News

An approved $23-million windmill project with five 98-meter-tall turbines along the Lake Erie shoreline will be Niagara's first wind power plant. More...

Trout near Algoma has tested positive By Karen Lincoln Michel Press-Gazette Madison bureau MADISON — The first cases of the deadly fish disease known as VHS have been found in Lake Michigan, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday. DNR Secretary Scott Hassett told the Green Bay Press-Gazette that a brown trout washed up on shore near Algoma in early May and has since tested positive for viral hemorrhagic septicemia, making it the first recorded case of VHS in the western Great Lakes. "We're not aware of any fish kill, or anything of that nature," Hassett said. He said the disease's spread to Lake Michigan is not surprising. "We did our emergency rules in April in anticipation that this would happen because it was in the Eastern Great Lakes," he said. "We assumed it was in Lake Michigan." On Thursday, the DNR also got confirmation that some of a 40-fish sample of smallmouth bass taken recently from routine fyke net survey work in Little Sturgeon Bay tested preliminary positive for VHS. None of the fish had any clinical signs of the virus. Paul Peeters of Sturgeon Bay, the DNR's Lakeshore Fish Team Supervisor, said he submitted samples of additional species to the lab earlier this week for VHS testing. "We suspected it was here, and now we know it's here," said Peeters. "It's time to focus our intentions on keeping it from getting into other (inland) waters." Peeters said it's important for people to realize this is a disease of fish, and that there's no human health risk from eating a fish that might carry the virus. It's possible the DNR will hear about more dead or stressed fish after a busy holiday weekend of boating traffic. Peeters said it's not as important seeing a single fish now, though he still likes to hear from fishermen. Just last week the DNR announced that VHS had been found in Little Lake Butte de Morts and had entered the Lake Winnebago System. The agency has reported that the disease causes fish to bleed to death, and that once the disease has been detected in an area it cannot be eradicated. Hassett said he's unsure how widespread the disease has become. "It doesn't mean the whole lake is going to get it … because it's a tremendously large body of water," said Hassett. "We expect to see different pockets or areas that pick up the infection, if it's anything similar to what's happened in the Eastern Great Lakes."

A federal report found states with longer summers received more beach monitoring funding at the expense of Michigan and its 3,200 miles of shoreline. More...

Fish farmers in Wisconsin's $14.25 million-a-year aquaculture industry are concerned about the spread of VHS and it's impact on their harvest. More...

U.S. Coast Guard and environmental groups were on call after hundreds of liters of diesel fuel spilled from a commercial vessel in the St. Mary's River. More...

Closing the St. Lawrence Seaway to oceangoing ships would hurt Wisonsin's economy; instead, lawmakers should take action on ballast water regulation. More...

Indiana will use federal environmental grants to clean up and redevelop dozens of former industrial sites into recreation areas, especially along Lake Michigan. More...

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority's board of directors agreed yesterday to take responsibility from the city for the SS Willis B. Boyer museum ship. More...

Scientists will place dye in the Grand River as part of a study of how flowing water transports potentially dangerous contaminants to Lake Michigan beaches. More...

An approved $23-million windmill project with five 98-meter-tall turbines along the Lake Erie shoreline will be Niagara's first wind power plant. More...

Volunteers armed with heavy equipment cleaned up 4-foot deep muck in the Bay City State Recreation Area and replaced it with fresh sand. More...

Two young bald eagles got something their parents didn’t bargain for in one of their meals this spring, a fishing lure. More...

Wisconsin has an opportunity to become a national leader -- economically and environmentally -- by passing the Safe Climate Act. More...

NY Sea Grant and the Ontario Dune Coalition are making Eastern Lake Ontario dune resource packets available to cottage and home owners in Oswego and Jefferson counties. More...

Naturally Superior Adventures leads paddling enthusiasts on guided sea kayak trips on Lake Superior and guided canoe trips on northern Ontario’s rivers. Programs include sea kayak instruction and paddling festivals. Check out where they paddle. More...

Property owners on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior are getting a new tool to remove the all-too-common sight of rotting seaweed and aquatic invasive pests from shorelines. More...

A once-radical suggestion hit the mainstream Wednesday when a coalition of 90 environmental groups said it is time to lock saltwater vessels out of the Great Lakes until Congress requires the ships to sterilize their contaminated ballast water. More...

Municipal sewage systems like Toledo's would be forced to notify the state and the public whenever they discharge raw sewage into Ohio waters under a bill introduced yesterday in the Ohio House. More...

As proclaimed by Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, Tuesday was the start Aquatic Invasive Species Awareness Week here in Michigan. More...

A virus deadly to Great Lakes fish might have run its course in Lake Erie. More...

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources missed an opportunity last Thursday when it asked the Natural Resources Board to adopt expanded rules to prevent the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) from the Lake Winnebago system. More...

Officials with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are concerned that development is crowding land that's been set aside for hunting. More...

Two young bald eagles got something their parents didn’t bargain for in one of their meals this spring — a fishing lure. More...

As the weather heats up, so is the continuing fight between state officials and property owners who each claim control of the Lake Erie waterfront property. More...

The Habitat Initiative is identifying site-specific actions that can be implemented under existing funding programs to protect and restore wetlands and aquatic habitat in the Great Lakes region. More...