.
The post 24 Exotic Pets Rehomed Following Event in Chilton appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2023/12/04/24-exotic-pets-rehomed-following-event-in-chilton/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=24-exotic-pets-rehomed-following-event-in-chilton
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/see-a-bear-den-the-michigan-dnr-wants-to-know-about-it/
Michigan’s three-person Public Service Commission approved a $500 million plan Friday to encase a portion of an aging oil pipeline in a protective tunnel that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes, leaving just one more regulatory hurdle for the contentious project. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-pipeline-tunnel-approved
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation this week to make manoomin – wild rice – the state’s official native grain. The keystone aquatic plant with special importance to Indigenous peoples is now a Michigan state symbol just like the Petoskey stone and white pine tree. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-state-grain
Researchers at the Large Lakes Observatory at University of Minnesota Duluth say Lake Superior has warmed one degree per decade since the 1980s, making it one of the fastest-warming lakes in the world. Read the full story by WCCO-TV – Minneapolis, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-lake-warming
The Michigan Department of Transportation has been awarded $10,000,000 in federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding to build a new passenger ferry between Charlevoix and Beaver Island, Michigan. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-ferry-funding
A 13-year-old Champion, New York, resident started an educational YouTube channel about maritime history along the Great Lakes, which has been well received by thousands of followers. You can check out his work on his YouTube channel, Top Impressive Line. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Carthage, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-maritime-youtube-channel
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is urging caution around Great Lakes piers and breakwaters, especially during high winds and waves. One USACE official explains that it is more dangerous to wander out on to the piers this time of year. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-pier-warning
State and federal agencies have spent millions of dollars to stop the spread of invasive carp still threatening the health of Great Lakes waters. Tools used to control invasive carp are varied but include electric barriers, walls of bubbles and underwater speakers used to net large numbers of carp. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-carp-control
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, dubbed the “Christmas Tree Ship,” stopped on its way to Chicago, where trees are donated to families in need, to return an anchor unintentionally recovered from the 1895 Lake Michigan shipwreck of the schooner Kate Kelly. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-anchor-returned
Near Belle Isle, Michigan, the commercial vessel Barbro G became stuck in the Detroit River on November 27 while carrying 21,000 tons of wheat to Montreal, Québec. It took three tugs from Great Lakes Towing to refloat this 2010-built ship from the mud. Read the full story by Riviera Maritime Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-ship-refloat
The author of two editions of Great Lakes Water Wars released a new book that touches on recycling wastewater for drinking water. The author readily acknowledges the controversy and dissent but says the push behind wastewater transformation is driven by the need for water conservation in many areas of the country. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231204-water-book-published
December 4, 2023
By Marie Zhuikov
A new report published by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that Wisconsin’s rural residents perceived significant risks to water quality from pesticides, PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) and excess nutrients. They also ranked water as very or extremely important for supporting wildlife and for hunting and fishing, in addition to home uses such as drinking and cleaning.
These findings regarding groundwater and surface water are based on a study by UW-Madison professors, including Michael Cardiff via a research project funded by the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute. The report, entitled, “Rural Resident Perceptions of Wisconsin’s Waters” is available for free download.
As part of a larger project, Cardiff, associate professor of geoscience, and his interdisciplinary team surveyed 1,500 randomly selected households across 16 counties in Wisconsin. They received 481 responses.
Cardiff was struck by the importance water held for rural interests in hunting and fishing. “If we’re talking with rural users about why they might want to protect their water, speaking in that natural reference frame about impacts on fish and wildlife might resonate.”
The finding about the “forever chemicals,” PFAS, surprised Cardiff. “People might just be hearing about this through the media and so it’s something they’re worried about even though it might not be as important as other contaminants in rural settings,” he said. “We usually think of dangerous concentrations of PFAS being associated with industrial operations or airports.”
The survey also contained questions regarding water supply, but respondents had fewer concerns regarding this issue. Cardiff agrees with that assessment. “I would generally say we’re in a good place in Wisconsin on water supply. We tend to have more issues with flooding than we do with not being able to reach water,” he said.
However, Cardiff expects water pollution and water supply to become more important in the future as the Upper Midwest is touted as a climate haven and more people move here.
Rural residents were also surveyed about how they get their news about water. “Rural residents don’t get a lot of news about their water, or at least they don’t report getting a lot of news. The most cited sources of information were local news or friends and family, but even use of those sources was quite low,” Cardiff said.
Respondents ranked other sources of information more trustworthy than local news or their friends. This included UW scientists, research organizations and private well testers. But rural residents don’t report hearing from them very often.
Cardiff expects the report to be useful for state legislators and water regulatory agencies. Collaborating with him on it were UW student Catherine Christenson; Ken Genskow, professor of planning and landscape architecture; and Bret Shaw, associate professor of life sciences communication.
The post Wisconsin’s rural residents concerned about water quality first appeared on WRI.News Release | WRI
https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/wisconsins-rural-residents-concerned-about-water-quality/
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/humans-ncei-chris-guiterman
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126671BACC70.SpecialWeatherStatement.126671BBFEB0WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126671BA522C.SpecialWeatherStatement.126671BB1450WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126671AE4888.SpecialWeatherStatement.126671BA9F20WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126671ADB030.WinterWeatherAdvisory.126671AE4310WI.GRBWSWGRB.3510595e5521bd7315fbe2c4ca1bcceb
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126671ADA6D0.SpecialWeatherStatement.126671AE1C00WI.GRBSPSGRB.54e5ef070b45e49081402cfe9ce09122
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126671AD6AA8.WinterWeatherAdvisory.126671AE4310WI.GRBWSWGRB.8434b5a2afdf8f098bb802308397dcc7
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126671AC5168.WinterWeatherAdvisory.126671AE4310WI.GRBWSWGRB.8434b5a2afdf8f098bb802308397dcc7
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126671AB70CC.SpecialWeatherStatement.126671ACBC70WI.GRBSPSGRB.12836ff42189e36c58ee4edf4d077ff2
Author Peter Annin is known for tackling big issues.
Annin directs the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation at Northland College in Wisconsin and he made his mark on water with two editions of Great Lakes Water Wars, chronicling the threat of diverting water from the Great Lakes to arid areas and how the region responded.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/wisconsin-author-touches-third-rail-of-drinking-water-issues-in-new-book/
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/2023/12/michigan-regulators-approve-key-permit-for-enbridge-line-5-tunnel/
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.
The beginning of “Climate Sisu” is familiar — footage of trash floating in the ocean, aerial views of dry earth, and heat maps of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/documentary-explores-climate-resilience-in-northern-michigan/
Residents of major Great Lakes cities, including Lansing, are using less water, a trend that has economic, societal and environmental implications, a new study found.
And the relationship between per capita water use and socioeconomic factors such as income and race may prove significant as policymakers address inequities in the distribution and affordability of water
The post Water consumption drops in Great Lake cities, study finds first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/12/01/water-consumption-drops-in-great-lake-cities-study-finds/
