News
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NOAA and Partners Predict Large Harmful Algal Bloom This Summer for Western Lake Erie
European Space Agency (ESA) Envisat satellite image taken on Oct. 8, 2011, showing a harmful algal bloom in the western basin of Lake Erie. (July 19, 2019) NOAA and its research partners predict that western Lake Erie will experience a significant harmful algal bloom this summer. A wet spring in 2019 increased nutrient flow into the lake, which will likely increase the size of this year’s bloom.
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Lake Erie “Ponarpalooza:” Scientists Conduct Survey of Lake Erie Bottom-Dwelling Organisms
Image from 2019 CSMI Lake Erie Benthos Survey, taken by an underwater video camera, showing the lakebed, 14 meters deep at station 959 in the Central Basin of Lake Erie. You can see sediment bedforms, or ripples and dunes formed by flowing water, and Quagga mussels living on rocks and on native Unionid mussels. (July 18, 2019) - Researchers participating in the 2019 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative are currently aboard the research vessel Lake Guardian in Lake Erie, monitoring and mapping the distribution of bottom-dwelling organisms. Their goal is to better understand the health of the lake’s lower food web.
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Educators Participate in Center for Great Lakes Literacy’s Shipboard Science Workshop
2016 Collecting Zooplankton on the Lake Guardian (July 11, 2019) As part of the annual Shipboard Science Workshop, fifteen educators from the Great Lakes Basin are participating in a week-long immersive workshop aboard the EPA research vessel Lake Guardian. They will gain first-hand experience exploring Lake Erie’s ecological, physical, and chemical processes.
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Great Lakes National Program Office and Zephyr Remediation Team Receive Awards from Western Dredging Association
Zephyr project partners met on site throughout the remediation process. Caitie Nigrelli (center) represented U.S. EPA GLNPO and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. (July 9, 2019) At WEDA’s Annual Summit and Expo, the Zephyr remediation team received an “Environmental Excellence Award,” to recognize their environmental awareness during the Zephyr Refinery Project. In addition, EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office received the “Special Recognition Award,” recognizing its long-standing efforts to restore and protect the health of the Great Lakes.
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Discovery World Earth Day event promotes public awareness of invasive species impacts to the Great Lakes
Regional Wildlife Program Manager Tracy Grazia leads visitors through wildlife skulls and furs, an interactive experience at the Forest Service booth. USDA Forest Service photo. (June 18, 2019) : The Milwaukee Discovery World Earth Day event educated over 7,800 visitors on environmental issues in the Great Lakes. Forest Service staff presented information on topics including clean water, invasive species, and native wildlife.
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Canada and the United States Release 2019 Progress Report of the Parties
Habitat work conducted at Buckhorn Island was a binational effort that will provide 33 acres of high quality habitat for bird and mammal species alike. Credit: Michael Kuzia-Carmel, New York AOC Coordinator. (June 17, 2019) The US and Canada report progress in Great Lakes protection and restoration since 2016. Accomplishments are detailed in the second Progress Report of the Parties issued under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
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Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund Awards $1.46 Million to Improve Community and Habitat Resilience in Southeast Michigan
Foot bridge over the Huron River. Credit: NFWF. (June 11, 2019) New public-private partnership funds seven projects to reduce stormwater impact, improve water quality, enhance habitat, and increase accessibility and usability of public green space.
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Localized Green Infrastructure Guide Wins Award
Great Lakes Green Infastructure (June 6, 2019) American Society of Landscape Architects presents merit award for Green Infrastructure Retrofit Manual to City of Rochester and Monroe County
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EPA provides $1.3 million to Ohio for Management Assistance Great Lakes programs
(May 31, 2019) EPA has awarded $1.3 million to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for management assistance pertaining to Lakewide Action and Management Plan and Remedial Action Plans for Areas of Concern.
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Teaming Up to Train Professionals on Harmful Algal Blooms
Gina LaLiberte (left), blue-green algae coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, leads a hands-on “algae zoo” during the workshop’s noontime break. (May 31, 2019) GLRI partners recently teamed up to offer a one-day workshop – “Blooms in the Big Lake.” The workshop addressed regional preparedness for blooms in western Lake Superior like those that occurred last August near the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.