The Wednesday announcement marks an unusual use of a regulatory process normally used to speed responses to disasters like dam breaks and pipeline leaks. Environmentalists decried the move.
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
Natural gas plants in UP are 'clean' energy sources, House bills contend
UP lawmakers say the gas plants should be deemed acceptable under Michigan’s clean energy law, saying Yoopers would see energy bills spike if they are shut down prematurely. Environmentalists argue the bills are premature and unnecessary.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Climate change making Great Lakes water birds sick
Climate change is making it easier for Great Lakes waterbirds to get sick, according to a recent study.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Trump reverses cuts to Great Lakes lamprey program, but uncertainty remains
The Trump administration has reversed a purge of federal workers tasked with combatting one of the Great Lakes’ most damaging invasive species. But a month-plus delay in starting treatments may have consequences.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
US, Canada long managed Great Lakes together; that era could be ending
The Trump administration disinvited two Canadian mayors from a Great Lakes event in Washington and the president has mentioned “revisiting the sharing of lakes and rivers between the two nations.”
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Millions of walleye will soon head up the Detroit River
Some call it the best walleye fishing in the world when a portion of Lake Erie’s walleye head north during spawning season.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Trump's 'green bank' freeze puts Michigan climate, housing efforts in limbo
Michigan stood to receive hundreds of millions from a federal financing network that the Trump administration wants to abolish amid claims of a ‘far-left’ conspiracy. Michigan’s plans for the money included insulating old homes and building apartments.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Seven tribes in Michigan withdraw from federal talks over Line 5 tunnel permit
The tribes are concerned with an anticipated fast-tracking of the tunnel permit. The Army Corps of Engineers says it will consider comments from tribes as it prepares an environmental impact statement.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Study: Algae blooms on cold Lake Superior reveal impact of climate change
Agricultural runoff, less wintertime ice cover and strong storms that deposit nutrients into the lake are other possible reasons for a surge in cyanobacterial blooms.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Groups fight to preserve future of Michigan’s indigenous wild rice
To aid in restoration across the state, the Michigan Wild Rice Initiative, comprising tribes indigenous to the Great Lakes region, state officials, and academic experts, created a stewardship plan.