Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who have studied invasive species in lakes for decades published a summary of key findings in the journal BioScience in August. In their recent analysis, the authors presented broad takeaways from their past research, reasoning that understanding the proliferation and impacts of invasive species in the lakes can inform policies and management strategies. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials released a final environmental impact statement on the Canadian energy firm Enbridge’s plans to reroute an oil and gas pipeline around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation. The 898-page document released Friday relied on 10,000 pages of materials that reflected hours of testimony and more than 32,000 comments submitted to the DNR. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Researchers from the governments of Canada and Quebec released a report monitoring the state of the St. Lawrence River from 2018-2022. It found that the state of health of the river remains fragile and certain indicators, such as water temperature and oxygen saturation, show worrying signs of deterioration. Read the full story by CTV News.
Researchers at Michigan Sea Grant, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Michigan state agencies recently published a study identifying the top 10 most invasive species in the Great Lakes. Read and listen to the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Canadian pipeline company Enbridge recently agreed it would not act on a 2021 permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy approving its Line 5 tunnel project. The Bay Mills Indian Community led a challenge to the permit, prompting a review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that delayed the proposed tunnel construction timeline. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
On Thursday, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission approved a $15 million plan to pipe water from the Green Bay Water Utility through Hobart to the village of Pulaski. The state says the move will improve water quality and bring Pulaski into compliance with state regulations. Read the full story by WGBA-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries biologists caught a 75-inch, 125-pound sturgeon – the biggest ever caught by the DNR – during a state survey in Lake St. Clair. None of the 17 sturgeon netted by the survey had been tagged before, providing another indication of the lake sturgeon’s population. Read the full story by the Macomb Daily.
Leaders from the Wisconsin cities of Franklin and Oak Creek have agreed to a new contract through which the Oak Creek Water and Sewer Utility will provide Lake Michigan water to the Franklin Municipal Water Utility for the next forty years, replacing the previous thirty-year contract from 1994. Read the full story by WISN-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
On Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul celebrated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s designation of the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary – the first to be designated off New York State’s coast. The sanctuary will cover over 1,700 square miles of state waters in eastern Lake Ontario and protect approximately 43 known shipwrecks and one submerged aircraft, spanning centuries of history. Read the full story by the Finger Lakes Times.
Hundreds gathered as the Gun Lake Tribe released roughly 160 hatchery-raised lake sturgeon into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River on Friday. The fish eggs were collected in April 2024 from mats put in the Kalamazoo River by the Tribe’s Environmental Department. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
As a National Historic Landmark, the SS Milwaukee functions as a travel through time for visitors who climb aboard to hear her maritime history. For the first time since she returned to Muskegon, Michigan, in 1998, the ship is offering haunted tours taking place Fridays and Saturdays in October. Read the full story by MLive.
The Adopt-a-Beach program, an initiative to keep litter and waste out of the Great Lakes, has passed a milestone. Volunteers with Adopt-a-Beach have removed more than 10 million pieces of litter from Great Lakes beaches and shorelines since 2003. Read the full story by WSGW – Saginaw, MI.