Advocacy Alert: Great Lakes Net Pen Fish Farming

<> Advocacy Alert: Great Lakes Net Pen Fish Farming -  Advocacy Alert from Trout Unlimited: Great Lakes Net Pen Fish Farming It's Time for Your Voice to be Heard   We have been communicating with you for the last year about the proposal to allow large-scale commercial fish farming in the Great Lakes.

Great Lakes Fishery Trust (GLFT) RFP

<> Great Lakes Fishery Trust (GLFT) RFP - The Great Lakes Fishery Trust (GLFT) is now accepting proposals under its Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Fish Populations: Habitat Protection and Restoration focus area through two grant categories -- submissions through this request for proposals (RFP) process are due by Tuesday, March 8, 2016. Targeted Land and Capital Effort (Including Barrier Removals) RFP Habitat Information Initiative RFP

A Self-Scaling Market Mechanism to Reduce Indirect Electricity Pollution

<> A Self-Scaling Market Mechanism to Reduce Indirect Electricity Pollution - The Great Lakes Protection Fund announced a $602,000 grant to a team led by WattTime that will reduce mercury and other air pollutants into the Great Lakes through software-guided reductions in energy use at times when electricity is being generated by high polluting sources.

Chicago Area Waterways Advisory Committee letter to President Obama and Congress

<>  Chicago Area Waterways Advisory Committee letter to President Obama and Congress - The CAWS Advisory Committee has considered options in the Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) developed by USACE, along with additional information provided by technical consultants, and has identified further information needed to design and select a long-term solution -- the letter details the needs and further states that the requested "Chief's Report and accompanying information should be in sufficient detail for decisionmakers at the local, state, and federal levels to determine how to move forward with a long-term solution."

Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day

<> Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day - The Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day in Washington, D.C., will take place Feb 23-25, 2016 -- events will feature dialogue on Great Lakes priorities by regional leaders and members of Congress who play a critical role in shaping Great Lakes policies.

2016 Great Lakes ice cover passes 10 percent

<> 2016 Great Lakes ice cover passes 10 percent - Ice cover on the Great Lakes passed 10 percent this week, but researchers say there's little chance the historic ice cover and thickness the region experienced over the last two winters is likely to make a three-peat.

Group Says IJC Diversion Report "Game-Changing"

<> Group Says IJC Diversion Report "Game-Changing" - [see previous WIMS report] Michigan water and environmental lawyer Jim Olson, President of FLOW (For Love of Water), a Traverse City-based Great Lakes water policy center, said, "The IJC report and the in-depth consultants' report not only document the success of the Agreement and Compact among the provinces and states to ban diversions and control consumptive uses to protect and conserve the waters and ecosystem in the Basin, it also spotlights the importance for governments to consider implementing a new game-changing, public trust principle as a 'backdrop' to safeguard the Great Lakes and citizens -- it will prevent the Agreement and Compact from being undermined by possible political, economic, or uncertain or unexpected natural forces." FLOW's Public Trust Report on the Great Lakes to IJC

IJC Hails Progress by Governments in Protecting Great Lakes from Diversions

<> IJC Hails Progress by Governments in Protecting Great Lakes from Diversions - The International Joint Commission (IJC) commended federal, state and provincial governments in the Great Lakes Basin for making enormous strides toward protecting the Great Lakes from water diversions and managing consumptive uses.  Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes - IJC 2015 Review of the Recommendations from the February 2000 Report – a Report to the Governments of Canada and the United States

Mild winter keeps Great Lakes' water levels up

<> Mild winter keeps Great Lakes' water levels up - Michigan's mild start to winter has Great Lakes levels doing strange things. December saw record amounts of precipitation in many parts of the Great Lakes basin, but in the form of rain and water levels that typically decline stayed constant, or even rose.

Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) Newsletter

<> Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) Newsletter - In the issue: Meet the new program, project managers - Brandon Road update - Eagle Marsh update - Partner news US Fish and Wildlife Service

Solutions to Lake Erie Algae Blooms, Providing Safe Drinking Water

<> Solutions to Lake Erie Algae Blooms, Providing Safe Drinking Water - The Environmental Law & Policy Center's Executive Director Howard Learner authored an article in The River Network's online publication River Voices [beginning on page 23].

Website Launched to Inform Public About City of Waukesha Diversion Application

<> Website Launched to Inform Public About City of Waukesha Diversion Application - The State of Wisconsin forwarded an Application by the City of Waukesha for a diversion of Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin water -- the first application under the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact for an exception to the ban on the diversion of Basin water -- a two-month public comment period will begin on January 12, and a public hearing on February 18. City of Waukesha Water Utility website

EDITORIAL: Microbead ban will ease harm to Lake Erie

<> EDITORIAL: Microbead ban will ease harm to Lake Erie - A new nationwide ban on microbeads should particularly benefit Lake Erie, which has a high density of the plastic pellets as it is the shallowest of the Great Lakes.

Steady decline in wetlands endangers Great Lakes

<> Steady decline in wetlands endangers Great Lakes - A recent study by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which used data collected by our (Ducks Unlimited) mapping experts, points to staggering losses. Status and Trends of Michigan's Wetlands: Pre-European Settlement to 2005

Asian carp could cause some Lake Erie fish to decline, others to increase

<> Asian carp could cause some Lake Erie fish to decline, others to increase - If they successfully invade Lake Erie, Asian carp could eventually account for about a third of the total weight of fish in the lake and could cause declines in most fish species -- including prized sport and commercial fish such as walleye, according to a new computer modeling study. Study: Forecasting the Impacts of Silver and Bighead Carp on the Lake Erie Food Web

Indiana court upholds public right to walk - and sunbathe - on Lake Michigan shore

<> Indiana court upholds public right to walk - and sunbathe - on Lake Michigan shore - A LaPorte County judge declined to modify citizens' rights to use Indiana's Lake Michigan beaches on Dec 18.