Echo

VIDEO: Michigan residents urge public input for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

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Editors note: Catch tweets of hearing from Echo and others on Twitter at #GLRI Related stories here. Related poll here. By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 3, 2009

When more than 30 Michigan residents approached the microphone at a Great Lakes public hearing Monday, two messages were repeated: the public needs to be included in the Obama Administration’s $475 million plan to restore the Great Lakes, and there needs to be an effort to educate others. “If we don’t educate people to understand how their day-to-day activities impact the quality of the Great Lakes, our efforts may be lost,” one resident said.

Echo

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative meeting in East Lansing, Mich., tonight; State Area of Concern officials plan strategy Tuesday

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By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 3, 2009

Environmental Protection Agency officials are coming to Michigan tonight to discuss how the Obama Administration’s proposed $475 million to clean up the Great Lakes should be spent. The two-hour public meeting starts at 5 p.m. at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center, 55 S. Harrison Ave. in East Lansing. This is the seventh hearing in a series of eight – one was designated in each of the Great Lakes states.

Echo

Great Lakes toxic hot spots could get restoration boost from GLRI

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Editors note: Congress is considering a $475 million appropriation for Great Lakes cleanup. This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for spending it. Weigh in on this and other ideas on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories. By Andrew McGlashen
amcglashen@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
July 31, 2009
A plan to spend $147 million to restore Great Lakes toxic hotspots is inspiring cautious optimism among those involved in a long and often frustrating cleanup process.

Echo

Tribe continues work to recover and test barrels of military waste in Lake Superior

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By Jeff Gillies
jeffgillies@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
July 28, 2009

The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will update officials and residents next week on its efforts to pull 70 barrels of military waste out of Lake Superior next summer, the Duluth News Tribune reports. The U.S. Army dumped as many as 1400 barrels between 1959 and 1962 to keep bomb designs out of Soviet hands. A contractor hired by the Red Cliff Band this past fall found 591 barrels using sonar and submarines. A 2008 report from the Minnesota Department of Health found that the barrels posed no likely threat to human health. But Red Cliff officials want the barrels tested for chemicals that could contaminate fish.

Echo

VIDEO: Smart growth in Grosse Ile

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By Mary Hansen
mehansen4@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
July 27, 2009

Michigan ranks among the most resource-rich states, yet comes in 47th in per capita conservation spending and dead last in the conservation spending gap, according to a March 2008 report by Michigan State University’s Land Policy Institute. Grosse Ile Township just south of Detroit, the largest island on the Detroit River, is a bright spot contrary to that trend. It takes a unique approach to conservation of natural spaces with a township Open Spaces Committee and millage and the private non-profit Grosse Ile Nature and Land Conservancy. The strong sense of community and commitment is a national example of smart growth decision-making.

Echo

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative may restore fish passages, habitats

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Editors note: Congress may invest $475 million this year in Great Lakes cleanup. This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for spending it. Weigh in on this and other ideas or suggest your own on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories. By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
July 24, 2009

Old hydropower dams and roadways that cross streams can keep Great Lakes fish from traveling upstream to spawn.

Echo

Public dollars for natural resources

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Check out our coverage of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Echo is reporting occasional stories on a plan to invest new funds into restoring the Great Lakes. The Stories
Aug. 26, 2009,
Federal agency proposes to study urine and blood of residents to evaluate effectiveness of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: At least one agency is poised to find out if restoration projects will lower pollutants in people. Aug.

Echo

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could play major role in Great Lakes habitat restoration

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Editors note: Congress may invest $475 million this year in Great Lakes cleanup. This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for spending it. Weigh in on this and other ideas on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories. By Jeff Gillies
jeffgillies@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
July 23, 2009

A federal agency better known for dredging harbors than building wetlands could soon have a bigger stake in restoring Great Lakes habitats.