Great Lakes News

<> Great Lakes Dredging Team - The Great Lakes Dredging Team (GLDT) has launched a new, updated website. The GLDT site was created and is maintained by the Great Lakes Commission.

Great Lakes News

<> Great Lakes senators urge Senate committee to take up bill to clean and restore the lakes - a bipartisan group of ten Great Lakes senators are urging the Senate Environment and Public Works committee to take action on the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act – S.1232.

<> Chairwoman Stabenow, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Launch National Initiative that Will Make Major Investment in Great Lakes Conservation - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack launched a national conservation initiative that will protect. . .

• Coalition: New Farm Bill Program Will Help Great Lakes
• USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program

<> Invasive species field course - The Inland Seas Association's Invasive Species Field Course has been developed to teach educators and environmental professionals about invasive species in the Great Lakes region. . .

Great Lakes News

<> Summary report does not point out risk of Asian carp in Canadian waters - The summary of public comments on the Great Lakes Mississippi Interbasin Study report says that more than 1,600 comments were submitted from more than 1,800 individuals, organizations, government agencies from 43 states. . .

<> It's Memorial Day weekend and there's still ice on Lake Superior -  While the season has passed for most of us, there's still reminders in Michigan's Upper Peninsula of the historically cold and snowy winter. . .

Great Lakes News

<> Eleven Great Lakes senators press Army Corps of Engineers on evaluation of Soo Locks replacement project

<> Senate passes legislation to protect and conserve the Great Lakes, boost region's economy - The Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which passed the Senate with a broad bipartisan majority 91-7, ensures that for the first time the Great Lakes are treated as a single navigational system, increases funding for harbor maintenance, and provides broader authority for the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent the infiltration of Asian carp into the Great Lakes.

<> Watch huge bank of fog spread over Lake Michigan - Impressive video footage of a thick bank of fog that eventually descended over Lake Michigan in Holland, Mich., was captured by a fisherman this week.

<> MyBeachCast app updates Great Lakes conditions - Beach conditions in the Great Lakes region can be easily checked on a smartphone app created by the Great Lakes Commission.. . .

<> Webinar: "Monitoring the US Ocean and Great Lakes Economy" - Monitoring the US Ocean and Great Lakes Economy Wednesday, June 4, 2014 2:00 – 3:00pm EST Presenter(s): Jeff Adkins and Linwood Pendleton A lot of people's livelihoods depend on the resources of the oceans and Great Lakes. . .

<> National Wildlife Federation: Burying Nuclear Waste Near Great Lakes 'Shockingly Bad Idea' - NWF supports Michigan legislation asking Canada to reconsider plan to store radioactive waste one-quarter mile from Lake Huron. . .

Great Lakes News

<> Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota launch campaign to prevent spread of aquatic invasive species - a new public service campaign to help carry a consistent message encouraging boaters and anglers to take steps to avoid accidentally spreading aquatic invasive species

<> When will Lake Superior ice melt? - It's starting to feel like summer, but it doesn't look like it on Lake Superior. Ice is still stacked up on the Duluth shoreline.

 

<> IJC Newsletter - Lake Superior Regulation, Tasty Detroit River Fish, and Fighting Hydrilla - Bi-weekly International Joint Commission Newsletter update - Via IJC.org International Joint Commission - Bi-Weekly Newsletter Outflows through the St Marys River, a Step Forward in the Detroit River, and Fighting Hydrilla in the. . .

Great Lakes News

<> Little things matter in Great Lakes beach, water pollution - While volunteers can pluck debris left on the beaches, a new threat from tiny plastic beads is on the rise in the water."What we find on the beach is closely linked to what we find in the water," said Sherri A. Mason, associate professor. . .

 

<> Great Lakes states examine alternatives to coal-fired power plants - Even as environmental groups push for alternative energy sources across the Great Lakes Basin and as some lawmakers encourage efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions, most energy powering homes still comes from coal. . .

<> Crews to survey St. Clair River for sea lampreys - Sea lampreys look alien, and Jim Frazer had a close encounter of the worst kind with one last weekend during the Port Huron Spring Fling salmon fishing tournament. . .

<> Algae bloom likely on Lake Erie - The forecast for Lake Erie this summer looks like it will be calling for another outbreak of algae on the water.

<> Lake Erie sediment dumping debate isn't going away - A decision preventing sediment dredged out of Cleveland's harbor from being dumped into Lake Erie has satisfied those worried about it fouling fish and drinking water but it won't end the debate over what to do with silt scooped out. . .

<> Coal-fired SS Badger ferry returns to service - The S.S. Badger, last coal-fired, steam-powered passenger ferry in North America is back in service.

<> OP-ED – Toledo Blade: To restore Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes, cut phosphorus - Toledo Blade. May 18, 2014 GUEST EDITORIAL By Jim Olson To restore Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes, cut phosphorus The principle of public trust, and the duties it imposes. . .

Great Lakes News

<> Senators Stabenow, Levin Applaud Efforts to Protect Great Lakes in Water Resources Development Act - U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin applauded the House-Senate conference agreement on the Water Resources Development Act that for the first time treats the Great Lakes as a single navigational system, increases funding for harbor maintenance, and provides broader authority for the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent breakthrough of Asian carp into the Great Lakes.

• Great Lakes deal in Congress may boost dredging efforts - A compromise measure on water resourcesdevelopment unveiled in Congress Thursday could result in more spending for dredging Great Lakes harbors and shipping channels, though it wasn't immediately known how. . .

• H.R.3080 Legislative Details

<> Lake Michigan finally thaws after months of record-breaking ice - Although the swimming season remains weeks away, Lake Michigan finally has shaken off winter's grip and is officially free of ice.

<> National Park Service maps Lake Superior's floor, uncovering mysteries along the way - Lake Superior's bottom will be scanned by sonar and laser beams around national parks this summer, as part of a U.S. National Park Service project to map the lake floor.