One of the Great Lakes region’s most critical pieces of infrastructure is in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on the St. Mary’s River, which connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron and eventually to the rest of the lakes.

The locks on the river handle up to 1,000-foot-long ships, enabling them to carry bulk freight from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan to ports throughout the Great Lakes region.

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station is based in a building that was constructed in 1917, originally as a federal fish hatchery. It wasn’t the first on this site. An earlier hatchery was built in 1894.

The U.S. government was trying to replenish the fish population.

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Livelihoods and economies in the Great Lakes region always centered on water. From the manoomin, or wild rice, grown and revered by the Ojibwe people to the whitefish catch in Lake Michigan, to the water-dependent ports, steel mills, and manufacturers that dot thousands of miles of Fresh Coast lakeshore. The area’s liquid assets and the industries that developed around them form a “blue economy.”

The treasure trove of clean fresh water is seen as a competitive edge in a region hungry for growth and whose leaders boast about exporting the scientific breakthroughs and infrastructure hardware to solve the world’s water challenges.

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President Donald Trump has made rethinking international trade policy a centerpiece of his second administration. While Congress generally has the authority to regulate international trade, it has also delegated some of this authority to the president. On Feb. 1, Trump announced he would be imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, with a 10% tariff on Canadian energy.

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Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.

A business case is a document that outlines whether a project is worth undertaking.

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By Lee Chilcote, The Land

This story is part of a collaborative series, from the Institute for Nonprofit News, The Land and four other news partners, examining climate resilience across the Great Lakes. This reporting was made possible with support from the Joyce Foundation.

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By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

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Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

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Illinois

Solar, storage projects set to bring jobs, tax revenue to Illinois coal communities — Energy News Network

Six retired coal plants in downstate Illinois will soon receive solar panels and become renewable energy storage sites.

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Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

In this edition: Elizabeth Warren unveils ‘Blue New Deal’ program, Enbridge soil and rock sampling left behind debris, Ohio legislature favors bill which limits pipeline protests, Chicago’s only energy utility ComEd under fire for lobbying scandal, Canada looks to store nuclear waste near Lake Huron and owners of bankrupt Lake Erie nuclear plants contributed campaign funds to six of the seven sitting Supreme Court Justices.

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Michigan’s EGLE remains “committed to protecting Great Lakes ecosystem”

The Trump administration’s recent repeal and replacement of the Obama-era Clean Water Rule was met with a sharp rebuke in Ohio last week as U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur took to social media to challenge the administration.

“The Trump Administration has changed course on years of environmental protection to open the spigot and allow major corporations to freely pollute our streams and major waterways – including our Great Lakes,” Kaptur said.

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