The federal government is on track to underfund the mega-project to build a new lock at the Soo for the second year in a row, which could potentially force delays of when the project is completed and further balloon its price tag beyond $3.2 billion. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230705-soolocks-slowfunding
More than 50 boat landing events are planned across the state to as part of the 10th annual Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Landing Blitz, in which local partners give boaters tips to prevent the spread of invasive species and comply with recently updated laws for recreational boating. Read the full story by WHMI – Brighton, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230705-aquaticinvasivespecies-landingblitz
After more than 50 years on the water, the state of Michigan’s first research vessel is finally gearing up for retirement. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230705-mi-boat-farewelltour
After a three-year absence, the crew of the S.S. Badger is bringing back overnight voyages across Lake Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230705-lakemichigan-carferry-sailing
Birdwatchers flocked to Euclid Beach Park early Saturday afternoon to catch a rare glimpse of a Pacific-based gull not known to frequent Cleveland’s freshwater coast. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230705-westcoastgull-cleveland-euclidbeach
From toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes to sewage pouring into Detroit basements to choking wildfire smoke that drifted south from Canada, Michigan has been contending with the fallout from climate change. Historically, Michigan has been resistant to environmental regulations in the manufacturing industry, but that could soon change. Read the full story by The New York Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230705-climatelaggard-america-greatlakes
Aquatic Sciences Center systems engineer James Grandt is a fixer.
“A lot of people don’t like problems,” said Grandt. “I like problems to solve. Give me something, I’ll figure it out.”
James “Frizby” Grandt kneels next to one of the remotely operated vehicles he assembled. Image credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant
Grandt, nicknamed “Frizby” for his love of disc golf and freestyle disc, retires in August after 25 years of service to the Aquatic Sciences Center and 36 total years to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. An Air Force veteran and electrical and computer engineer by training, he has worked on and fielded questions about the many technologies that help us do our jobs, from computer hardware and software to data storage systems and research instrumentation.
Notable projects include updating the conference room to touch panel controls, supporting the Grandparents University outreach program, and helping create the web version of the popular Wisconsin Fish ID app.
Grandt also worked to bring Great Lakes science and technology to the public. He assembled remotely operated vehicles (known as ROVs) that both children and adults use to take photos and video of underwater environments and a touch screen kiosk about aquatic invasive species that now lives at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
In short, if it’s got wires and goes through walls, if it’s got buttons and beeps and boops, Grandt will take a crack at it.
“That’s what I like about the job,” he said. “I don’t do the same thing every day. Always something different.”
Prior to the Aquatic Sciences Center, Grandt worked with the Department of Geoscience as an instrumentation specialist and helped develop a 4-channel digital sonar system to estimate how much biomass—or as Grandt describes it, “fish food and fish”—floated in the water column. He participated in research cruises on the Great Lakes, Gulf Stream and Bay of Fundy. One harrowing trip found him aboard a naval research ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
“We had lost propulsion in the Gulf Stream, and a large tropical storm was somewhere in the Atlantic,” said Grandt. Massive waves pounded the boat, stripping off equipment the crew had welded to the deck.
“Everything was gone when the storm was over. We rode it for 12 hours…but we survived.”
Risky voyages have been a theme throughout his life. When Grandt was 15, he and a friend biked 1,200 miles roundtrip from their home in Edgerton, Wisconsin to Thunder Bay, Canada. No helmets, no panniers—just two 10-speed bikes with a little bag to hold their tent and basic supplies. They camped at campgrounds and waysides, alternating who called home each night. They made the whole trip in around 14 days.
So, what’s next? Grandt has plans for an active retirement, one filled with travel (Vietnam and Thailand are already on the list), spending time with grandkids and getting outside. He enjoys canoeing, fishing, skiing and hiking—and may even return to Thunder Bay with his childhood friend, this time with a helmet and an e-bike.
After decades of fixing our problems, Frizby will leave us with one he can’t solve: we’ll miss him.
The post After 25 years, problem-solver-in-chief James “Frizby” Grandt retires first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/after-25-years-problem-solver-in-chief-james-frizby-grandt-retires/
Michigan’s return rate on bottles and cans, which stood at nearly 89 percent before the pandemic, has plummeted below 76 percent.
The post Michigan bottle return rate fell after pandemic ban. Would price hike help? first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/07/05/michigan-bottle-return-rate-fell-after-pandemic-ban-would-price-hike-help/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126653EFB354.AirQualityAlert.126653FCCA80WI.GRBAQAGRB.a72ac70df0c0cf4d1087346d4ec7d2a1
Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Alison Vilag pays attention for a living.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/points-north-birds-of-paradise/
Green Bay, WI
https://www.weather.gov/www.weather.gov/grb/070594_CooperstownTornado
Green Bay, WI
https://www.weather.gov/www.weather.gov/grb/070594_CooperstownTornado
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126653EE386C.AirQualityAlert.126653F02050WI.GRBAQAGRB.a72ac70df0c0cf4d1087346d4ec7d2a1
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126653E0CBB4.AirQualityAlert.126653EE4B90WI.GRBAQAGRB.a72ac70df0c0cf4d1087346d4ec7d2a1
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.
A business case is a document that outlines whether a project is worth undertaking.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/great-lakes-moment-a-business-case-for-the-great-lakes-way/
Massasaugas strongly prefer small mammal prey, yet individuals occasionally consume other prey, including amphibians, reptiles and birds.
The post What do Michigan rattlers chow down? first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2023/07/03/what-do-michigan-rattlers-chow-down/
By Brett Walton, 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/2023/07/michigans-largest-water-provider-target-next-shutoffs/
Below are all products released by the Upper Midwest Water Science Center in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 (April 1, 2023 - June 20, 2023)
Wisconsin
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/upper-midwest-water-science-center/news/upper-midwest-water-science-center-products-1?utm_source=comms&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news
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/2023/06/lake-erie-harmful-algal-bloom-expected-smaller-average/
Wisconsin Water Library
https://waterlibrary.aqua.wisc.edu/underrepresented-groups-in-nature-history/
Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.
Earlier this year, a group of Michigan scientists published a study in The Journal of Great Lakes Research entitled “Extant mat microbes synchronize vertical migration to a diel tempo.”
Got that?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/science-says-what-bacteria-lake-huron-sinkhole-daily-tango/
Researchers are predicting a smaller-than-average harmful algal bloom for western Lake Erie this year, thanks largely to a dry spring. Read the full story by the Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-bloom-perdiction
Michigan and Illinois plan to spend a combined $114 million to stop the advancement of invasive carp into Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-invasive-carp
Chicago, IL (June 30, 2023) – This week the Michigan legislature approved $64 million in the appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024 to help fund construction of the Brandon Road project designed to keep invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. When combined with the $50 million approved by Illinois, these funds cover the $114 million required for the local cost share. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also has $226 million available, which is enough federal funding to complete preconstruction, engineering and design and pay the federal share for the first year of construction. However, the state of Illinois still needs to sign a Project Partnership Agreement with the Corps to unlock these federal funds and keep the project moving.
Established populations of invasive carp are only 50 miles from Chicago and Lake Michigan, and earlier this month a bighead carp weighing 109 pounds was caught during the Upper Illinois Waterway’s Invasive Carp control program near Morris, Ill. That was after a 90-pound fish was caught just a day before.
The Alliance for the Great Lakes COO and Vice President for Programs Molly Flanagan said:
“Invasive carp pose a serious threat to the ecological health of the Great Lakes and the people and economies these waters support, including the region’s $7 billion fishing and $16 billion recreational boating industries.
We are pleased that Michigan and Illinois have joined together to fund the local share of the Brandon Road project designed to keep Invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. All the local funding is now in place to pay for the construction of the project. We urge the state of Illinois to sign the Project Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as soon as possible so that this critical work can continue uninterrupted.”
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Media contact: Please connect with our media team at TeamGreatLakes@mrss.com.
The post Michigan & Illinois Funding Is Welcome Step toward Construction of Invasive Carp Barrier appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2023/06/michigan-illinois-funding-is-welcome-step-toward-construction-of-invasive-carp-barrier/
The intense drought that hit the region for May and much of June helped keep Lake Superior from rising its usual amount in June. The International Lake Superior Board of Control said the big lake’s water level remained unchanged in June, a month it usually goes up by nearly 3 inches. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-superior-drought
As the effects of climate change become harder to ignore, there’s not a place on the planet that won’t feel an impact. However, Michigan will see comparatively fewer issues related to high temperatures, water access, and economic instability. Read the full story by CBS News Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-climate-haven
With threats of spying impacting some naval operations, the Defense Department is thinking about safer locations for some of its most sensitive testing and scientific programs. One idea is to place them away from ocean coasts in the less-vulnerable American Midwest along the Great Lakes. Read the full story by gCaptain.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-naval
Visitors and their pets are advised to avoid the waters of Michigan’s inland Swan Lake after health officials received positive test results for suspected algae blooms, according to Allegan County Health Department. Read the full story by WWMT-TV – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-allegan-algae
Three municipalities in Illinois, Oswego, Montgomery and Yorkville, are funding an engineering design project for the pipeline that will bring Lake Michigan water to the three communities. Read the full story by the Shaw Local.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-lake-pipeline
Initially rejecting NRG’s plan to close two coal ash ponds at its Waukegan electrical generating plant adjacent to Lake Michigan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awaiting public comment and further study before making a final decision. Read the full story by the Lake County News-Sun.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-coal-ash
This year when volunteer cleaners arrived at the White Shoal lighthouse in northern Lake Michigan, they were met with a bumper crop of dead flies known as midges, which had piled up so thick on the lighthouse’s deck that they had to be shoveled off. Read the full story by MLive.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-lighthouse-midges
Technology has changed the navigation tools for foggy weather on Milwaukee’s lakeshore over the decades. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230630-foghorn
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/june-2023-regional-climate-impacts-and-outlooks
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12664F843BDC.AirQualityAlert.12664F865D90WI.GRBAQAGRB.95772b461ecdeafcc9c0642321d118ec
Eat Your Heartland Out is a Taste Awards nominated program about the intersection of food and culture in the American Midwest. The show is produced by the Heritage Radio Network, a leader in culinary audio storytelling and distributed on the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), which provides content to public radio affiliates across the United States.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/eat-your-heartland-out-how-to-feed-great-lakes-freighter-crew/
Our wonderful water quality monitoring volunteers have kicked off the 2023 monitoring season!
Volunteers are monitoring sites located throughout the Winnebago Waterways Recovery Area. During the growing season, volunteers monitor once a month for physical, chemical, and biological data as part of the Winnebago Waterways Water Quality Monitoring Program. Their hard work and effort results in data that allows us to monitor the water quality from month to month and year to year. Already this season, they’ve faced dry, rainy, and smoky/hazy conditions. Thank you for all you do water quality monitoring volunteers!!
Read more about the Winnebago Waterways Water Quality Monitoring Program by clicking here!
Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance recovery initiative. Contact us at wwinfo@fwwa.org
The post Water Quality Monitoring Season off to a good start! appeared first on Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
https://fwwa.org/2023/06/29/ww-wq-volunteers-2023-season-start/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ww-wq-volunteers-2023-season-start
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12664F771DA8.AirQualityAlert.12664F848EACWI.GRBAQAGRB.95772b461ecdeafcc9c0642321d118ec
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/2023/06/how-stay-informed-air-quality-michigan/
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
Largest solar farm in Illinois will help Chicago’s city operations meet climate goal — Energy News Network
About half of the output from Illinois’ largest solar project will be devoted to offsetting the city of Chicago’s municipal electric use when it’s completed in late 2024.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/energy-news-roundup-ohio-law-solar-energy-development-line-5-michigan-continues/
Chicago, IL (June 29, 2023) – Earlier today, NOAA and its research partners released the annual western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom forecast. In response, Alliance for the Great Lakes Agriculture and Restoration Policy Director Tom Zimnicki made the following statement:
“Regardless of this particular forecast’s results, it is abundantly clear that the region will not meet the 2025 phosphorus reduction targets the Ohio and Michigan state governments set for the Western Basin of Lake Erie. Our lack of overall progress, particularly on reigning in agricultural nutrient losses, means the basin will continue to experience algal blooms, tourism will suffer, and municipal ratepayers will continue to foot the bill for any meaningful phosphorus reductions entering the basin. Despite hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, both Michigan and Ohio — the states with the lion’s share of the basin’s drainage area — remain woefully behind in regard to the necessary financial investment and acres of conservation practices in the watershed. It is imperative that the states outline a new, more rigorous strategy to address nutrient loading in the basin that goes beyond the status quo approach.”
The post Region not on track to meet phosphorus reductions needed to limit western Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2023/06/region-not-on-track-to-meet-phosphorus-reductions-needed-to-limit-western-lake-eries-harmful-algal-blooms/
Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/lake-superior-day-2023/
TED wants to bring Detroit to the world and the world to Detroit. As the city at the heart of the automotive industry grappling with building a sustainable future, Detroit was a deliberate choice for this year’s Countdown Summit.
This invite-only gathering will take place from July 11-14 in Michigan Central, the Fillmore Detroit and other locations around the city.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/ted-countdown-summit-is-coming-to-detroit/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12664F75CA34.AirQualityAlert.12664F771B50WI.GRBAQAGRB.95772b461ecdeafcc9c0642321d118ec
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Eric Freedman, Great Lakes Echo
Picture decrepit plantations enveloped in aggressively spreading kudzu. Picture the remnants of abandoned outbuildings invisible under kudzu’s woody vines. Picture forests smothered and trees killed by blankets of kudzu.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/watch-out-creepy-kudzu-coming/
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision removed federal protections for many wetlands, leaving states to decide whether and how to protect them. In a watershed like the Great Lakes basin, wetland protections are only as good as the state with the weakest laws. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230628-wetland-protections
The U.S. EPA has been utilizing two research vessels to collect data on Lake Ontario in order to properly address issues of nutrient pollution, chemical contaminants, habitats and invasive species. Read the full story by WIVB-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230628-lake-ontario-research
Volunteers in Ellisburg, New York, are trying to make South Sandy Creek more resilient by increasing biodiversity. In just a few days, the team introduced 6,000 plants, including 25 different native species to the region. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Carthage, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230628-invasive-resilience
One of Metro Detroit’s most well-known historic estates is getting a $7 million federal grant to restore Ford Cove on Lake St. Clair, improve habitats for local species and make it more accessible. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230628-restoration-grant
A survey of lake sturgeon, a species that dates back to the time of dinosaurs, will count juveniles in Northern Michigan’s Black Lake for the first time since 2013. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230628-sturgeon-survey
In New York, SUNY Cortland and SUNY Oswego are collaborating with the federal Tunison Lake Ontario Biological Station and several other groups to determine the best ways to transport, raise and reintroduce the coregonine subfamily of freshwater fish. Read the full story by WXHC – Homer, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230628-fish-restoration
