It’s not easy being old–the Barney Devine served Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources missions on Lake Michigan and is now close to retirement at the age of 74. Construction just finished on the boat’s replacement, the Coregonus.

An international study board is looking into raising the levels of lakes Michigan and Huron. This is at the urging of a group of Lake Huron property owners who insist that a bad dredging job on the St. Clair River — Lake Huron’s outlet — has drained their lake to an unnatural low.
But a rising Lake Huron lifts Lake Michigan’s boats: They’re the same lake. So a member of the study board’s public advisory group asked his coalition of Great Lakes property owners what they thought about the prospect of …

While advocates are still fighting for this year’s round of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding, a federal budget official indicated that next year’s round is already on the chopping block.
Congress approved $475 million for the restoration initiative in 2010, the program’s first year. President Obama requested only $300 million for the program in the 2011 budget, which Congress still hasn’t approved. As budget talks ramp up, some Republicans have singled out the EPA — which administers the restoration initiative — as ripe for cuts.
The expectation was that the program would …

Vampire, blood-sucker, parasite – take your pick. The terms have all been used to describe the sea lamprey. It’s a behavior ruining more than the invader’s reputation. Some native lamprey species co-exist peacefully in the lakes.

A U.S. Geological Survey water availability study released today says Great Lakes water is great, but not infinite.
Researchers behind the five-year study note uneven water distribution could lead to local shortages.
Areas like Milwaukee and Chicago may see  an estimated 100-foot drop in groundwater levels by 2040 if groundwater pumping continues in these areas, the study reported.

Do you know someone ordinary (yourself included) that is doing something extraordinary for the Lake Superior basin?
Well, then you can nominate them for the eighth annual environmental stewardship award which honors “extraordinary achievement by ordinary people.”
It recognizes citizens who have worked to restore or defend the natural resources of the Lake Super basin.
The award is given out by the Lake Superior Binational Program that consists of both American and Canadian federal, state, provincial and First Nations and tribal governments.
Nominees can be entered into several categories including:  Youth or youth-related group, individual …

New information about sand dunes along Lake Michigan is expected to improve protection of archeological sites, researchers and planners say.

As the Steelers take on the Packers in Super Bowl XLV, university football recently made touchdowns in another area–waste reduction at home games.
How much difference can one home football game make? Apparently more than 500,000 pounds of waste worth.
That’s what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reporting in results of their 2010  WasteWise Program Game Day Challenge.
The program pits football teams against each other in more ways than one. The competiton poses a challenge to U.S. universities and colleges—calculate the waste reduction measures from a single home game day and …

A multi-day blizzard blanketed Great Lakes cities last week with an average of one foot of snow, according to recent National Weather Service figures. Some parts of the region got as much as two feet.
Chicago was especially hard hit, according to the weather service. Antioch, Ill., a city about 15 miles from Lake Michigan in the Chicago metropolitan area, reported 27 inches of snow after the blizzard ended — the most in the region.

Illinois and Wisconsin cities along the western edge of Lake Michigan got the most snow, according to …

Thanks to all who commented and listened to the podcast aired on Echo a couple of weeks ago: Winter two-wheeled commutes.
Good news, I have some extra winter-cycling goodies for you.
I ran across this photo of a valiant cyclist braving the weather in Milwaukee.
I was impressed. (Catch some more cycling photos in Milwaukee from Reuters here.)
This rider could have found one these useful…
A bike plow!
Bike plows come in all sorts of sizes and styles reported Grist and can be a more environmentally friendly way to clear away those darn heaps of compacted …