Michigan’s fight against Lake Erie pollution didn’t work. What happens next?
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Since the 1990s, algae blooms have become increasingly common each summer in western Lake Erie. The blooms are caused by an overabundance of nutrients, namely phosphorus, that spills into the lake off farms. Credit: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
By Emilio Perez Ibarguen
Michigan and its neighbors have missed a 2025 deadline to curb the farm pollution that feeds toxic algal blooms in western Lake Erie, despite 10 years of work and millions of dollars spent on the effort.
Now, state officials are revamping their strategy. But they’re not setting a new deadline for now. “Seeing how we’re implementing these newer approaches is an important step before updating some of the timelines,” said Tim Boring, the director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
He added that any future deadline should be “realistic and achievable.”
The state’s strategy irks environmentalists who have long criticized Great Lakes governments for refusing to regulate farm pollution while instead leaning on voluntary programs that aren’t working.
Water
Great Lakes slightly colder than usual ahead of summer
By Emilio Perez Ibarguen
Now that Memorial Day is behind us, thoughts naturally turn to summer and the return of watersports on the Great Lakes, but Michiganders tempted to take a dip in those inviting waters now might be in for a chilly surprise. Slowed by a cold May, the Great Lakes are slightly cooler than usual for this time of year.
Land
New book digs into Indigenous cuisine through archaeology, culture and ecology
By Isabella Figueroa
In a new book, archeologists who study past societies of the Great Lakes and Midwest agree “you are what you eat,” but they say there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s also how we eat: the ways we “prepare, cook and consume” those foods are influenced by our history, family and natural environment.The book’s essays use the concept of cuisine to go beyond ingredients when studying thousand-year old foodways in regions that now make up Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and other states.
Wildlife
White throated sparrow takes first place in fattest bird competition
By Clara Lincolnhol
A very round white throated sparrow is the heavyweight champion of the 2025 Wisconsin Fat Bird Week contest. The bird, coined the “spherical white-throated sparrow,” won by a landslide, receiving 72% of the vote in the final round against its nearest competitor, a “rotund ruby-throated hummingbird.”