Michigan, Ohio and Ontario failed to reduce the total phosphorus entering Lake Erie in 10 years. State officials and environmentalists are butting heads on where to go from here.
Michigan Environment Watch
Michigan Environment Watch examines how public policy, industry, and other factors interact with the state’s trove of natural resources.
Great Lakes News Collaborative
Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, The Narwhal and Michigan Public work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. You can find all of the collaborative’s stories here.
Shockwave
The Great Lakes region is in the midst of a seismic energy shakeup, from skyrocketing data center demand and a nuclear energy boom, to expanding renewables and electrification. In 2026, the Great Lakes News Collaborative will explore how shifting supply and demand affect the region and its waters. Read the series here.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Are data centers a threat to the Great Lakes?
One of the poorest cities in Michigan has a proposed $3 billion data center as a potential lifeline — but environmentalists and locals warn of high costs to water, climate and community.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Safe for Michigan farms or poison? Battle intensifies over future of Roundup
With the election of President Donald Trump, the conflict over glyphosate’s risks and benefits entered a new realm of confrontation that has the potential to alter its stature as the favored chemical tool in agriculture, the largest user of fresh water in the blue economy of Michigan and the Great Lakes.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As farmers wait on government ice storm relief, nonprofits take charge
Nearly two months after an ice storm slammed northern Michigan, state and federal aid to farmers has yet to arrive. Now, local organizers are taking matters into their own hands.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Will the money come to finish the Soo Lock expansion in Michigan?
The lock construction is facing an upcoming financial deadline. Under the current Continuing Resolution budget in Washington, the money for the new lock needs to be allocated before Sept. 25.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Trump's EPA weakens PFAS drinking water limits. What it means for Michigan
A year after the Biden administration enacted nationwide limits on PFAS in drinking water, the Trump administration announced a plan to rescind some of those limits and lengthen the compliance deadline on others. State-level limits enacted in 2020 will remain in effect.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
An $80M cleanup made Muskegon Lake trendy. Will 'eco-gentrification' follow?
Once ringed by polluting factories, Muskegon Lake has attracted a wealthier clientele to blue-collar Muskegon thanks to a taxpayer-funded cleanup. Cheers about the economic gains are mixed with fear that the lakeshore will become ‘a gated community.’
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
House GOP budget proposal targets clean-energy tax credits, pollution rules
Several moves are aimed at clawing back billions in spending authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Keeping the $5.5 billion Michigan fishery afloat
Research on all kinds of fish is conducted in labs around the Great Lakes region. The different state agencies have agreed to a Joint Strategic Plan that compiles their data to provide a big picture of the fisheries in the lakes.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Amid public outcry, Michigan pauses goose-killing program
Michigan last year began allowing landowners to get permits to kill nuisance geese. But after outcry from animal rights activists, the state is pausing the program and looking into non-lethal options.