New projects to improve the health of Lake Erie and the Detroit River have financial backing from the Canadian federal government. The Essex Region Conservation Authority’s projects will get $15 million from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change’s Great Lakes Fresh Water Ecosystem Initiative for two habitat projects planned for the Detroit River Area of Concern. Read the full story by Windsor News Today.

Last December, the Coast Guard announced it was closing its station in Ashtabula, Ohio, and downsizing its station in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. The local first responders who had to step up to respond to emergency calls, due to the absence of these Coast Guard resources, did so with far less training in water rescues than their Coast Guard counterparts. Read the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.