Nearshore

Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes named nation’s favorite beauty

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If it’s a beauty pageant, then Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes is certainly the crowd favorite. Good Morning America voters recently named it one of the most beautiful places in the country. And its 35 miles of sandy beaches and crystal waters earned it a top spot on a beach expert’s best Great Lakes beaches in July. Host Josh Elliott visited Lake Michigan’s best-kept secret and called the dunes “stunning monuments to the passage of time.” They formed when ice sheets melted and formed glacial lakes, pushing rock debris to the shoreline. Now covered in sand, the dunes have captured national attention for their beauty; they are even celebrity chef Mario Batali’s favorite vacation spot.

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Asian carp push Great Lakes invasion through Minnesota

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Asian carp may be close to infiltrating the Great Lakes through Minnesota waterways.

Genetic material testing turned up 22 positive hits for silver carp 50 miles upstream of the St. Croix River, a tributary of the Mississippi River.

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VIDEO: Great Lakes celebrate 332 years of European water exploration

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The first European mariners to explore the upper Great Lakes set sail 332 years ago last Sunday. Navigating the Niagara Falls proved too tricky for explorers before 1679, when Robert La Salle built a ship from scratch above the falls and cruised to Lake Michigan. A super cool segment of Yahoo! Who Knew? explores the history of European adventures on the world’s largest freshwater bodies of water.

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Are beaches public where roads end?

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With more than 10,000 miles of coastal, inland and island shorelines, the Great Lakes have the most freshwater access in the world – at least, in theory.

A western Michigan court case embodies the abiding conflict between private property owners and the public over rights to Great Lakes shorelines at road ends.

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MASHUP: Mapping Michigan’s best pest and natural resources management

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Michigan Christmas tree growers looking to chemically combat the gypsy moth are out of luck – the time period to spray insecticides has ended for all counties. But a new tool makes it easier to know when it’s okay to spray. Michigan State University’s interactive map Enviro-weather combines weather data and best pest and natural resources practices. It recently added gypsy moth spray windows and temperature maps to help tree farmers treat the invasive insect. This mashup isn’t just for Christmas tree growers.

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Ohio lawmakers could override veto of Great Lakes water use bill

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The Toledo Blade reports today that Ohio lawmakers could override the governor’s veto of a bill establishing the Great Lakes region’s weakest water protections. Ohio Gov. John Kasich vetoed the hotly contested bill earlier this month. House Speaker Bill Batchelder told the Blade that nothing’s off the table, and that he wasn’t sure how to move forward in drafting legislation that would comply with the 2008 regional compact to protect the Great Lakes. Two former Ohio governors and environmental groups opposed the bill on grounds that it failed to meet the compact’s scientific requirements and protect Lake Erie from large water withdrawals. It would take 60 votes in the House and 20 in the Senate to override the governor’s veto; there was enough original support for the bill in both chambers for this happen, according to the story.

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Limits to ballast rules fail in court; lawmakers debate similar action

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Attempts to limit state authority over ballast water rules fell flat last Friday, but the legal tug-of-war continues this week as lawmakers consider the nation’s environmental spending. Last week’s decision by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit supported states in regulating water used in balancing shipping vessels more strongly than federal rules. This week the U.S. House of Representatives votes on a spending bill that includes an amendment penalizing states with stronger protections by withholding Environmental Protection Agency funding of any kind. That means states like New York, which have strong ballast water rules, would lose Great Lakes restoration funding, according the Natural Resources Defense Council. Ballast water containing invasive species has had devastating impacts on the Great Lakes and inland waterway systems, said Thom Cmar, an attorney with the council’s Chicago office.

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See emerald ash borers in action; states still battling the bug

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Now is the best time to see the destructive, tree-eating emerald ash borer up close and personal. The inch-long green metallic beetles are most numerous from late June to mid July, according to the Emerald Ash Borer Information Network. But don’t be fooled by lookalikes. Here’s a guide for proper identification of the nasty nuisance. Officials have banned imported firewood, removed ash trees and even released tiny wasps to prevent them from overwhelming the region with little luck; the beetle has spread to all Great Lakes states over the past decade.