From Sept. 3-17, scientists aboard the EPA Research Vessel Lake Guardian will conduct the 2021 EPA Great Lakes Summer Water Quality Monitoring Program and Biology Monitoring Program surveys on Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

EPA announces that habitat for mink and bottom-dwelling plants has improved enough to remove the Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairment from the Rochester Embayment AOC in Lake Ontario.

EPA has issued a request for applications for the Great Lakes Biology Monitoring Program: Zooplankton, Mysis, and Benthic Components. The deadline to apply is October 29, 2021.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Ashtabula River has been removed from the binational list of the Great Lakes' most environmentally degraded areas after decades of work. In the 1980s, the United States and Canada identified 43 "Areas of Concern" on the Great Lakes affected by historical contamination dating back over many decades. The Ashtabula River is the sixth AOC to be delisted in the United States and first of four in Ohio.

Illinois Beach State Park project to reduce shore erosion and nearshore habitat loss nears halfway completion mark. This U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pilot project will help determine whether similar technology can reduce shore erosion and improve habitat elsewhere in the Great Lakes.