Assessing the U.S. Climate in April 2025 (Page 359)

Federal funding cutbacks have impacted the staff at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Severe spending limits have made it difficult to purchase ordinary equipment for processing toxic algal samples, and while remaining staff plan to launch large data-collecting buoys into the water this week, it’s late for a field season that typically runs from April to October. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-algal-bloom-research-funding-cuts

James Polidori

For 8 hours overnight, there was a constant overflow and discharge of wastewater at Walter W. Bradley Wastewater Treatment Plant in Webster, New York, because of a power outage that shut down equipment and disabled the internet-based alarm system that would have alerted someone to the problem, according to New York State and Town of Webster officials. Read the full story by WROC-TV – Rochester, NY.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-sewage-overflow

James Polidori

The Duluth City Council will be considering a resolution requesting federal officials to keep the U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division lab in Duluth, Minnesota, open. About 150 employees stand to lose their jobs at the lab that contributes $15 million to Minnesota’s economy each year. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Superior, WI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-lab-resolution

James Polidori

The Executive Office of the President’s proposed 2026 federal budget includes a 25% reduction — nearly $1.5 billion — to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That could gut funding for research programs monitoring water quality, weather conditions and fish populations across the region. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-research-funding-cuts

James Polidori

The sturgeon spawning run is continuing in parts of Northeast Wisconsin, including the Green Bay area, and the lower Fox River below the De Pere dam. Experts say the prehistoric sturgeon make it up the Fox River every year to begin spawning when the water temperature reaches 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Read the full story by WLUK-TV – Green Bay, WI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-sturgeon-spawning

James Polidori

As hundreds of thousands of alewife from Lake Ontario have been spawning for the season, authorities say recent weather changes have caused a surge in dead fish along the Greater Toronto Area shoreline. Read the full story by CityNews Toronto.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-fish-die-off

James Polidori

The Great Lakes, and the fisheries sustained within them, support a multi-billion-dollar economy and countless jobs, all of which depend on the crucial scientific research conducted by many state and federal entities. The proposed elimination of funding for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area, under the guise of fiscal responsibility, is a dangerous misstep. Read the full story by The Post-Standard.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-research-funding

James Polidori

According to a recent study by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, smallmouth bass in Lake St. Clair are bigger than they used to be. Because the bass are often released back into the water instead of going home with fishers, they can live longer and grow bigger. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250507-bass-study

James Polidori