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The Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Ohio worries proposed commercial development of turbines popping up along the shoreline would be catastrophic for bird migration and bird tourism. Read the full story by WTOL – Toledo, OH. View the full article

Officials in Michigan’s Leelanau Township on Lake Michigan say the erosion has been happening for the past three years but has increased drastically in the past six months due to rising water levels and snow pile runoff. Read the full story by Up North Live. View the full article

When you think of a beach, you probably think of saltwater and a view that extends to the horizon across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. But did you know there’s a “third coast?” Read the full story by Outdoor Hub. View the full article

A dozen beach sites on the Apostle Islands and western Lake Superior will be sampled for microplastics in addition to several sites on the lake after results show the highest concentration of microplastics across 35 sample sites. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio. View the full article

During the past three decades, Asian carp, also known as “flying carp,” developed notoriety as a significant threat to ecosystems of the Great Lakes’ tributaries — while also threatening the region’s multi-million dollar fishing and recreation industries. The issue, however, no longer is isolated to the Midwest. Read the full story by The Gadsden Times. . View the full article

Ongoing research by three New York colleges shows that Great Lakes contaminants continue a welcome and dramatic downward drop, said project investigator James Pagano, director of SUNY Oswego’s Environmental Research Center. Read the full story by Oswego County Today. View the full article

Lake trout haven’t reproduced in Lake Erie in decades. Now, biologists are trying to better understand what’s happening and are looking for steps to help lake trout reproduce on their own as part of a Great Lakes-wide federal rehabilitation program for lake trout. Read the full story by The Buffalo News. View the full article

At the recent “Is the Coast Clear” conference in Grand Bend, Ontario, a scientist from NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory explained the factors affecting Great Lakes water levels over the long term. Read the full story by Blackburn News. View the full article

Detroit Water and Sewerage District’s new program will help low-income Detroiters reduce their water bills, pairing the low-flow toilets with up to $1,000 in plumbing repairs per household to fix leaks. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press. View the full article

Mermaid MegaFest, a four-day event in South Haven, Michigan on May 25-28 will bring an invasion of mermaids into town. Promoters are referring to the event as a “celebration of merfolk on a mission.” And the mission is to protect Michigan’s water wonderland. Read the full story by The Herald-Palladium. View the full article

Radioactive waste may be buried less than a mile from the water source that 40 million people — Americans and Canadians — depend upon. That’s why the Great Lakes congressional delegation has worked closely with our colleagues on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to include an amendment to protect the Great Lakes in legislation being considered by the House of Representatives this week on nuclear waste policy. Read the full story by the Detroit News. View the full article

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner said his state is willing to help pay for a proposed $275 million project to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. The offer could bring results — or it may bog them down. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle. View the full article

A new study by Birds Studies Canada found that wetlands conservation projects designed to benefit waterfowl also provide a boost to other critters. The study also said wetlands are good for sequestering greenhouse gases, commercial fishing, flood control, mitigating pollution, recreation and other ecological and societal benefits. Read the full story by the Capital News Service. View the full article

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner said his state is willing to help pay for a proposed $275 million project to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. The offer could bring results — or it may bog them down. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle. View the full article

Ellsworth Peterson, who died May 2 at the age of 94, was an icon of Sturgeon Bay, WI and its shipbuilding legacy. Under Peterson’s guidance, the national reputation of his family’s company, Peterson Building Inc., grew to international fame and was regarded as a premier shipbuilding company. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette. View the full article

London, Ontario, is cutting off the wells that acted as an emergency backup for its water system now that a long-delayed reservoir is finally online. The much-anticipated southeast reservoir can store 115 million litres of water, enough to serve the entire city for about a day if there is an emergency or water cannot be drawn from Lake Huron or Lake Erie. Read the full story by the London Free Press. View the full article

People in northern Michigan say the federal government is doing nothing while double-crested cormorants eat up fish that attract tourists. For more than a decade, the government used lethal force to keep cormorant numbers down, but a judge stopped the program two years ago. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio. View the full article

A failure of the Poe Lock, a part of the Soo Locks, would cut Lake Superior off from the rest of the St. Lawrence Seaway and from the rest of the world, potentially causing the loss of 11 million jobs according to a 2016 Homeland Security study. A $625 million investment in the Soo Locks to take care of deferred maintenance and to build a twin to the Poe Lock is necessary. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune. View the full article

On Wednesday, the Indiana Supreme Court denied a request for a rehearing, confirming that it will not alter its landmark decision that Lake Michigan’s shoreline is open to all, and adjacent property owners cannot exercise exclusive control of the beach between their homes and the water. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times. View the full article

Florence Haas, the first licensed woman captain to pilot a passenger boat on the Great Lakes, was also the midwife and postmaster for South Manitou Island in Michigan, and later a cook and baker catering to millionaires aboard a Lake Michigan car ferry. Read the full story by MLive. View the full article

News Ann Arbor, Mich. – In a letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) called for continued funding of $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in FY 2019. The GLC urged appropriators to fully fund the GLRI, which is cleaning up the region’s most toxic sites, protecting drinking water for 48 million people by working with farmers to prevent polluted runoff, and preventing the introduction of Asian carp and other harmful invasive species. The GLRI was cut by 90 percent in the President’s budget proposal, despite U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt declaring in a recent report to Congress that “the GLRI is protecting public health in the Great Lakes more than any other coordinated interagency effort in U.S. history.” “The GLRI is a highly successful program that enjoys strong, bipartisan support in Congress, among our region’s governors, business and industry, conservation organizations, tribes and local communities,” said GLC Chair John Linc Stine in the letter. “This drastic reduction would severely hamper our ongoing regional efforts, slow the progress we are making and undermine past investments.” As just one example of the ongoing funding demand, the letter notes that U.S. EPA needs more than $80 million in FY 2019 to implement 16 toxic sediment cleanup projects in six states. The projects are expected to leverage more than $60 million in cost-share from nonfederal partners. The President’s budget request would fund only a fraction of this important work and forfeit millions in nonfederal contributions. The GLC emphasized that “with nearly one-third of U.S. and Canadian economic activity centered in the Great Lakes region and 95 percent of our nation’s fresh surface water, bolstering this invaluable resource is a wise strategy that benefits our entire nation.” GLRI efforts have been underway since 2010, funded annually in the President’s budget and with broad bipartisan support from Congress, which has authorized $300 million annually for the program. More than 3,950 projects have been implemented under the GLRI since 2010. Full implementation of a Great Lakes restoration strategy is also projected to generate $50 billion in long-term economic benefits for the region. To view the letter, click here. ← Previous news release The Great Lakes Commission, led by chairman John Linc Stine, commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, is an interstate compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, and agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org. Contact For questions or media inquiries, please contact Beth Wanamaker, [email protected]. Recent GLC News Great Lakes Commission urges Congress to fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in FY 2019 Great Lakes Commission statement on passing of former Michigan Sen. Patty Birkholz Great Lakes Commission launches online portal for maritime jobs on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River MDEQ awards grants to 11 local governments to host river cleanups Upcoming GLC Events Great Lakes Dredging Team Annual Meeting May 22 - May 23 2018 Great Lakes Commission Annual Meeting October 2 - October 3 View GLC Calendar > View the full article

By 2019, with two large ferries running, the existing Jiimaan and the new, C$40 million Pelee Islander II, almost double the number of passengers will be able to get to the Lake Erie island. Read the full story in the Windsor Star. View the full article

Ohio State Sen. Randy Gardner and Ohio State Rep. Steve Arndt introduced bills in the Senate and House, respectively, which include provisions to carry out the Clean Lake 2020 plan and create a $1 billion Ohio water bond issue, with half of the funds earmarked for the western basin of Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register. View the full article

In Minnesota regulatory filings Wednesday, both Enbridge and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe blasted a report recommending that Enbridge’s proposed new Line 3 pipeline be built on its current route, which crosses the Leech Lake reservation. Read the full story by the Minnesota Star Tribune. View the full article

A grand opening of the Pilgrim Haven Natural Area, of the largest remaining natural areas on Lake Michigan featuring almost 800 linear feet of beach, a stretch of Dyckman Creek running through a forested upland, and a critical dune habitat, is set for this Saturday in South Haven, Michigan. Read the full story by Second Wave Media. View the full article