Little Traverse Conservancy in Harbor Springs, Michigan, has announced its new Wild Shores Initiative, aimed at protecting the undeveloped Great Lakes shoreline in the organization’s five-county service area which includes lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan. Undeveloped Great Lakes shoreline continues to be harder to find beyond those special places already protected as state or federal land or by non-profit conservation organizations. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mussel Watch program is collecting invasive mussels at sites across the Great Lakes to measure the concentration of harmful pollutants in their tissue. A report with the results, expected this fall, will serve as an indicator to communities that they may need cleanup. Read the full story by Michigan Farm News.
The St. Lawrence Seaway announced its September performance figures, with 23.6 million metric tons of cargo shipped since the beginning of the navigation season. While overall tonnage is slightly down compared to last year, iron, steel, petroleum and potash demonstrate positive trends that underscore the seaway’s role in North American supply chains. Read the full story by Inside Logistics.
The Yorkville, Illinois, City Council approved several agreements with the DuPage Water Commission on Tuesday as part of the city’s plan to receive Lake Michigan water. The agreements cover how and when the city will pay for the construction of the water line from Naperville to Yorkville and how and when the city will pay for its water. Read the full story by WSPY – Plano, IL.
Eleven major agricultural groups have asked a Senior U.S. District Judge to let them join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others in a landmark case in federal court that could affect how Ohio is allowed to manage western Lake Erie in the future. These groups claim they have a right to defend themselves from a case that could directly impact their industry. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
A 2021 poll by the Great Lakes Water Quality Board found that 90% of U.S. and Canadian residents in the Great Lakes region support the lakes’ protection. The popularity of the Great Lakes would not have blossomed into such an ambitious and bipartisan conservation effort without the fact that three of those eight surrounding states – Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – are critical swing states. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is seeking comments on two draft items related to Wisconsin’s water management, conservation and efficiency efforts under the Great Lakes Compact. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
A New York man has set a state record for catching a 9-pound smallmouth bass from the St. Lawrence River during a bass tournament in Ogdensburg, New York. The record-breaking fish broke the previous state record for a fish caught in Cayuga Lake back in 2022 by 8 ounces. Read the full story by WPTZ – Plattsburgh, NY.
New York’s Rochester Embayment, a 35-square-mile bay on southern Lake Ontario’s shore, is no longer considered one of the Great Lakes’ most environmentally degraded areas, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
After years of decline, minks are now thought to be thriving along the once-polluted Detroit River, a good sign that environmental contaminants in the river are decreasing. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
As the weather cools down, cruise lines operating in the Great Lakes prepare for the end of the season. Read the full story by MLive.
A recent study published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research is the first to compare all 188 nonnative species in the Great Lakes, spotlighting the plants and animals that pose the greatest threat to the region’s delicate ecosystems, fisheries and recreational waters. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.