Explore our content

All types | All dates | All authors
Great Lakes
Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
12:03pm
Thu Apr 4

State Coalition Hosts Talk On Reversing The Chicago River

Illinois’ Healthy Water Solutions Coalition has a vision for Chicago’s future.

It includes revitalizing the Chicago River via restoring the natural divide between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins.

Physical separation of the basins and Lake Michigan is the only permanent solution to prevent invasive species from transferring through the Chicago waterways, members of the coalition said at it’s public “Changing Course: Revitalizing the Chicago River” talk Wednesday night. The meeting was set to get more people engaged with the issue.

“This is about a lot more than Asian carp,” said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. “This is about more than just one fish that threatens Lake Michigan. It’s about a number of different invasive species ... but it’s also about more than fish, and the ecosystem, and the lake. It’s about restoring and utilizing a precious resource that in many ways the city has turned its back on.”

Read more »

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
3:36pm
Fri Jul 13, 2012
1 comment

Despite Congressional Action, Alarm Bells Continue To Sound On Asian Carp

A Canadian government study (PDF) released yesterday revives fears that Asian Carp will set up a population in Lake Michigan before the federal government takes preemptive action. The report arrives as both the U.S. Congress and five Great Lake states, not including Illinois, push the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), a federal government agency, to take action by the end of 2013. Read more »

Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
12:59pm
Fri Jun 22, 2012

Highest Ever Findings Of Asian Carp DNA In Calumet Region Lead To Concerns

Recent testing of waters near Lake Michigan has netted genetic evidence of the presence of Asian carp for a third consecutive year.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported 17 positive results of Asian carp environmental DNA (eDNA) from 114 water samples taken out of Lake Calumet and the Little Calumet River, both located on Chicago’s far South Side, late last month.

The findings were the strongest proof in two years of the existence of the invasive species within the Chicago area, according to USACE Fishery Biologist Kelly Baerwaldt, who said the results marked the highest number of positive hits for a single day since the agency began taking samples in 2009.

Read more »

Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
4:15pm
Thu Apr 5, 2012

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Boosts Local Economy & Keeps Beaches Open

Fewer beaches in Illinois will be closed in upcoming summers and polluted waterways will be cleaned up as part of President Barack Obama’s plan to extend the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Obama’s pledge to further the program, which originated in 2009 and was set to expire in 2014, will mean more conservation groups and cities in the Great Lakes region will continue to receive money to preserve one of the country’s greatest assets, said Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
Read more »

Quick Hit
by Michael Piskur
4:15pm
Fri Feb 24, 2012

Federal Budget Cuts Could Put Great Lake Coastal Communities At Risk

The Obama Administration’s 2013 budget carries positives and negatives for the Great Lakes. The budget includes $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), a multi-year effort devoted to cleaning up toxins, combating invasive species, and protecting shores and wetlands from pollution.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, however, will suffer a 1.2 percent budget cut from the current year, and an approximately 16 percent reduction from 2011. Spending for drinking water and sewer infrastructure will take the brunt of the cuts, and the $9.9 million Beach Grants Program will be eliminated.

Read more »