Great Lakes

Great Lakes Shipping Picks Up After Slow Spring

glbm — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:04:09 +0000

Wisconsin Public Radio News

June 18 2013

Great Lakes cargo numbers rallied in May after a slow start. Shipping officials have some cautious optimism about the coming season, though the forecasting is based on a lot of “ifs.”

This year's slow start was blamed on winter making an extended stay, with snow storms and late ice clogging shipping traffic.

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Photo Credit:

Dynamix, via Wisconsin Public Radio News

Lookback: WWII veteran ship spends time as a civilian on the Great Lakes

glbm — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:02:59 +0000

Muskegon Chronicle

June 10 2013

A veteran of some of the toughest invasion landings of World War II, LST 393 spent 25 years as a civilian workhorse called the Highway 16 before a well-earned retirement as the USS LST 393 Veterans Museum

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Economic impact study underway

glbm — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:02:56 +0000

Stephannie Johnson, Nicole Million-Cole, Simcoe.com

June 6 2013

The cost of doing nothing to address the issue of low water levels on the Great Lakes will be high.

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International Joint Commission issues Great Lakes report card

glbm — Fri, 31 May 2013 20:40:50 +0000

Emanuele Berry, Great Lakes Echo

May 31 2013

Over the past 25 years, environmental protection measures have greatly improved the health of the Great Lakes. However, the region’s waterways are facing new issues.

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IJC Releases 16th Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality: Notes Significant Achievement but Sustained Investment and Action Needed

glbm — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:41:56 +0000

International Joint Commission (IJC)

May 19 2013

The International Joint Commission (IJC) today released a report on how the health of the Great Lakes has changed over the past 25 years.

While sustained governmental and public efforts have measurably improved Great Lakes water quality, rapid reduction in ice cover and the resurgence of some pollutants like excess nutrients are among the indicators currently raising concerns. Based on contributions from a wide range of U.S. and Canadian experts, the report reveals a mix of achievements and challenges.

"With the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement just revised in 2012, both Canada and the U.S. have renewed and strengthened their commitment to protect and restore the Great Lakes," said Joe Comuzzi, Canadian Chair of the IJC. "Tight budgets on both sides of the border mean that cooperation and coordination of clean-up efforts are even more important, and the recommendations in this report can help."

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Great Facts About the Five Great Lakes

glbm — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:50:29 +0000

Kim Ann Zimmermann

May 6 2013

The Great Lakes — Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Erie — make up the largest body of fresh water on Earth, accounting for one-fifth of the freshwater surface on the planet at 6 quadrillion gallons. The area of all the Great Lakes is 95,160 square miles (246,463 square kilometers).

The lakes are on the U.S.-Canadian border, touching Ontario in Canada and Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York in the United States. About 34 million people in the United States and Canada live in the Great Lakes basin. More than 3,500 species of plants and animals inhabit the Great Lakes basin, including 170-plus species of fish.

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Obama Administration Releases Plan to Promote Ocean Economy and Resilience

glbm — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:38:49 +0000

Becky Fried

April 18 2013

Today, the Obama Administration released its final plan for translating the National Ocean Policy into on-the-ground actions to benefit the American people. With significant public input from a wide spectrum of individuals and interests, the final Implementation Plan focuses on improving coordination to speed Federal permitting decisions; better manage the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources that drive so much of our economy; develop and disseminate sound scientific information that local communities, industries, and decision-makers can use; and collaborate more effectively with State, Tribal, and local partners, marine industries, and other stakeholders. Without creating any new regulations or authorities, the plan will ensure the many Federal agencies involved in ocean management work together to reduce duplication and red tape and use taxpayer dollars more efficiently.

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Will Congress preserve Great Lakes restoration funding?

glbm — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:57:27 +0000

Rebecca Williams, Michigan Radio

April 16 2013

President Obama is asking for $300 million for the Great Lakes in his 2014 budget. That money would go to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

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Great Lakes water levels: A major piece of low water levels explained

glbm — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:03:02 +0000

Mark Torregrossa

April 10 2013

The Great Lakes water levels are like a puzzle with many pieces.

I've been writing about the weather part of the water level puzzle.

The amount of water going into the Great Lakes due to weather factors is a fairly straightforward formula.

The formula is rainfall on the lake and over the drainage basin minus the evaporation of the lake water.

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Toxic chemicals turn up in Great Lakes plastic pollution

glbm — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:43:29 +0000

Kathiann M. Kowalski, Great Lakes Echo

April 10 2013

Toxic chemicals clinging to plastics could cause health problems for fish and other organisms in the Great Lakes.

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GLBF Letter to EPA

glbm — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:10:42 +0000

Great Lakes Boating Federation

April 5 2013

Click on link to read the letter.

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EPA’s List of Advisers Contains Glaring Omission: BOATERS

glbm — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:40:53 +0000

Great Lakes Boating Federation

April 5 2013

Chicago--When the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its list of advisory board members “to support implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)” on March 13,
it contained a glaring omission: BOATERS.

In a letter to the acting EPA administrator, F. Ned Dikmen, Ph.D., president of the Great Lakes Boating Federation (GLBF), the organization that is the voice of the more than 4.2 million registered boaters who use the Great Lakes, said that issuing such a list without boaters “does a real disservice to the millions of people who boat and fish on the Great Lakes.”

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