Category: Michigan
Community input sought for cleaned-up lakes, shorelines | Great Lakes Echo
It’s taken over 30 years and $80 million to restore Muskegon Lake and a few nearby smaller bodies of water.
Decades of pollution and rapid urbanization created ecological problems so severe that the lake was designated a “Great Lakes Area of Concern” by the U.S. and Canada in 1987.
The post Community input sought for cleaned-up lakes, shorelines first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Butterflies race for state insect status | Great Lakes Echo
Three butterflies are racing to become Michigan’s official state insect – and one of them is ahead, at least politically.
The black swallowtail butterfly, a native of Michigan, spends its whole life cycle in the state hibernating as pupa under leaves during winter and hatching in the spring.
The post Butterflies race for state insect status first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Michigan dam removal could improve environment, recreation and storm protection | Great Lakes Echo
The most exciting part about removing a dam in a small Michigan city isn’t the demolition, but what comes after.
The Huron River Watershed Council recently estimated the 148-year-old dam In Ypsilanti could come down in 2025 or 2026.
The post Michigan dam removal could improve environment, recreation and storm protection first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Old Lake Michigan shipwreck visible again after burial under sand | Great Lakes Echo
Look fast or you may miss an elusive 170-year-old sunken schooner off the coast of Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin.
The mostly intact shipwreck, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in early April, isn’t always visible, even though it’s in very shallow waters, said Tamara Thomsen, a Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologist.
The post Old Lake Michigan shipwreck visible again after burial under sand first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Need a summer read? Join this basin-wide book club | Great Lakes Echo
Readers across the Great Lakes states and Canada this year will participate in a basin-wide book club hosted by the Library of the Great Lakes.
From now until September 2025 participants will read Michigan author Sally Cole-Misch’s The Best Part of Us and Ontario author Joanne Robertson’s children’s book, The Water Walker.
The post Need a summer read? Join this basin-wide book club first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Dams may slow harmful algal blooms in urban lakes, expert says | Great Lakes Echo
Like clockwork, Michigan’s Ford Lake and its downstream neighbor, Belleville Lake, turn bright green every summer due to harmful algal blooms.
The lakes, located near Ypsilanti in the southeast part of the state, have struggled for decades with phosphorus pollution that spurs algae growth.
The post Dams may slow harmful algal blooms in urban lakes, expert says first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Nature has clues to solve environmental problems | Great Lakes Echo
Human engineering solves age-old problems each day.
But the natural environment has been engineering solutions to solve problems for thousands of years. People are catching on.
The post Nature has clues to solve environmental problems first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Cuyahoga comeback: Remediation is working but it’s hard to measure | Great Lakes Echo
Fifty-five years after the Cuyahoga River last caught fire, its health continues to improve.
But determining what prevention and cleanup practices are most effective remains difficult.
The post Cuyahoga comeback: Remediation is working but it’s hard to measure first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.