A 1985 revamp of the plan to restore lake trout in Lake Michigan focused stocking on two relatively shallow, rocky sections of Lake Michigan where fishing for the species was banned.

At least part of that overhaul has proven fruitless, according to a study published recently in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management.

Ah, July in the Great Lakes region, kicking off with Canada Day/Fête du Canada, followed by a quick segue into Independence Day, and then a blur of festivals, picnics, barbecues, mosquitoes, raspberry and cherry season, county fairs, beaches and boats, lemonade, and maybe baseball on the radio. We squeeze a lot into these rare weeks of precious Midwestern summer, which is why carving out time to get substantive comments into the US-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement negotiating team by July 9 seems even harder than a deadline in say, …

I promised to talk about substance this time, but there’s so much substance on the table it is difficult to know where to start, but I’ll wade into the waters of governance.
Governance is a clunky word – a noun constructed to carry the weight of how two nations will actually govern, or manage their commitments to protect the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes.
Let me gently suggest that the status quo is not working terribly well, and this invites opportunities to re-imagine cooperation across friendly borders on …

(Editor’s note: The frustration expressed in this column prompted Echo to create a series of forums for an interactive discussion of the Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative.)
By Jane Elder
I suppose in the electronic age that using the Internet to gather public input on major policies decision seems like a good idea. Webinar is one of those words that has emerged in the lexicon of the digital age, but my experience is most do not fulfill the expertise and critique functions of seminars nor do they take full advantage of the …

By Jane Elder
Right now we’re watching a really bad petroleum-based horror story play out in the Gulf of Mexico. All things considered, this is a really good ecosystem, even though it has known some hard knocks, like being home to the world’s largest marine dead zone, thanks to all the chemical fertilizers and semi-treated sewage that our great heartland has flushed down the Mississippi River for decades.
Where the zones aren’t dead, the Gulf and its coast have been one of our hemisphere’s most productive marine habitats. This foodweb with delectable …

By Jane Elder
If, in casual conversation, I were to turn to you and say, “OK, you have a month to carefully identify, consider, and recommend all the major elements of a framework that two nations will use to protect the water quality of the largest freshwater ecosystem in the known galaxy and by the way, that framework should be designed to last a few decades or more” you would laugh at me out of incredulity, or ask if this was some wacky reality show to boost summer ratings, or you …

Burbot, a native Great Lakes fish species, are slimy, big-mouthed bottom feeders. They’re also threatened in many parts of the world. They’ve recovered in the Great Lakes, but that could mean trouble for plans to restore lake trout.

A biological balancing act between the premier Great Lakes sportfish and its prey could be at a tipping point in Lake Ontario.

Chinook salmon are the foundation of the Lake Ontario recreational fishery.

Jan. 9, 2010
Here are the five most clicked-on-by-unique-readers stories reported by Echo journalists in 2009:
5. Study projects steep Great Lakes water level drop if greenhouse gases go unchecked
4.  Alewives: The trouble they cause and the salmon that love them
3. Great Lakes bats threatened by mysterious disease
2. Alewives: Should Great Lakes managers kill ‘em or keep ‘em?
1. Michigan, Illinois, New York consider alternative energy incentives

Vote