Lake Michigan’s Good Harbor Reef has been plagued with avian botulism and excessive amounts of algae since invasive zebra and quagga mussels settled onto its rocky floor in the late 1980s-early ’90s.
To some people, a sand dune conjures up an image of an exotic place somewhere far, far away. But residents in the Great Lakes basin don't have to travel far with the world's largest body of freshwater coastal dunes in their backyard.
The St. Croix River system contains a series of dams which fish that live part of their lives in the ocean, such as alewives, must navigate in order to spawn each year. An IJC-funded project aims to bring a population model for alewives online.
Earth Day is celebrated throughout the world, including in the transboundary region of Canada and the United States.
Oil production in the north-central United States and western Canada has increased rapidly since 2010. Its transport near or through the Great Lakes region via pipelines and rail has expanded as well.
Wetlands help provide habitat, mitigate flooding and filter excess nutrients and contaminants from lakes and other water bodies. But vast stretches of wetlands around Lake Erie were drained in the past 200 years for agricultural use.