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Toledo’s water treatment plant cost nearly $10 million in 1941; half was paid by Toledo ratepayers, and half was covered by federal grants. In 2017, the plant would have cost $405 million. Read the full story by The Blade. View the full article

More than 90,000 people visit northwest Ohio’s Lake Erie shore between late April and mid-May to track their favorite songbirds as they migrate. This year the economic impact is expected to surpass $40 million. Read the full story by The Blade. View the full article

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services’ 2018 regional “Eat Safe Fish Guides” helps residents plan their fish meals to minimize exposure to chemicals that can build up in fish. Read the full story by the Grand Haven Tribune. View the full article

In New York, St. Lawrence County plans to use $25,000 in state funding to determine how to increase the defenses of 40 miles of waterfront towns against flooding and erosion. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times. View the full article

In New York, the WNY Conservancy’s “Restore the Gorge” plan to control non-native invasive plants and restore native plants throughout the gorge received a $25,000 New York State Great Lakes Action Grant. Read the full story by The Buffalo News. View the full article

In Wisconsin, the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission received a grant last week that will allow it to assess public access locations to the Ahnapee River from Lake Michigan and develop a water trail plan for Algoma. Read the full story by the Kewaunee County Comet. View the full article

The International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board says that while water levels across the lake and the St. Lawrence River have begun their typical spring rise, conditions are a lot better than they were a year ago. Read the full story by Great Lakes Today. View the full article

Volunteers from a citizen science collaboration between the Shedd Aquarium and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been monitoring the migrations of two Great Lakes fish species which are typically overlooked: white and longnose suckers. Read the full story by WTTW-TV – Chicago, IL. View the full article

The 63rd annual meeting of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in Toronto this week will assemble commission members, fishery managers, and a host of industry leaders and government representatives to discuss problems facing Great Lakes fisheries. Read the full story by the Associated Press. View the full article

News Ann Arbor, Mich. – Jon Allan, immediate past chair of the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) and director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes (OGL), released the following statement today upon news that former Michigan Sen. and OGL Director Patty Birkholz passed away at the age of 74: “Michigan has lost a tenacious fighter for the state and for the Great Lakes. Her contributions will last as a legacy to her determination and her passion. Thank you, Patty, for your leadership as a champion for the Great Lakes we all love.” ← 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 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 We’ve moved – please note our new address! 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

City workers armed with garbage pickers are tackling the messy task of gathering up dead fish at Lakeside Park. Read the full story by USA Today. View the full article

First and fifth graders from Gems World Academy raised trout in their classroom and set them free into Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Chicago CBS. View the full article

The Army Corps of Engineers had not heard from President Donald Trump as of Thursday about jump-starting the process to upgrade the Soo Locks after the president made a show last weekend of promising to immediately contact the agency. Read the full story by The Detroit News. View the full article

Friday kicks off The Biggest Week in American Birding event. Northwest Ohio is the perfect spot for bird watchers, as the birds head back north. Read the full story by WNWO-TV-Toledo, OH. View the full article

Water levels for Lake Ontario have been much lower than last year. In fact, the International Joint Commission (IJC) has been keeping outflow from Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River at a near maximum. Read the full story by WSYR-TV-Syracuse, NY. View the full article

Ontario’s Lake Erie shoreline could be a treacherous place to be through the remainder of Friday. High winds are expected to kick up Friday afternoon as a cold front passes through southern Ontario. Read the full story by the Simcoe Reformer. View the full article

NASA astronaut Andrew J. “Drew” Feustel, of Lake Orion, aboard the International Space Station continues to offer out-of-this-world views of the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by MLive. View the full article

Equipped with nearly $3,000 from a new grant, the Missaukee Conservation District is looking for volunteers to clean up the Muskegon River. The grant is courtesy of the Michigan DEQ and Great Lakes Commission’s volunteer river, stream and creek cleanup program. Read the full story by WWTV-Cadillac, MI. View the full article

Governor Scott Walker on Thursday announced a $25,000 grant to create a Master Harbor Plan for Keewaunee, Wisconsin addressing public shore and lake access, river dredging, habitat restoration and harbor infrastructure. Read the full story by the Kewaunee County Comet. View the full article

Are Michigan waters getting less safe for boaters, with or without motors? The number of recreational boating accidents in the state increased from 92 in 2013 to 125 in 2016, and deaths increased from 21 in 2012 to 38 in 2016, according to the latest report from the U.S. Coast Guard. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo. View the full article

The Sault Ste. Marie District office of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says it has received information that small numbers of smelt are currently being caught in the Sault and area, indicating the annual smelt run is beginning. Read the full story by Soo Today. View the full article

Toledo, Ohio Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz decried the agricultural lobby’s influence on state legislators at an algae conference attended by many Great Lakes scientists and policy experts. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade. View the full article

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Craig Butler hasn’t found a single Republican legislator willing to introduce a bill to define excess chemical fertilizer as an agricultural pollutant and impose limits on how it is applied. Read the full story by the Columbus Dispatch. View the full article

Michigan lawmakers at the state and federal level have been calling for a Soo Locks upgrade for years, but the effort appeared to get a boost Saturday when President Donald Trump said he supported revamping the decades-old structure. Read the full story by MLive. View the full article

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver’s lead service line replacement program, called Fast Start, is starting again in neighborhoods across the city. Read the full story by WEYI-TV – Flint, MI. View the full article