Manoomin or wild rice was once very common in coastal marshes along the Detroit River and has always been sacred to Indigenous Nations. Today it is listed as a threatened species in Michigan and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi wants to restore this species in the Detroit River and to identify it as an indicator of ecosystem health. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, an alleged alligator remains on the loose in or around the east Erie, Pennsylvania, shoreline. Authorities still have not seen a trace of the reptile but have been keeping watch. Read the full story by Erie-Times News.
Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms have started sooner and had longer peak periods over the past decade compared to earlier years, newly released data shows. Warming temperatures linked to climate change are a cause, according to researchers, with interactions among species likely playing a role as well. Read the full story by Inside Climate News.
An investigation is underway after more than a thousand dead fish washed up along Tischer Creek in Duluth, Minnesota. Read the full story KBJR-TV – Duluth, MN.
Researchers at the Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds are looking to utilize and restore native mussels to help filter contaminants in municipal wastewater. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
A rare Midwestern earthquake struck in Lake Michigan on Friday. The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 2.9, occurred 25 miles off the coast of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Jim Dreyer — who last year fell short of completing his freestyle across Lake Michigan for a second time — plans to try it again. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Some Wisconsinites fear that the expansion of a St. Croix County dairy farm will increase contamination of the county’s water. Under previous ownership, the farm racked up a litany of manure violations, including two major spills. Read the full story by Wisconsin Watch.
A solitary bloody red shrimp was found in the Twin Ports Harbor, raising fears that the light-hating, zooplankton-eating invasive critters have found their way to Lake Superior. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
In Lucas County, Ohio, advocates and local leaders brought people out to Lake Erie to see first-hand the lack of progress on the blue-green algae problems, which are still prevalent after 10 years. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
In a rare rebuke to the industrial farm sector, the Michigan Supreme Court this week ruled that state environmental regulators have full authority to require big livestock and poultry operations to improve their handling of billions of pounds of manure that contributes to serious contamination of state waters. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
A contentious short-term housing rental ban is looming over one of Michigan’s most popular beach towns. Park Township, Michigan, home to Holland State Park beach, is still in litigation over enforcing a ban on short-term rentals. As it lingers in court, current rental owners are wary of the future of their investments. Read the full story by MLive.