This single-page fact sheet provides general information about the Great Lakes Commission.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/library/glc-general-fact-sheet
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled a western county in the state must conduct an environmental review to determine whether a proposed drainage ditch improvement could harm one of the last free-flowing creeks in the heavily agricultural area.
The ruling last week affirms a state Court of Appeals judgment that reversed a Renville County Board decision which said the study wasn’t necessary.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-farm-country-stream-protected-waterway/
By Mark Gillispie, Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — The county prosecutor’s office in Cleveland has opened an investigation into an apparent cheating scandal during a lucrative walleye fishing tournament on Lake Erie last week.
A video posted to Twitter shows Jason Fischer, tournament director for the Lake Erie Walleye Trail, cutting open the winning catch of five walleye on Friday and finding lead weights and prepared fish filets inside them.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-authorities-report-scandal-fishing-tournament/
Mural will celebrate 50 years of Wisconsin Sea Grant
(Watch a video preview about the artwork here)
To mark its 50th anniversary year, Wisconsin Sea Grant is celebrating in a unique way: with a work of public art to be unveiled at Sturgeon Bay City Hall, 421 Michigan St., on Saturday, Oct. 15. The public is invited to join the festivities by attending an outdoor reception at 11:30 a.m. The event will be a “meet and greet” with the artists. City officials, including Mayor David J. Ward, will also make remarks. Light refreshments like cookies and hot cider will be served.
The hand of one of the artists at work is shown here. The public is invited to the see the completed artwork and meet the artists at a reception outside Sturgeon Bay City Hall on Oct. 15. (Photo: Bonnie Willison)
Wisconsin Sea Grant is headquartered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has field offices in several communities around the state: Green Bay, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Kenosha County and Superior. The organization promotes the sustainable use of Great Lakes resources through research, education and outreach. It is part of a national network of 34 Sea Grant programs in coastal and Great Lakes states.
Said Jim Hurley, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s director, “We are so excited to be celebrating this milestone. Because our work benefits the Great Lakes and coastal communities, we wanted to do something special in a place like Sturgeon Bay. We’ve partnered with the city on a science-themed artwork that we hope inspires residents and visitors alike to learn more about Lake Michigan and its ecosystem.”
The artwork to be unveiled on the exterior of City Hall was created by three artists: Don Krumpos, Erin LaBonte and Jody Henseler. Krumpos and LaBonte operate Yonder Studios, an art gallery and event space in downtown Algoma. Henseler teaches science in the Manitowoc Public Schools.
Artists at work on the mural in late August 2022. In the foreground, artist/science teacher Jody Henseler examines water samples collected that morning from Lake Michigan, just blocks away from the Algoma studio of Don Krumpos and Erin LaBonte. (Photo: Jennifer Smith)
Henseler described group’s concept: “The goal of our mural is to highlight species native to our great Lake Michigan. Many people are familiar with the prehistoric lake sturgeon, walleye, whitefish and bass, but what about psychedelic-looking algaes like diploneis, stephanodiscus and tabellaria? These are the lake’s unsung heroes and the base of our food chain. They need to be celebrated, known and understood so that we humans can work to keep our waters clean and these microorganisms thriving.”
The mural’s design also highlights human uses of the lake, situating our human world within this larger ecological context, where there is much more to life in the lake than what meets the naked eye. The work will remain on City Hall for at least a year.
At the Oct. 15 celebration, speakers in addition to the mayor and the artists will include Sturgeon Bay Dist. 1 Alder Helen Bacon, who also chairs the city’s arts board. Bacon was instrumental in working with Sea Grant on the project.
Local artists and gallery owners Stephanie Trenchard and Margaret Lockwood also played vital roles in the process.
For more information, contact Jennifer Smith, Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator, at 608-262-6393 or smith@aqua.wisc.edu.
The post Science-themed artwork to be unveiled Oct. 15 at Sturgeon Bay City Hall first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/science-themed-artwork-to-be-unveiled/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=science-themed-artwork-to-be-unveiled
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/2022/10/michigan-will-study-states-nuclear-prospects/
In May of 2022, an infrastructure project was completed modernizing Flint’s water plant and establishing a secondary connection to Lake Huron. The city of Flint is now entering its final phase of lead service line replacement. Read the full story by CBS Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-flint-replacement-leadserviceline
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently released the draft “New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda 2022-2030,” a multiyear action plan to guide restoration and conservation, and foster sustainable, resilient communities in New York’s Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-dec-greatlakesactionagenda
The Canadian Coast Guard recently purchased a light icebreaker that will supplement its operations in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, and Atlantic regions. Today, it was officially announced that icebreaker has been named the CCGS Judy LaMarsh. Read the full story by PRNewswire.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-canadiancoastguard-icebreaker-judylamarsh
The effort to replenish the decimated lake sturgeon population in Lake Erie has shown early signs of success, but it will be decades before biologists know if they have accomplished their mission. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-lakesturgeon-stockingmaumeeriver
The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers recently announced a new initiative called “100% Whitefish” that aims to use all of the fish. The group is looking to Iceland for guidance and as an example. That country, among others, has pioneered using all of the fish it catches in various products, greatly increasing the value of the catch while developing new products and markets. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-whitefish-expandingmarket
Plastic Free MKE encourages businesses to become “Lake Friendly” by making decisions that benefit the long-term health of Lake Michigan. Transfer Pizzeria in Milwaukee is one business making this commitment. The business has a landfill, a recycling stream and organic waste that turns into compost. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-plasticfreebusinesses-protectthegreatlakes
In the largest design and construction project of its kind currently underway in North America, crews are restoring the natural systems of the mouth of the Don River, where it empties into Lake Ontario. The river, in its current configuration, is being moved. Read the full story by Canadian Architect.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-recalibratinginfrastructure-ontario
Watersheds in Indiana deposited massive amounts of toxic chemicals into the Great Lakes region in 2020, according to a report released Tuesday by Environment America Research and Policy Center. The Little Calumet River is ranked sixth of the top 20 watersheds in the United States for releasing chemicals known to cause cancer and have negative reproductive effects, the report said. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-littlecalriver-harmfulchemicals
The Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority promotes industrial, commercial and recreational opportunities on Erie’s bayfront. The authority, located at 1 Holland St., is also a landlord to both a shipbuilder and a shipping facility and is the entity that ensures public access to the bayfront. Read the full story by Go Erie.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-lakeerie-valuableproperty
On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Great Lakes Boat Building School in Cedarville Michigan began construction on a new expansion. The multi-million dollar expansion is the result of a fundraising and donation campaign and is designed to increase class sizes and expand program choices at the school. Read the full story by The Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221003-greatlakesboatbuildingschool-expansion
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/2022/10/septic-pollution-michigan-lawmakers-reform/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126411B4FDD4.SpecialWeatherStatement.126411B57624WI.GRBSPSGRB.a855b1cd49ac32256c0b21a0afbc03bf
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12641196C648.SpecialWeatherStatement.126411970720WI.GRBSPSGRB.eca529a4772a892ee50e8da33e3e4a70
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1264119644FC.SpecialWeatherStatement.12641196E5ECWI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
Great Lakes Now tries to make every episode interesting and educational.
In “Finders, Keepers,” join researchers as they uncover details about the bottom of the Great Lakes, head to Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum to learn how scientists are using a natural history collection to understand changes to global biodiversity, and tune into The Catch for more news about the lakes you love.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/finders-keepers-the-great-lakes-now-episode-quiz/
The River Talks, a series of informal science presentations, returns at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, for the season with “Wild Stories of Wildlife on the St. Louis River,” an in-person and Zoom presentation by Martha Minchak, former assistant area wildlife manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Her talk will be held at the Lake Superior Estuarium (3 Marina Dr., Superior, Wis.).
Minchak will regale with tales of her work for 22 years as “the face of Minnesota DNR Wildlife in Duluth,” which included the St. Louis River Estuary. She will discuss changes in the Estuary over her career and her unique experiences with wildlife and people. Refreshments will be provided.
Zoom link:
https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/92250886702?pwd=clQ2M051Y2FmTjRWTm1LVjNjdmVOdz09
Meeting ID: 922 5088 6702
Passcode: 754792
This River Talk is being held as part of Wisconsin Science Festival Week. Held virtually and in-person throughout the state on October 10-16, the festival welcomes people of all ages for hands-on science, performances, demonstrations and conversations with leading researchers and creative thinkers. Unleash your curiosity!
Other River Talks will be held Nov. 9, 2022, and Jan. 11, Feb. 8, March 1, April 12 and May 10, 2023. The March talk will be held in conjunction with the St. Louis River Summit and the date may change. For more information, visit the River Talks page: go.wisc.edu/4uz720.
The River Talks are sponsored by the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Wisconsin Sea Grant Program.
The post River Talks resume with “Wild Stories” first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/river-talks-resume-with-wild-stories/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=river-talks-resume-with-wild-stories
By Giovanna Dell’Orto, Associated Press
ON LEECH LAKE, Minnesota (AP) — Seated low in her canoe sliding through a rice bed on this vast lake, Kendra Haugen used one wooden stick to bend the stalks and another to knock the rice off, so gently the stalks sprung right back up.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/ap-minnesota-ojibwe-harvest-sacred-wild-rice/
Chicago, IL (September 30, 2022) – The Alliance for the Great Lakes thanks the governors of the Great Lakes states for signing an agreement to partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fund the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study. This multi-year project will identify places in the Great Lakes vulnerable to high water levels and erosion, and recommend options to protect the lakes and coastal communities.
Fluctuating lake levels and intense storms are getting more extreme and more frequent due to climate change. The threat these storms pose to Great Lakes shoreline communities — including damage to roads, marinas, water systems and coastal properties — is enormous. The Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study will look at areas around the region that are particularly vulnerable to water level changes and offer recommendations for ways these coastal communities can manage and adapt to changes brought on by the climate crisis. As the project moves forward in collaboration with Great Lakes states, the Corps should prioritize natural shorelines, enhanced coastal buffers like wetlands, and offshore reefs to dissipate wave energy as ways for communities to manage changes in lake levels.
Truly resilient shorelines won’t be built parcel by parcel, but miles at a time. Investing in the Great Lakes’ coasts needs to be a top priority for Congress, and this study is a critical step to identify the places most in need. The coasts are some of the most economically and ecologically important parts of the lakes, and we are looking forward to working with the Corps and the states to restore and protect our shores at the scale the Great Lakes deserve.
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Media contact: Please connect with our media team at TeamGreatLakes@mrss.com.
The post Alliance Applauds Agreement to Move Forward with Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/09/alliance-applauds-agreement-to-move-forward-with-great-lakes-coastal-resiliency-study/
The State of the Great Lakes Report by the U.S. and Canadian governments assessed that Lake Erie’s ecosystem health is poor, despite major improvements made to the waterbody over the decades. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-lake-erie
Three property owners with land along northwest Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to undo a 2018 ruling by Indiana’s high court which declared that the shoreline is owned by the state for the public’s enjoyment. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-shoreline-ownership
Some Michigan lawmakers are outraged by a recent State Historic Preservation Review Board decision to move forward in the process of adding some lands near the Menominee River to the National Register of Historic Places. The Menominee Indian Tribe considers the lands, which span Michigan and Wisconsin across the Menominee River, culturally and historically significant. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-litter-historic-site
The nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes announced Thursday that, through its Adopt-a-Beach program, it has surpassed 500,000 pounds of litter removed from Great Lakes beaches and shorelines. Read the full story by WJSM – St. Joseph, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-litter-removal
A $15 million regional dredging project, part of New York’s $300 million Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative for communities affected by high water levels along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, has been completed. Read the full story by The Citizen.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-dredging
The M/V Mark W. Barker, built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay for Ohio-based Interlake Steamship Company, reached the top 16 in preliminary voting in the seventh annual Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce-sponsored contest. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-freighter
A new study out of Michigan State University bolsters predictions that the warming from climate change will exacerbate pressures on monarch butterflies. But in the Midwest, monarch populations could stabilize or even grow. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-monarchs
The Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, a Chicago-based organization representing the governors of the Great Lakes states and the Canadian premiers of Ontario and Québec, on Thursday launched its “100% Whitefish” initiative that promotes using 100% of a whitefish for different purposes and beyond just food. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-whitefish
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is suing an out-of-state company for PFAS contamination left behind in West Michigan, claiming hazardous substances were found in the soil and groundwater. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220930-pfas
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12640D5B1354.SpecialWeatherStatement.12640D5B8050WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
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/2022/09/dana-nessel-sues-company-over-pfas-pollution/
Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ Adopt-a-Beach program. As we dug into the data we’d collected, we realized the program was approaching a milestone. Beach by beach, team by team, Adopt-a-Beach volunteers had removed more than 465,000 pounds of litter from Great Lakes beaches and shorelines since 2003, when we started tracking litter in our online database.
So we set a big goal for 2022: reach half a million pounds of litter.
Today, we’re proud to announce that Adopt-a-Beach has reached that milestone. As of September 29, 2022, Adopt-a-Beach volunteers have removed 501,336 pounds of litter from Great Lakes beaches and shorelines. That’s 8,859,735 individual pieces!
This amazing achievement represents the work of more than 200,000 volunteers over the past twenty years. Community and faith groups. Families and businesses. Grade schools and high schools. Alumni organizations. Surfers, scuba divers, and professional mermaids. On all 5 Great Lakes. In all 8 Great Lakes states.
Their accomplishment shows the magnitude of what can be accomplished when Great Lakes communities work together – and also shines a powerful spotlight on plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. Year after year, more than 85% of the litter collected is made of plastic, a number we know due to volunteers’ dedication to collecting data in addition to keeping beaches clean.
Their stewardship is an expression of love for the lakes — done with a sense of pride and thanksgiving for this unique region we call home.
Thank you to all the Adopt-a-Beach Team Leaders, volunteers, and supporters who made this achievement possible. This couldn’t have happened without you!
Special thanks to this year’s top Adopt-a-Beach sponsors: Brunswick Foundation, Meijer, and Unilever.
The post Adopt-a-Beach Reaches a Milestone appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/09/adopt-a-beach-reaches-a-milestone/
By Mark Scolforo, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is spending $45 million to add new state parks at a nature preserve in Tunkhannock, on Big Elk Creek in the Philadelphia suburbs and along the Susquehanna River near Wrightsville, officials were set to announce Tuesday.
The additions to the state’s 121-park system will be an existing nearly 700-acre nature preserve on the Vosburg Neck in Wyoming County, a 1,700-acre tract in Chester County and some 1,100 acres in York County.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/ap-pennsylvania-spending-45m-new-state-parks/
Wisconsin Water Library
https://waterlibrary.aqua.wisc.edu/spotlight-ojibwemowin-resources/
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/new-nclimgrid-products-contiguous-us
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/new-nclimgrid-products-contiguous-us
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12640D4BCFE8.FrostAdvisory.12640D4C3E10WI.GRBNPWGRB.e14f683a380e0a78362e4d4f2df7f92c
Located on a strip of land that separates two of Michigan’s largest lakes, Elk and Torch, Maplehurst Natural Area is an unexpected delight to anybody who stumbles across it. The former summer camp is now a protected area of land thanks to a collaboration between Milton Township and the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy.
The post Camp Maplehurst’s enduring legacy first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/09/30/camp-maplehursts-enduring-legacy/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12640D4A7C10.FrostAdvisory.12640D4C3E10WI.GRBNPWGRB.e14f683a380e0a78362e4d4f2df7f92c
Wisconsin Water Library
https://waterlibrary.aqua.wisc.edu/spotlight-ojibwe-people-in-stem/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12640D3DF314.FrostAdvisory.12640D4C3E10WI.GRBNPWGRB.e14f683a380e0a78362e4d4f2df7f92c
This lesson will explore the phenomenon of sound waves underwater used to map landforms and how modern technology is helping update the maps of the terrain beneath the Great Lakes. Students will learn about the history of mapping the lakebed and the SONAR technology used by NOAA to upgrade our maps.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/episode-2209-mapping-lesson-plan/
As the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) retires a century-old power plant on the shores of Lake Michigan shuts down, some residents and activists are warning the region’s water supply could be at risk. Advocates say the coal ash NIPSCO plans to leave on the site puts groundwater and Lake Michigan in danger of contamination in Michigan City and beyond. Read the full story by WTTW-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-contamination-risk
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has announced plans to stop the spread of invasive carp in the Great Lakes with an engineered channel in the Brandon Road Lock. A series of high-tech barriers will prevent invasive carp from travelling upstream to Lake Michigan while still allowing boats to pass through. Read the full story by The Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-invasivecarp-plan
Indigenous leaders in North America, environmental and geographical experts, and volunteers are collaborating on the Biinaagami Project, a planned three-year initiative to engage Canadians and Americans in stewardship of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-stewardship-project
The Great Lakes Water Authority announced that a repaired water transmission main that services several Metro Detroit communities is now expected to resume normal operations in early October, weeks after its expected resumption, after a leak closed the main in mid-August. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-watermain-delay
This Thursday, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is hosting a virtual public hearing on a push to restore the Grand River’s rapids in downtown Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids Whitewater and the city of Grand Rapids are seeking a permit to remove four low-head dams and replace them with rocks and boulders. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220928-restoration-publichearing
