Great Lakes Now

Saving mussels one dive at a time

1 min read

Saving mussels one dive at a time

Biological collection specialists are divers who travel around the country relocating freshwater mussels and other vulnerable aquatic species before river restoration projects begin.

In September of 2024, a team of 20 divers scoured 40,000 square meters of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. In just two weeks, the team found, identified, marked, tagged, and relocated every native freshwater mussel within their search area.

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Great Lakes Now Lake Superior Michigan

The fascinating history of the Great Lakes Yemeni sailors

10 min read

The fascinating history of the Great Lakes Yemeni sailors

Abdullatif Ahmed was just 23 years old when he first stepped foot on the Medusa Challenger, a 1906-built Great Lakes bulk freighter.

“Before I came to America in 1990,” he said, “I had never even seen the sea.”

Born and raised in Juban, a rural district in southern Yemen, Ahmed was drawn to the Great Lakes by family history and opportunity.

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Great Lakes Now Michigan

Great Lakes Moment: Rouge River oxbow enhances education at The Henry Ford

8 min read

Great Lakes Moment: Rouge River oxbow enhances education at The Henry Ford

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

In the 1960s, an oxbow was eliminated in the lower Rouge River when a concrete channel was built to move stormwater out of the watershed.

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Great Lakes Now Michigan

Regulators say Detroit SO2 pollution under control after years of exceeding federal standards

5 min read

Regulators say Detroit SO2 pollution under control after years of exceeding federal standards

By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit

This article was republished with permission from Planet Detroit. Sign up for Planet Detroit’s weekly newsletter here.

Michigan regulators will hold an online public hearing on Jan. 28 to discuss redesignating parts of southwest Detroit and Downriver as meeting federal sulfur dioxide (SO2) air quality standards.

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