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November 30, 2006

Great Lakes a giant `toilet,' study finds

CANADIAN PRESS

Billions of litres of untreated urban sewage and toxic effluents that flow into the Great Lakes each year are threatening a critical ecosystem that supplies drinking water to millions of people, a landmark study to be released Wednesday concludes. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:30 AM

Asian carp could threaten Great Lakes

By Matt Whetstone, Cadillac News

CADILLAC - Two electronic barriers separate Lake Michigan from the Chicago ship canal. If the barriers are breached, it could prove devastating to the Great Lakes region. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:26 AM

November 28, 2006

December 2

Christmas Tree Lighting - Baileys Harbor
Tree lighting will be at the Marina.
Details at www.baileysharbor.com

Posted by Kenan at 09:32 AM

November 27, 2006

Invasive reed taking over beaches

By Libby Peters

An alien plant species known as common reed is invading areas of the Lake Huron shoreline and causing concern for the Town of Saugeen Shores and its residents. more

Posted by Kenan at 02:53 PM

Steelhead, whitefish action still good

Steelhead and whitefish action continues along the shores of the Great Lakes, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. more

Posted by Kenan at 02:51 PM

Lake Metroparks' off season one of renewal

Michael Scott

Lake Metroparks' recreation areas along the Grand River and its tributaries are slipping into a welcome winter of rest following a wild summer of destruction.

But park officials predict a complete comeback next spring from the flood of 2006. more

Posted by Kenan at 02:48 PM

Army Corps plans to add berm at dike disposal site

Kate Giammarise
Lorain -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to build a berm around the dike disposal site on Lorain's waterfront, allowing them to continue using the site to hold sediment dredged from the Black River.more

Posted by Kenan at 02:45 PM

Millions of minnows

BY Kimberly Powell

Emerald shiners, not seen in years, spotted in the Ausable River in Grand Bend show an indication of good water quality.
"It is a clear indication that things are changing," says David Reid, Lake Management Supervisor, Lake Huron. more

Posted by Kenan at 02:20 PM

November 24, 2006

Pa. Toughens Boating, Drinking Laws

In January, recently signed legislation will put some real teeth into the state’s Boating Under the Influence laws.

Gov. Edward Rendell signed Senate Bill 1262 on Nov. 9, amending the Fish Code to lower the blood alcohol content and provide for fines and penalties for operating a watercraft under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. The new law is officially known as Act 149. more

Posted by Kenan at 12:20 PM

Invasive species start to take a toll

By Patrick Sullivan

Suttons Bay - Ken Hyde came to work at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore headquarters one Monday in early October and expected a routine day at the office.

Then the phone calls and e-mails about dead birds on the beach poured in. more

Posted by Kenan at 10:44 AM

Fish virus could limit shipping

By Dan Egan
The shipping industry has been blamed in recent years for introducing many of the invasive species that are ravaging what's left of the Great Lakes native fish populations, but the fight to stop the spread of the latest microscopic invader might just threaten the monstrous freighters themselves. more

Posted by Kenan at 10:40 AM

The Heat Is On

By Christine Rook
Lansing State Journal

Michigan is in for a cultural shift - slush fishing, cross-country mudding and grassmobiling.

These are global warming's gifts to mid-Michigan, scientists say. Expect sloppy Cincinnati-style winters. Brace for steamy summers on the order of Graceland. more

Posted by Kenan at 10:36 AM

November 20, 2006

Don’t forget about fishing

Low angler turnout is expected between now and the first safe ice, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday in its weekly fishing report. With daytime temperatures in the mid-40s, people going hunting may want to take along some fishing gear as fall fishing is still under way, the DNR said. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:37 AM

U.S. eases ban on live fish shipments

BY John Flesher
Traverse City -- Responding to industry complaints, the government modified restrictions on shipments of some live Great Lakes fish aimed at preventing the spread of a deadly aquatic virus. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:35 AM

It'll take more study to determine what's in Lake Huron beach muck

By Jeff Kart
TIMES WRITER

Jim Roland would love to say with certainty that fecal-laden muck washing up on Huron County beaches is linked to farm animals.
But for the second time, he can't. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:33 AM

November 16, 2006

Nov 24, 2006

Dutch Winterfest
November 24-December 9
Holland, MI
800-506-1299

Posted by Kenan at 09:58 AM

November 15, 2006

U.S. Coast Guard asked to stop live-fire training on Great Lakes

Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson and more than 80 Great Lakes cities' officials on Monday asked the U.S. Coast Guard to halt a plan to conduct live-fire training. more

Posted by Kenan at 01:47 PM

Dunes recognition cited in Congressional Record

Indiana's Dunes National Lakeshore park, formed 40 years ago through the efforts of enterprising local housewives and an Illinois senator, will get anniversary recognition today in the halls of Congress. more

Posted by Kenan at 01:44 PM

A Line in the Sand

Covert Township (NEWS 3) - They're among Michigan's most spectacular natural features, but could deep-pocketed developers be eroding hundreds of thousands of acres of Michigan sand dunes? more

Posted by Kenan at 01:39 PM

Diminutive gulls fill sky along shores of Lake Erie

Jim McCormac
One of the most amazing spectacles in Ohio ornithology is unfolding. The annual Lake Erie buildup of migratory Bonaparte's gulls is reaching a crescendo, and it's a sight worth seeing. more

Posted by Kenan at 01:35 PM

Bell tolls for all lost in Lakes

Joe Menard / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Captains of vessels from the Great Lakes and their connecting waterways stood side by side Sunday, and each rang the bell of the Great Lakes Steamer Octorara to honor the men and women who have perished in the estimated 10,000 shipwrecks strewn across their waters. more

Posted by Kenan at 01:32 PM

November 13, 2006

Shipwreck survivor never forgets

BY Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki
One by one, Daniel Hale's shipmates froze to death in their skimpy life raft, victims of a horrendous Lake Huron storm. It was 40 years ago this month, and Hale was a crewman aboard the Daniel J. Morrell, a 606-foot ore carrier making its last trip of the year. more

Posted by Kenan at 04:30 PM

Christmas Tree Ship surfaces in memory

Dennis McCann
For a ship that sank into the deep and dark waters of Lake Michigan nearly a century ago, the schooner Rouse Simmons is remarkably buoyant. Once again, as it has done for some time now, the famous Christmas Tree Ship has popped back into view. Or, better put, into memory. more

Posted by Kenan at 04:28 PM

Late-season bass fishing still productive

By Bob Gwizdz
Mt. Clemens -- Joe Balog thinks bass anglers who have already put away their fishing rigs for the season are missing the boat. more

Posted by Kenan at 04:26 PM

Another reason to close Great Lakes

Eric Sharp
A federal agency has banned transporting 27 species of live fish out of eight Great Lakes states or importing them from two Canadian provinces in an effort to stop the spread of a disease called viral hemorrhagic septicemia. more

Posted by Kenan at 04:22 PM

November 10, 2006

November 11th, 2006

Northwest Sailing Assoc. Needs Help with Banquet
www.nwsail.com
847-710-6972
Arlington Heights, IL

Posted by Kenan at 10:09 AM

November 08, 2006

Boating Safety Sidekicks Contest

Manassas, VA - The National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) has launched its annual Boating Safety Sidekicks contest. The contest's theme is: "I'm a Safe Boaters. Are You?" Kids between the ages of 4 to 15 are eligible to enter anytime between now and January 1, 2007. more

Posted by Kenan at 02:46 PM

Ice Mountain remains central to water debate

By Sally Barber, Cadillac News
Evart - A vested bystander in a landmark court case, the City of Evart waits as its prime prospect for economic growth is embroiled in a complex legal fight over water rights.

The case is now at the State Supreme Court level. more

Posted by Kenan at 02:08 PM

Mackinaw does buoy work

By Mike Fornes
Cheboygan - A two-week training period behind them, the officers and crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw departed the Cheboygan River early Monday for a week of buoy work in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. more

Posted by Kenan at 02:01 PM

Ontario planning storage site near Lake Huron shore

By Nicole Gerring
Local officials have joined a bi-national effort to stop a proposal to build an underground nuclear-waste storage facility less than a mile from Lake Huron's shore. more

Posted by Kenan at 01:57 PM

November 06, 2006

Great Lakes fish stable, but they'd feel a fallout

BY Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki
The Great Lakes are not showing the same trends of overfishing that some researchers claim could help lead to the demise of ocean seafood by as early as 2048, said Jim Bence, a professor in Michigan State University's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. more

Posted by Kenan at 01:39 PM

November 03, 2006

Shipwreck service changes focus, date

Whitefish Point - The handful of annual memorial observances timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking in 1975 will be reduced by one, according to a statement from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:40 AM

Grant to fund 5-year study of Lake Erie `dead zones'

Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP) - A $2.5 million grant will fund a five-year study of Lake Erie "dead zones" where there is little or no dissolved oxygen - a condition that can kill fish and cause toxic algae blooms. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:34 AM

MI plants to get $1.8M in spill detection technology

Port Huron, MI - Around $9 million in spill-detection technology will be distributed to 10 Michigan water plants, according to an October 30 story in the Times Herald.more

Posted by Kenan at 09:32 AM

Mary Jemison tour boat heads for dry dock

Jeffrey Blackwell
Staff writer

(November 2, 2006) - On a beautiful fall day, the Mary Jemison motored out from the dock at Corn Hill for the last trip of the season and the first part of a two-leg journey to a dry dock in Cayuga Lake for the winter. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:30 AM

Plenty of people both on the water and in the woods

The big draw in Northwest Michigan right now is perch fishing.

There are lots of folks in the woods hunting, but there seems to be just as many on the lakes fishing. There is even some perch fishing on Lake Michigan and when the fish are located on the big lake it is usually very good. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:28 AM

Caught, but not released

BY Eric Sharp
Free Press Outdoors Writer

Brooklyn, Mich. -- When a new disease called viral hemorrhagic septicemia apparently was brought into the Great Lakes from the oceans and killed a couple of thousand muskellunge in Lake St. Clair last spring, fisheries biologists hoped it was a transitory event that would blow over. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:25 AM

Battle Over Logs in Lake Goes on

Baraga - Nearly 10 years have passed since the matter of submerged logs in Lake Superior reached the Michigan legal system.

But the principals in the case are still involved in the controversy that surrounds it. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:22 AM

Lake Erie's dead zone re-emerges

Amy Lee / The Detroit News
The reappearance of a dead zone in Lake Erie has environmentalists perplexed because they're again attacking an issue largely thought to be resolved. more

Posted by Kenan at 09:20 AM

November 01, 2006

Toxin levels in fish

By: John Bronz

LANSING - The Department of Community Health (DCH) is having difficulty creating health advisories for imported and locally caught fish because it's difficult to determine where the fish is caught.

Case in point: whitefish caught in the Great Lakes. more

Posted by Kenan at 01:50 PM

Kingston takes aim as U.S. live-fire plans

Kingston — Politicians here are taking aim at a U.S. Coast Guard plan to turn sections of the Great Lakes into firing ranges.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced plans in September to conduct training exercises on the lakes, and decided to hold public consultations in American communities after an outcry from concerned citizens. more

Posted by Kenan at 01:46 PM