Great Lakes Daily News

Ice coverage on the Great Lakes dropped significantly in recent days as temperatures have been consistently above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The Great Lakes were at 19.13% coverage as of March 12 according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.

The USA Today 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards revealed nominations for Best Recreational Trail this week, listing Minnesota’s Gitchi-Gami State Trail among the top contenders. This Minnesota Department of Natural Resources-built-and-managed paved trail is currently 36 miles, but it will eventually extend to 86 miles spanning five state parks along Minnesota’s North Shore. Read the full story by MLive.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of Great Lakes Day, an annual convening of environmentalists, policy experts, scientists, and small business owners on Capitol Hill. A top priority this year is the reauthorization of the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), as its five-year authorization is set to expire on September 30. Read the full story by Circle of Blue.

The Ford government of Ontario is moving ahead with its plan to merge 36 conservation authorities into nine—two more than originally proposed—and it has created an agency with a $20-million budget to see it through. Notably, the Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority and a Huron-Superior Regional Conservation Authority have each been split into two. Read the full story by The Narwhal.

According to local officials, a sewage leak in Olcott, New York, is now under control after more than 1 million gallons of raw, untreated sewage leaked into the Olcott Harbor. For six days, sewage had poured into the Eighteen Mile Creek in Olcott, just feet from where the creek leads into Lake Ontario. Read the full story by WKBW-TV – Buffalo, NY.

In a Tuesday social media post, President Trump said he is collaborating with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to fight against invasive carp in the Great Lakes, following a recent meeting with the governor. Read the full story by WLNS-TV – Lansing, MI.

Spending three days in Washington, D.C., last week, Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham and 23 other municipal leaders from the U.S. and Canada spoke to officials at the White House and members of Congress about the importance of fresh water and economic stability. Both Cunningham and Benton Harbor, Michigan, Mayor Marcus Muhammad talked to members of Congress about the importance of the State Revolving Fund programs, which provide low-cost financing for water quality infrastructure, including lead service line replacement. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.

The U.S. Coast Guard began ice-breaking operations Monday across key Great Lakes waterways to clear shipping channels ahead of the 2026 commercial navigation season. Coast Guard Sector Northern Great Lakes launched the operations in Duluth, Minnesota, and on the St. Marys River, targeting areas critical for vessel traffic when the shipping season begins. Read the full story by WISC-TV – Madison, WI.

Once written off as too polluted to support many whitefish, Green Bay, Wisconsin has produced an unlikely population boom in recent years, even as the iconic species vanishes from most of the lower Great Lakes. As scientists work to understand what makes Green Bay unique, their findings could aid whitefish recovery efforts throughout the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley spent part of last week in Washington, D.C., joining municipal leaders from the United States and Canada to advocate for the future of the Great Lakes. While at the event, Bradley met with congressional offices to urge federal leaders to continue investing in programs that protect the lakes while supporting the communities and industries that depend on them. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.