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April 30, 2007
The call of duty
Troy Laack
Sheboygan Press
The United States Coast Guard carries out many duties on Lake Michigan off the Sheboygan shoreline, including daily patrols to maintain the U.S. Homeland Security Department's mission and rescues from sinking boats. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:39 AM
Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail
H2O Notes
"Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail" is the focus of a new exhibit and a noted speakers series that will run from May 17 through September 20 at Seaway Trail Discovery Center in Sackets Harbor, NY. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:07 AM
Coast Guard releases water level data for Great Lakes
The Port Huron Times Herald
Low water levels continue on Lake Superior, the U.S. Coast Guard reported Wednesday in its forecast for May. As of May 5, Lake Superior is expected to be a foot below "chart datum" -- a plane of reference used on navigation charts -- while water levels on Lake Huron-Michigan are expected to be near normal. The two lakes are connected and in a hydrological sense are a single body of water. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:06 AM
April 26, 2007
Jet boat rally makes some noise
Suzanne Mason
St. Catharine Standard
A newly formed citizens group held a protest rally in front of the municipal hall Monday in response to the town's decision not to allow any more presentations on the renewal of a lease with Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours until a public meeting is held. The Niagara River Coalition, started by a group of about 20 residents from across the town, staged the rally just before the town council meeting Monday evening. more
Posted by Kenan at 02:00 PM
Early signs point to a super salmon season
Eric Sharp
Detroit Free Press
While he has been catching limits of three- to four-pound coho salmon for the past couple of weeks, Capt. Ken Neidlinger hopes that next week will bring a repeat of a phenomenon he saw last spring in St. Joseph Harbor. "Every year in late April, early May, the alewives come into the harbor by the millions," said Neidlinger, who runs Silverking Sportfishing Charters. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:17 PM
April 25, 2007
Great Lakes State Park Recommended
Patrick Sullivan
Traverse City Record-Eagle
Bills proposed by a group of state legislators including Sen. Michelle McManus would create Michigan's largest -- and wettest -- state park. The package of bills would designate the bottomlands of the Great Lakes within Michigan territory "the Great Lakes State Park." more
Posted by Kenan at 11:40 AM
Harbor issues dredge up politics
George Weeks
The Escanaba Daily Press
Northern Michigan's congressmen deserve credit for pushing commendable House action last week to correct a federal policy on harbor dredging that discriminates against smaller cities along the Great Lakes with ports that receive commercial cargo. But a troubling problem still looms this boating season for recreational boaters and some commercial interests in shallow-draft harbors like Leland on Lake Michigan that face a no-dredge season because of budget "earmarks" power politics during this year's transition from GOP to Democratic rule on Capitol Hill. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:37 AM
April 24, 2007
Zany U.P. weather tricking birds
Scot Stewart
The Mining Journal
It's not even clear if the birds know what season it has been. With the intermittent snowstorms and flurries the first two weeks of April, lots of birds stacked up south of the main snow line, just north of U.S. 2 in the southern Lower Peninsula. Piles of robins, juncos, kinglets and other early migrants were seen between the southern tip of the Great Lakes and U.S. 2, slowed even further by more perplexing snows in Wisconsin, lower Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:37 AM
Drunken Boating Law
WHBF Des Moines
The Iowa Senate has approved a proposal to lower the state's threshold for drunken boating. Under the bill, boaters will be held to the same standards as motorists when drinking. more
Posted by Kenan at 10:59 AM
Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta Sails into Annapolis
This week, the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (N.O.O.D.) Regatta sets sail to Annapolis Yacht Club (AYC) in Annapolis, Md. From April 27-29, competition in 16 one-design classes will take place on the Chesapeake Bay. While most of the 262 boats registered to date are from the greater Annapolis/Baltimore/D.C. region, a total of 24 U.S. states are represented along with Canada and the U.K. The overall winner in Annapolis will receive a Sunsail charter during the 2007 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta Championship, in the British Virgin Islands, where they will compete against the overall winners from each stop on the nine-regatta Sperry Top-Sider NOOD circuit. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:11 AM
April 23, 2007
Ban ocean vessels in lakes? Some are floating the idea
Dan Egan
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The idea of banning oceangoing vessels from the Great Lakes to halt the onslaught of invasive species would have been universally dismissed as nonsense just a few years ago. Not anymore. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:27 AM
Food supply for big fish in decline
Jeff Alexander
The Grand Rapids Press
The volume of Lake Michigan prey fish -- the food supply for big sport fish -- plunged last year to the lowest level ever recorded. Meanwhile, foreign invaders zebra and quagga mussels and the troublesome goby enjoyed population explosions, according to the latest government data. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:25 AM
Success comes in waves
Sherry Stuart-Zuege
Green Bay Press-Gazette
Tom Kleiman Jr. felt like a pretty lucky kid. He'd jump on his bicycle after school and pedal down to the lakefront to Tom's Sport Shop. "My dad owned it, and, heck, I grew up there," remembers Kleiman. They sold and serviced boats, snowmobiles, lawn mowers and had hunting and fishing gear. Kleiman worked at the sport shop and his dad sent him to factory training classes before he finished high school. more
Posted by Kenan at 10:55 AM
Boyd Lake open for boating
The Greeley Tribune
The reservoir at Boyd Lake State Park has been opened for boating this weekend. The reservoir is filling up and conditions are ideal for fishing, according to a park press release. more
Posted by Kenan at 10:51 AM
April 20, 2007
Weather delays boating season
Bill Chapin
Port Huron Times Herald
Maybe the season will become one of those, "Do you remember ... ?" stories that gets told around the bar at the Port Huron Yacht Club. Years from now, sailors still may be talking about the April that was so cold almost none of the boats had shed their winter coverings nearly 30 days after the alleged first day of spring. more
Posted by Kenan at 01:57 PM
Boats are in the water
Deanna Wheeler
Lake Sun
Almost a hundred boats are expected to be on display and for sale by almost every marina in the area this weekend for the 26th annual Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealer's Association In-Water Boat Show. Three years ago the show moved to the Horny Toad Entertainment Complex. more
Posted by Kenan at 01:54 PM
Tribes, state sign Lake Superior fishing pact
Chad Dally
The Ashland Daily Press
After years of contentious debates over regulation of the Lake Superior fishery, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Thursday signed a 10-year management agreement with the Bad River and Red Cliff bands of Lake Superior Chippewa. more
Posted by Kenan at 01:31 PM
Tribes, state sign Lake Superior fishing pact
Chad Dally
The Ashland Daily Press
After years of contentious debates over regulation of the Lake Superior fishery, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Thursday signed a 10-year management agreement with the Bad River and Red Cliff bands of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Posted by Kenan at 01:25 PM
Southern thirst could leave Georgian Bay feeling dry
Shannon Jones
Huntsville Forester
In order to protect the Great Lakes Basin, the Ontario government announced new legislation earlier this month that strengthens the ban on water diversions to the United States. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:56 AM
April 19, 2007
Tagging, tracking Asian carp
Matt Buedel
Peoria Journal Star
Greg Conover scraped away some of the fish's belly scales and made a smooth 2-inch incision, declaring that this particular 3-foot, 20-pound bighead carp was one of the lucky ones. It and other species of invasive Asian carp that have overrun the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, after all, don't often make it back to the water once they've been in contact with man. Considered a scourge by fish biologists like Conover and anglers alike, many carp have flopped their last on the decks of boats, only to be unceremoniously tossed back overboard. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:37 AM
Deadly VHS fish virus discovered
The Dunn County News
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently called an emergency meeting of the Natural Resources Board to address the potential spread of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) to fish in Wisconsin's inland waters. VHS is one of the most serious threats that we've seen in Wisconsin’s fisheries and the state's $2.3 billion fishing industry, according to Scott Hassett, DNR secretary. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:36 AM
April 18, 2007
Low water levels in lakes
Jim Birchard
Bayshore Broadcasting Corp.
Be prepared for another summer of low water levels in Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. That is the forcast from Enviornment Canada's Centre for Inland Waters. Chuck Southam says despite the spring run off, there has not been a substantial increase in water levels compared to a year ago. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:22 PM
Michigan pushes feds to stop Asian Carp from invading Great Lakes
Carin Tunney
WZZM
The Michigan Senate today passed a resolution seeking more federal help to stop the migration of the Asian Carp into Michigan waterways. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom, encourages the U.S. Congress to support legislation to help prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes ecosystem. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:20 PM
Cowabunga! New exhibit immortalizes area surfers
Chad D. Lerch
Muskegon Chronicle
When you think about the world's premier surfing destinations, Hawaii, California and even the Jersey coast probably come to mind. But for a group of dedicated West Michigan surfers, there's no place like Grand Haven. Now, they have a summer-long museum exhibit to shore up their claim. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:42 AM
April 17, 2007
That sinking feeling
Jim Newton
Chicago Sun-Times
From an increase in construction material costs to a decrease in slips that can accommodate deep-keeled recreational craft, low water levels are causing headaches on the Great Lakes. "It has been this way for several years, but it is particularly problematic this spring. The water level is lower," said Duncan Henderson, executive director of the Waukegan Port Authority. more
Posted by Kenan at 03:22 PM
2007 SCOTIABANK CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL OPTIMIST REGATTA
Unofficially dubbed the "biggest little regatta in the Caribbean," the Scotiabank Caribbean International Optimist Regatta, hosted by St. Thomas Yacht Club in the U.S. Virgin Islands, is set to sail for its 15th time from June 21 to 24, 2007. A starting line with 80-plus skippers from 8 to 15 years of age is expected, and participants will hail from all three U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Trinidad and other Caribbean island nations such as Martinique and St. Lucia. “We’re also expecting up to four teams of sailors from the U.S. mainland, Florida and New York,” says Karen Rice, who co-directs this year’s regatta with Cindy Hackstaff. more
Posted by Kenan at 03:00 PM
April 16, 2007
Lighthouse beacon to beckon more tourists
Erik Adams
Capital News Service
As wind and water have reshaped Tawas Point -- the land mass that separates Tawas Bay from Lake Huron -- so has the lighthouse that marks the point. The beacon first shone in 1852, when the area was still known as Ottawa Point. Twenty-four years later, the point's growth left the lighthouse a quarter-mile offshore. A second, taller lighthouse was erected closer to the water. more
Posted by Kenan at 01:10 PM
A Great Lake
Alan Solomon
Chicago Tribune
Michele Kuder talks about the Indiana beach she loves. "I grew up here, before it was national lakeshore," she says. "You've got beautiful sand and really nice dunes, a couple of cliffy-looking things, a bunch of rocks." Lake Michigan is ringed with beaches, but it's surprising is how different the beaches that share this body of water can be from one another. more
Posted by Kenan at 01:02 PM
April 13, 2007
Radio-equipped fish helping researchers
Toledo Blade
Sandusky River anglers again are invited figuratively to tune into radio station "WALY" this spring and participate in research aimed at eventually boosting the flagging stocks of walleye that annually make spring runs up to the Fremont area and Ballville Dam. more
Posted by Kenan at 02:31 PM
Lower water means headaches on Great Lakes
Associated Press
When Fred Shusterich looks around the harbor on Lake Superior, he sees things he hasn't seen in years -- little islands poking out of the water. Shusterich is concerned, like many others connected to the shipping industry, about what those islands signify off the city of Superior in far northern Wisconsin. more
Posted by Kenan at 02:28 PM
Charleston Race Week Set To Deliver
Registration Day dawned with the kind of weather that brings sailors to South Carolina every April for Charleston Race Week, an event that continues to grow despite shrinking fleets at so many other big U.S. events. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:09 AM
April 12, 2007
Coho may catch a cold
Dan Moran
Suburban Chicago News
Lake County anglers have become accustomed to monitoring health warnings about the fish they pull from Lake Michigan, with advisories posted in past years about the dangers of polychlorinated biphenyls. But there is a new disease to watch out for this year, one that is said to be harmless to humans but potentially devastating for Great Lakes fish populations: viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, which some describe as the Ebola virus for fish. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:00 PM
Great Lakes agreement could spring a leak
Tim Morris
Toronto Star
Last week, Ontario's government introduced legislation in support of a regional agreement to oversee large-scale water use in the region. Significantly, the regional agreement prohibits siphoning Great Lakes water to thirsty regions in the American southwest. But there is a worrying loophole: Even though the proposed legislation bans diversions out of the basin, it still permits large-scale diversions between individual Great Lakes within the basin. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:55 AM
April 11, 2007
Baylis Wins 2007 Rolex Women's Match
Liz Baylis (San Rafael, Calif.) and her San Francisco Women's Match Racing Team won the 2007 Rolex Women's Match, hosted by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.) from April 5-9. With the win, Baylis, along with second-place finisher Rachel Silverstein (St. Petersburg, Fla.), gained an automatic invitation into the Rolex Osprey Cup, an ISAF Grade 1 regatta, to be held October 18-22, at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. more
Posted by Kenan at 01:22 PM
Dredging crews dig river bottom so boaters won't
Danielle Quisenberry
Port Huron Times Herald
The Black River bridges in Port Huron have been going up and down as the river is being dredged in preparation for the coming boating season. For weeks, a barge with a large backhoe placed on it has been removing silt from the river bottom in the city's Water Street and River Street marinas, placing it on vacant land north of the Water Street Marina. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:50 AM
Experts fear fish virus will spread into Lake Michigan
Associated Press
A virus that has killed tens of thousands of fish in the eastern Great Lakes appears headed for Lake Michigan, where wildlife experts fear it could threaten the sport-fishing industry. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:49 AM
Icebreaking season closes
Duluth News Tribune
The icebreaking season on the western Great Lakes has come to a close, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday. Dubbed Operation Taconite, it is the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:26 AM
April 10, 2007
Rules to curb fish-killing virus could affect local businesses
Chad Dally
The Ashland Daily Press
New rules intended to protect the long-term health of Wisconsin's fishing industry in the face of a dangerous, fish-killing virus have some bait suppliers and shop owners wondering about short-term survival. more
Posted by Kenan at 01:38 PM
Bid calls for right to walk beaches
Mary-Jane Egan
London Free Press
With beach weather so close you can taste it, an MPP will make a pitch today to eliminate fences on public access ways along the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Right of Passage Act -- being proposed in a private member's bill by by Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor (L) -- goes to the heart of an ongoing legal skirmish over a fence on a Port Stanley beach and could well have effects provincewide. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:10 PM
It's a wild, wild state of warming
Tina Lam
Free Press
Phil Myers still remembers the night in 1985 when he saw a possum crossing the path of his headlights near the tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. "I was absolutely thrilled," said Myers, who saw the animal while driving in Wilderness State Park. Not many people get so excited about a lowly possum. But Myers is a biologist who studies the critters and had never seen one that far north. Scientific collections dating to 1857 showed that possums were rare in northern Michigan. The creatures, common in the southeastern United States, evolved in the tropics and don't do well in brutal winters. more
Posted by Kenan at 10:52 AM
Pact debate testing Great Lakes region
John Flesher
Associated Press
The governors of the eight Great Lakes states worked for four years to write a plan that would protect their abundant water from being piped south to regions where booming populations face dwindling water supplies. But the sharpest attacks on the proposed regional compact are coming not from the distant Sun Belt but from within the Great Lakes states themselves as the plan is submitted to legislators for ratification. more
Posted by Kenan at 10:49 AM
April 05, 2007
Anglers could unknowingly break law while using bait
Kevin Naze
Green Bay Press-Gazette
Going fishing on the Fox River this weekend? How about the Menominee River, Sturgeon Bay or Lake Michigan? If you're going fishing this weekend, you better take a crash course on the latest rules on bait or you'll risk being cited for breaking the law and could spread a deadly fish virus to the state's inland waters. more
Posted by Kenan at 02:06 PM
State lowers perch bag limit
D'Arcy Egan
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Ohio is lowering the sportsmen's daily bag limit for yellow perch from 40 to 30 fish per day and cutting commercial fishing catch limits to 2006 levels. "Our goal as managers is to stay flexible, stay informed and be ready to adapt when change is needed," said Director Sean Logan of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. "We intend to make management of this valuable resource a top priority." more
Posted by Kenan at 01:46 PM
Cheboygan Lighthouse to undergo renovation
Sheri McWhirter
Traverse City Record-Eagle
Terry Pepper climbed several sets of winding stairs, his hand dragging along a dusty banister. When he reached the top of the Cheboygan River Front Range Lighthouse, he pointed to where a red light shines toward Lake Huron to help direct ships into the Cheboygan River channel. more
Posted by Kenan at 01:39 PM
April 04, 2007
Heed emergency rules to protect our lakes
Editorial
The Sheboygan Press
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is asking Lake Michigan recreational boaters and anglers to be the first line of defense in the latest threat to the Great Lakes. For the long-term health of Great Lakes sport fishing, they must respond positively. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:57 AM
Will Great Lakes be preyed upon?
John Flesher
AP Environmental Writer
As governors of the Great Lakes states debated how to prevent outsiders from staking a claim to their precious water, advocates warned that without a deal, the region would be at the mercy of an increasingly powerful - and thirsty - Sun Belt. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:52 AM
New bill shores up Lakes' protection
Keith Leslie
Canadian Press
Legislation to strengthen the protection of water in the Great Lakes will be introduced today in the Ontario Legislature. Canadian Press has learned that the Ontario government has been successful in convincing the U.S. states involved in the plan to agree to much tougher rules than were originally outlined. more
Posted by Kenan at 10:52 AM
Mackinac Memories'
To everyone who has sailed the 333 statute miles from Chicago to Mackinac Island —in one or more of the 98 Mac races since 1898— Let us hear your stories! In a spirit of preservation and celebration of the best 'Mackinac Memories,' Chicago Yacht Club and Lands’ End are sponsoring an essay contest. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:12 AM
April 03, 2007
Tours feature Great Lakes lighthouses
Shawna Jankoviak
Cheboygan Daily Tribune
A variety of lighthouse-related excursions on the Great Lakes will be offered by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association during the 2007 season. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:02 PM
Pathogen stalks fish
Peter Gorrie
Toronto Star
Sometime this spring, Great Lakes fish could start dying by the tens of thousands. It happened a few times last year: This year might be worse. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:59 AM
A slippery slope
Hannah Hoag
Toronto Globe and Mail
The latest data suggest that the population of the American eel in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region has dropped by more than 90 per cent in five decades. Wildlife managers believe this could not only send that community into collapse but could also launch a devastating ripple through the freshwater ecosystem. more
Posted by Kenan at 11:55 AM
Climate forecast grim for Canada
Peter Calamai
Toronto Star
By the end of this century, fires will consume twice as much forest annually in Canada, a fifth of the currently snowy Arctic will be greened by tundra and Great Lakes water levels will have plunged still lower, international scientists are going to warn this week in an authoritative climate change report. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:15 AM
Fighting a fish killer
Lee Berquist
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
With state officials almost certain that a deadly fish virus is now lurking in the waters of Lake Michigan, a state agency is expected to approve emergency regulations Wednesday to control the spread of the disease. more
Posted by Kenan at 09:12 AM
April 02, 2007
Rainbows more of a shore thing
Jim Lee
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
While the quality of brown trout fishing on Lake Michigan has ebbed in recent years, opportunities have improved for near-shore rainbow trout anglers along Wisconsin's eastern shore. The rainbow — also called steelhead — resurgence can be attributed to a Department of Natural Resources experimental program designed to improve shore fishing opportunities, according to Steve Hogler, DNR fisheries biologist. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:08 PM
Great Lakes water compact tests regional unity
John Flesher
AP Environmental Writer
As governors of the Great Lakes states debated how to prevent outsiders from staking a claim to their precious water, advocates warned that without a deal, the region would be at the mercy of an increasingly powerful - and thirsty - Sun Belt. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:05 PM
Marina owners take dredging into own hands
Shandra Martinez
The Grand Rapids Press
Tired of waiting for the federal government to dredge their harbors, some local marina owners are turning to a private contractor to take care of the problem before boating season launches on Memorial Day weekend. more
Posted by Kenan at 12:03 PM