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Photo Friday: Bugs in love?
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Photos taken in Ephraim, Door County, Wis.
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Federal officials weigh new beach health standard
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The current standard was set only for saltwater and involved too small of a sample of swimmers, critics say. It also overlooks the impact of certain pathogens. A new standard may allow greater local flexibility.
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Dogs clear Great Lakes beaches of polluting seagulls
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Beach officials are recruiting dogs to chase away seagulls that foul the shoreline.
A new study shows that it works. The technique is effective at curbing bacterial contamination associated with the bird waste.
Echo
Low water, high electric costs and cuts to Great Lakes shipping profits
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Low Great Lakes water means shippers have to lighten their loads. Vessels have run aground this summer and utility officials say operational costs increase when they have to import lighter and more numerous loads of coal.
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New tool helps Great Lakes cities, businesses predict harmful algae
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Researchers have developed a new tool to forecast algae in the Great Lakes.
Scientists hope it helps plan for algae that prompts beach closings and health warnings. An audio report.
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Dogs, bikes, skis lure tourists north
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New advertising campaign lures fall and winter tourists to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
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Michigan proposal could require land conservancies to pay property tax
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Nonprofit organizations that safeguard land and habitat in Southeast Michigan are worried about a proposal that could tax their preserves.
Echo
Runoff harms Duluth’s trout streams, Great Lakes water quality
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Every spring people sweep sidewalks of winter sand and salt and into the streets of Duluth.
Rain carries it to the sewer where it can drain untreated into the city’s many urban streams, and eventually into Lake Superior.
Climate
Ash borer chows Great Lakes trees; drought increases vulnerability
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The threat from a metallic green beetle is quickly spreading throughout the ash trees of the Great Lakes region.
It’s so bad that federal officials have stopped spending money on surveys for the invasive beetle.