It’s been 50 years since a freighter sank on the Great Lakes, but the the Michipicoten’s close call shows the risk still exists.
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.
Water’s True Cost
As the nation prepares to pour hundreds of billions of federal dollars into rescuing water systems, the Great Lakes News Collaborative investigates the true cost of water in Michigan. Read the series.
Ready or Not
The Great Lakes region is frequently touted as one of the most climate-resilient places in the U.S., in part because of its enviable water resources. But climate change also threatens our water. The Great Lakes News Collaborative explores what it will take to prepare. Read the series.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan fishing regulators to discuss Great Lakes whitefish crisis
The Michigan Natural Resources Commission on Thursday will hear a presentation on the looming collapse of whitefish in lakes Michigan and Huron. Bridge Michigan is spending the summer exploring the ramifications.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Life goes on, even at uninhabited Lake Huron island, sometimes surprisingly
In nature, a lot can change on a largely uninhabited Great Lakes island over the course of a century. And a lot can stay the same.
Posted inOutdoors Life
Meet Michigan’s floating post office: How mail gets to Great Lakes freighters
You’ve Got Mail: How a small boat delivers packages and more to passing Great Lakes freighters.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
US Supreme Court to hear Line 5 pipeline dispute between Michigan, Enbridge
For six years, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Enbridge have been fighting over which court should rule on a lawsuit Nessel filed in 2019. The lawsuit seeks to shut down the petroleum pipeline that runs in the open water of the Great Lakes.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Great Lakes scientists discover new lifeform microbe, name it ShipGoo1
Researchers at the University of Minnesota Duluth found the previously-undiscovered microorganisms hiding in the tar-like goo oozing out of a research vessel’s rudder shaft.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Years after high water crisis, lax policies leave Michigan coast vulnerable
Extreme erosion along the Great Lakes coasts grabbed lawmakers’ attention and inspired proposals to pull development back from the shoreline. Five years later, regulatory gaps still leave some communities more vulnerable than others.
Posted inOutdoors Life
Michigan Dreaming Bucket List: Staying in a lighthouse is fun, but work, too
From renting to volunteering, opportunities abound in Michigan to sleep in lighthouse quarters. We followed along as guests slept on the grounds of the Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse in the Thumb.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Iconic whitefish on edge of collapse as Great Lakes biodiversity crisis deepens
Few fish are as synonymous with Michigan as whitefish. Pushed to the edge by invasive species, their struggle is the tip of a cataclysmic species collapse that could change our way of life.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
What’s more Michigan than whitefish? Collapse erodes bit of state’s identity
Michigan has rhapsodized about the hardy fish for centuries. Celebrations continue, but they are taking on a melancholy tone for the fish ‘synonymous with Great Lakes living.’