MASSENA, NY — The spillway gates are open at the Long Sault Dam on the mighty St. Lawrence River. Below, mist throws a tiny rainbow in the sunlight as the relentless force of water escaping five inland seas billows into a static roar.

MASSENA, NY — The spillway gates are open at the Long Sault Dam on the mighty St. Lawrence River. Below, mist throws a tiny rainbow in the sunlight as the relentless force of water escaping five inland seas billows into a static roar.

Over the past century, agriculture has kept up with demand from soaring populations by using more intensive growing practices and by converting large swaths of land to pasture. In particular, widespread applications of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers have fueled increased food production. But these nutrients also degrade water quality as they enter inland and coastal waters because runoff can spur harmful algal blooms that threaten human and ecosystem health as well as local economies.

Just three months ago, Lake Michigan’s waters were more than 50 feet away from Lakeview Drive in the small town of Beverly Shores, with a beach in between the road and the water.

The Duluth Seaway Port Authority has been allocated a $10.5 million MARAD Port Infrastructure Development grant, “The Port of Duluth is integral to transporting the food, materials, and other vital goods from northern Minnesota to other parts of the world,” said Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-08). “By investing in this port, we are ensuring reliable operations for years to come, and continued economic prosperity by extension. During my time as a St. Louis County Commissioner, I was appointed to serve on the board of the Port Authority, so I know the economic importance of a viable port and am proud to have helped secure this grant in my current role as Congressman.”

The stairs at the Overlook Beach Park in Mentor-on-the-Lake have been closed for the past several years. Now the deck is closed too.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released the first annual report on the progress made in mapping U.S. ocean, coastal and Great Lakes waters, the agency said in a release.

High Great Lakes water continues to be an issue for Michigan, even as the state mobilizes around fighting Coronavirus.

Iosco County Emergency Management Coordinator Ed Rohn in conjunction with four agencies including Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), National Weather Service (NWS) in Gaylord and the governor’s office came together to address concerns about shoreline erosion and flooding at a meeting held at AuSable Township on Thursday, Feb. 27.

A research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration admits this winter’s ice cap prediction on the Great Lakes was completely wrong.

Congress will get a chance to weigh a bill that would offer Michigan’s shoreline communities access to $300 million in a low-interest revolving loan fund.

RACINE COUNTY — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has officially declared the Jan. 10-12 storm that hit southeastern Wisconsin an emergency, opening funding avenues for repairing the estimated $10 million in regional damage — $2.58 million in Racine County.

As a group of eastern Ontario mayors heads to Ottawa to plead for action to curb the effects of flooding from Lake Ontario, advocates are calling for major changes and urgent funding for municipalities.

Despite being just over one week into March and it still being winter, already there are major flooding headaches in several areas across the Windsor-Essex County region.

State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, is aggravated over news this weekend that fierce Lake Michigan waves appeared to have overcome part of the seawall at Ogden Dunes, jeopardizing beachfront homes.

A proud Lake Michigan beach town battles erosion and one of the country’s newest national parks; ‘It really comes down to the survival of our town’

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, last week highlighted the negative impacts of invasive Asian carp and erosion on the nation’s Great Lakes region during testimony on Capitol Hill.

The main message of a recent high water level meeting, according to Huron County Emergency Services Director Randy Miller, is water levels are predicted to go up during the next few months, so do something now to protect property and investment.

“In two or three weeks,” the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will be placing riprap along storm-damaged sections of the Chicago lakefront between 49th and 51st streets, said Patrick Bray, the Chicago District Chief of Public Affairs.

Lake Erie’s high water levels and lack of ice coverage continue to cause significant erosion along the shoreline and has prompted Saybrook Township Park officials to hire an engineering firm to study the damage.