September 16, 2008
The Great Lakes and the Election
The Great Lakes will take a greater role in the 2008 election. A $20 billion dollar plan to help reduce invasive species, sewer overflows and loss of habitat for birds and other species is supported by both candidates. But, Barack Obama plans to release his own plan to help restore the watershed, with John McCain hiring consultants to brush him up on specific challenges facing the region.
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August 12, 2008
Ruling In Boundary Waters Case
One year after two men terrorized campers in the Boundary Waters, they were sentenced to three years in prison for their acts. Barney Lakner and Jay Olsen had entered the area with guns and fireworks, and went on a rampage in the Basswood Lake area of the park. The men are also banned from the BWCA for five years.
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July 9, 2008
Favorite Lakes
Here is a nice piece on why people love the lakes in Minnesota, from the Star Tribune. It helps explain why people form a life long attachment to their favorite lake....
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April 9, 2008
Delay in CDC Report
Are politicians to blame for a delay of the CDC’s report, "Public Health Implications of Hazardous Substances in the Twenty-Six U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern?" The report was due in July of 2007, but still has not seen the... Continue reading "Delay in CDC Report"
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March 13, 2008
Surface Water Protection Act- Iowa
Iowa's lakes are about to be protected further under the Surface Water Protection Act, which just cleared the Iowa House. A council would be charged with preserving and coordinating the state's water resources under the act. Plans are also underway... Continue reading "Surface Water Protection Act- Iowa"
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State Park in Minnesota in Doubt
A new Minnesota state park on Lake Vermilion may not see the light of day do to a land-swap provision. The bill died in the House Environment Committee with a 6-6 vote. The park would sit on 3,000 acres of... Continue reading "State Park in Minnesota in Doubt"
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February 5, 2008
BWCAW Terrorist Spree
Another man from Ely, Minnesota pleaded guilty to helping terrorize campers during a shooting spree in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The man pleaded guilty to felony aiding and abetting in connection with the incident on Basswood Lake, in... Continue reading "BWCAW Terrorist Spree"
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January 18, 2008
Indiana Senate Passes Compact
The Indiana Senate has passed a bill for the Great Lakes Compact. Each Great Lakes state will regulate water use and adopt conservation plans for protecting the five lakes - Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior. The vote was 47-0;... Continue reading "Indiana Senate Passes Compact"
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December 31, 2007
Wisconsin to Pass Great Lakes Compact
Wisconsin lawmakers plan to introduce a bill in late January to approve the Great Lakes Compact, two years after Jim Doyle and seven other Governors from around the Midwest and New York signed it. A group of four state legislators... Continue reading "Wisconsin to Pass Great Lakes Compact"
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November 27, 2007
Senator Carl Levin
Senator Carl Levin wants to protect “Shipwreck Alley” and expand the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, while preserving a special chapter in the history of the Great Lakes. Read his thoughts on the matter.... Continue reading "Senator Carl Levin"
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November 13, 2007
Presidential Candidates and Water
Are presidential candidates in the United States avoiding the issue of water shortages across the country? As some areas of the country have their supplies met, and even an overabundance, this issue can't stay buried from debates forever. But, candidates... Continue reading "Presidential Candidates and Water"
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October 19, 2007
Clean Water Restoration Act
The Clean Water Act is now 35 years old. But, the MLPC and some federal legislators feel it's time the Clean Water Act was revised. 170 members of Congress have signed on to a Clean Water Restoration Act, to help... Continue reading "Clean Water Restoration Act"
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September 27, 2007
Water Resources Development Act
President Bush will get a chance to reject legislation authorizing some $21 billion in national water projects, including an Asian carp barrier to the Great Lakes and many others that would impact the Midwest. The Senate approved the Water Resources... Continue reading "Water Resources Development Act"
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September 13, 2007
Wilderness Lakes
Read up on the debate on the wilderness lakes designation or classification happening in Northern and Central Wisconsin in this article out of Hayward. Wilderness Classification Link... Continue reading "Wilderness Lakes"
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August 28, 2007
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
An environmental group has sued the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for allegedly not taking action to protect Lake Superior and other waters from a deadly fish virus. The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy wants the state to prohibit Great Lakes... Continue reading "Minnesota Pollution Control Agency"
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August 9, 2007
NR115
States throughout the Midwest are struggling to find ways to protect shorelines along lakes and rivers. Minnesota and Wisconsin are in the process of rewriting some of their regulations, and in Wisconsin they are now in the public comment period....Link to this article | Comments (0)
August 2, 2007
Water Bill Passes
The House passed a $20 billion water projects bill that is filled with Army Corps of Engineers environmental projects and drinking water and wastewater treatment plants included by Senate and House negotiators. President Bush has promised to veto the bill.... Continue reading "Water Bill Passes"
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June 4, 2007
Devil's Lake Rock Climbing
Park rangers at Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin are advising hikers to be extra cautious and to stay on the marked trails. Since the first of the year, the Sauk County Ropes Rescue Division has been on five... Continue reading "Devil's Lake Rock Climbing"
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March 19, 2007
Channel Catfish
George Marzeck tried to convince lawmakers into establishing the channel catfish as Iowa's state fish. Marzeck believed success would be the exclamation at the end of his life. 40 years after he first suggested it, the state Senate last unanimously... Continue reading "Channel Catfish"
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January 23, 2007
Asian Carp Barrier
Two Illinois Congress members introduced legislation to fund an electric barrier keeping the nonnative Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. Biologists believe the carp would cause havoc for boaters and anglers, and threaten the region's $4.5 billion fishery. Rep.... Continue reading "Asian Carp Barrier"
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January 19, 2007
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Budget
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a plan to slash 71 positions across midwestern national wildlife refuges, about 20 percent of its work force in the region. The plan, to be phased in over the next three years, is... Continue reading "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Budget"
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December 8, 2006
Survey of the Nation's Lakes
To determine the health of America's lakes, ponds and reservoirs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided to study 909 water bodies whose profiles are representative of all lakes in the United States. The three-year Survey of the Nation's Lakes... Continue reading "Survey of the Nation's Lakes"
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October 11, 2006
Loren Eiseley
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." Loren Eiseley... Continue reading "Loren Eiseley"
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September 25, 2006
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain in Vermont remains at risk despite the state's pledge to speed cleanup on land to meet pollution reduction goals for the lake by 2009. There is a growing belief among experts that Vermont's $103 million cleanup plan won't... Continue reading "Lake Champlain"
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September 23, 2006
Water Quality on Reservations
The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency for authority under the Clean Water Act to run its own water quality standards program on the reservation east of Ashland, Wisconsin. They would... Continue reading "Water Quality on Reservations"
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September 22, 2006
Coast Guard "safety zones"
Earlier this summer, the Coast Guard announced plans to create 34 permanent “safety zones” in the Great Lakes, where live fire shooting exercises will be conducted. In an effort to inform the public about what will happen at these zones,... Continue reading "Coast Guard "safety zones""
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September 19, 2006
Water Woes
Forty percent of the world's population must hand pump or carry their water from wells, springs, rivers, ponds or rain catchment near or outside their homes. Over 1.4 billion people or nearly twenty percent of those living on earth do...Link to this article | Comments (0)
September 15, 2006
Great Lakes Cleanup
Officials from across the country sought support for an extensive Great Lakes cleanup plan pending in Congress, warning that the ecosystem could be facing a dangerous “tipping point” that could hinder future restoration. A House panel heard from government and... Continue reading "Great Lakes Cleanup"
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September 1, 2006
U.S. Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard is creating 34 permanent zones over open water a few miles from the Great Lakes shoreline where crews can have occasional target practice with machine guns, rifles and small 9mm guns. The Coast Guard needs to... Continue reading "U.S. Coast Guard"
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August 11, 2006
Iowa's Lakes
Gov. Tom Vilsack warned Iowans that the state's campaign to clean its many polluted lakes and rivers took a step back this week and will continue to slide if voters do not elect lawmakers who are serious about helping state... Continue reading "Iowa's Lakes"
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August 10, 2006
Lakes In China
Most lakes in China are now in serious trouble, with lakes in East China heavily polluted and lakes in West China greatly losing water, the Ministry of Water Resources of China (MWR) recently stated, during "Symposium on Lake Conservation and... Continue reading "Lakes In China"
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July 20, 2006
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' design of flood-control projects, which has been criticized after Hurricane Katrina, would be subject to outside oversight under a measure passed by the U.S. Senate. The legislation, approved in voice vote, would require a... Continue reading "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers"
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July 8, 2006
Brainerd Lakes
The Minnesota State Demographic Center has projected growth in many of the lake rich counties of Minnesota to exceed 35 percent in the next 25 years. The Brainerd lakes area is one of the nation’s fasting growing micropolitans (fourth fastest... Continue reading "Brainerd Lakes"
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June 22, 2006
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act was passed by Congress in 1972, three years after the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire in 1969. Almost four decades later, Congress must once again come to the aid of the nation's waterways by... Continue reading "Clean Water Act"
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June 5, 2006
Iowa Water
Governor Tom Vilsack has signed into law several measures intended to improve polluted waterways in Iowa. The measures set aside $18 million dollars for water cleanup efforts around the state and a long-awaited dredging project in Clear Lake. One of...Link to this article | Comments (0)
February 17, 2006
Wisconsin Tribe
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a Wisconsin state panel will hold back-to-back public meetings on a northern tribe's request to be treated as a state under the Clean Water Act, the first step in enacting tribal standards for water... Continue reading "Wisconsin Tribe"
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February 13, 2006
Great Lakes Fish
State Department Secretary Condoleezza Rice was described by one of Australia's biggest newspapers as the world's most powerful woman. Now, in addition to her duties in Iraq and other hot spots around the globe, she is being asked to cast... Continue reading "Great Lakes Fish"
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January 3, 2006
Teshekpuk Lake
Oil drilling in Alaska is a huge issue, without many clear answers. One lake in Alaska that will see major changes if drilling is allowed is Teshekpuk lake. This lake is a ecological jewel that needs to stay pristine for... Continue reading "Teshekpuk Lake"
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December 14, 2005
Great Lakes Pact
A new start for the Great Lakes, still has a long way to go. Will it be enough to reverse years of abuse, or at least put the problems at the forefront of American and Canadian environmental policy? Read the... Continue reading "Great Lakes Pact"
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December 12, 2005
Great Lakes Diversion
The Great Lakes governors are expected to sign a new set of rules Tuesday tightening diversions from the world's largest freshwater system. This ceremony might signal only the beginning, not the end, of the fight over the future of who... Continue reading "Great Lakes Diversion"
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November 1, 2005
Great Lakes
From the algae blooms in Lake Erie to the invading zebra mussels in Lake Michigan, threats to the Great Lakes ecology run the gamut. That would include bacteria, mercury and toxic spills. Chicago beaches close routinely because of E. coli... Continue reading "Great Lakes"
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September 9, 2005
Great Lakes
Tight budgets and competition for scarce dollars are no reason to shortchange a wide-ranging cleanup program for the Great Lakes, activists said Thursday. Representatives of environmentalist groups, government agencies, industry and American Indian tribes opened a two-day strategy session on... Continue reading "Great Lakes"
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September 6, 2005
Devils Lake
The job of sorting out Devils Lake water disputes is being handled mostly by a low-profile White House office not known for negotiating international agreements.... Continue reading "Devils Lake"
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August 30, 2005
Toxic
A decade-old federal push to keep some of the worst toxic chemicals out of the Great Lakes can't do much more to control pollution levels because it doesn't include some of the biggest sources of pollution, a government audit found....Link to this article | Comments (1)
August 10, 2005
NR115
This story is from out of Janesville, Wisconsin. Wisconsin's lakes and rivers belong to all state residents, not just those with the finances to enjoy waterfront property. While Minnesota may be known as the "Land of 10,000 lakes," Wisconsin has...Link to this article | Comments (0)
August 9, 2005
Money and Lakes
On it's good days, Clear Lake is one of North Iowa's top draws when it comes to sucking up tourism dollars. "We all have boats and we all like camping so we just decided it's cheap and good entertainment," Rachel... Continue reading "Money and Lakes"
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July 27, 2005
Lake Powell
This story ties into our debate over the Great Lakes, and the West's water shortage problem. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050726-1513-nv-coloradoriver.html... Continue reading "Lake Powell"
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July 24, 2005
Lakes in Crisis
Other side of the world but this story is amazing and disturbing to think about! Saturday, July 23, 2005 (New Delhi): Delhi's lakes are dying but the government, instead of cleaning them up and recharging them, is allowing community centres... Continue reading "Lakes in Crisis"
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July 20, 2005
Water Chaos
Great story out of Michigan, what will this debate be like in 5, 10, 20 years? http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/050720/stories/lakes.asp... Continue reading "Water Chaos"
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July 15, 2005
Lake Geneva
Our Executive Director will be speaking at the Geneva Lakes Association's Annual Meeting on July 23rd. He will provide insight into Wisconsin's water on the whole, and the shortages that may face this natural resource in the future.... Continue reading "Lake Geneva"
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July 13, 2005
Canada
We are moving in the same direction, as far as conservation is concerned. http://www.chroniclejournal.com/story.shtml?id=28029...Link to this article | Comments (0)