Great Lakes Daily News

Last winter, the ponds in the park where marbled crayfish – a Great Lakes invasive species – were first discovered in Ontario were drained in hopes that the crayfish would freeze to death. But that didn’t happen, likely thanks to the unseasonably warm weather and their burrowing ability. Now the Invading Species Awareness Program of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has launched a regional sweep from Ottawa to Windsor. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

A 15-year-old piping plover, known by researchers as Of,gb:X,Y, or “Gabby,” was confirmed this week as having once again migrated from her wintering grounds in Cumberland Island, Georgia, to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan for another summer breeding season. Read the full story by MLive.

A project that helps prevent plastic pollution from entering Lake Superior and Thunder Bay’s local waterways is receiving $45,000 in funding from Ontario. Cutting-edge catch basin filters called LittaTraps will be placed at city parks, waterfront areas and parking lots to capture microplastics before they enter marine ecosystems. Read the full story by CBC News.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency kicked off an $84 million dredging project in the lower Rouge River around Zug Island in southeast Michigan this month, aiming to remove the pollution that makes the Rouge one of the most toxic sites in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Detroit News.

A cutting-edge, high-efficiency cement carrier will make its way to the Great Lakes next year. According to Eureka Shipping, the state-of-the-art mechanical/pneumatic cement ship is designed to replace two older vessels while maintaining the same cargo capacity. Read the full story by the Welland Tribune.

The Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association has received 40,000 chinook salmon from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to eventually be released into Lake Michigan. Before the chinook salmon arrived, the association made several changes to its salmon rearing pond in hopes of having more fish survive while in their care. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.

A new roving trash collector called BeBot will soon hit the shores of Belle Isle State Park in Michigan to not only keep beaches clean for residents, but also prevent harmful trash from ending up in the waterways in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by CBC News.

The owners of Sunrise Farms in Palmyra Township, Michigan, are helping Michigan State University improve the water quality and reduce toxic algae in the area. The farm is implementing no-till and strip-till systems, cover crops, filter strips and water retention structures to keep nutrients on the farm. Read the full story by The Daily Telegram.

Through expansive cleaning efforts, Muskegon Lake in Muskegon, Michigan, has gone through every step required to remove its designation as an Area of Concern. However, residents of lower socioeconomic communities are raising concerns that the cleaned-up shoreline would be taken over by private interests. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.

Environmental advocates in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana applauded a tough new slate of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules for coal-fired power plants, including a sweeping regulation to sharply limit greenhouse gas pollution at coal-burning plants. Read the full story by WTTW-TV – Chicago, IL.