[dailynews] March 17, 2011

Great Lakes Daily News: March 17, 2011
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/


State, federal agencies ready to regulate offshore wind development
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State and federal agencies are getting their ducks in a row to regulate 
offshore wind farms. Wind turbines scheduled to be built in Lake Erie off 
Cleveland in 2012 may be the first in the water in the Great Lakes, and 
aren't likely to be the last. Source: Erie Times-News (3/17)


Lake Ontario's water levels up, for time being
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Water levels on Lake Ontario have climbed in recent weeks thanks to rain and 
melting snow, but probably will be below average into the summer, the 
international board that regulates water flows on the St. Lawrence River 
reported. Source: Watertown Daily Times (3/17)


Aquatic invasives fight continues
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A new legislative initiative that would help slow the spread of aquatic 
invasives, such as zebra mussels and Eurasian watermilfoil, by redoubling 
the state's efforts to combat the spread of these species in Minnesota lakes 
and rivers was introduced Wednesday. Source: Lake County News Chronicle 
(3/17)


41,000 lake trout planted in Lake Michigan at Ludington
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Jordan River Hatchery planted about 
41,000 lake trout fingerlings into Lake Michigan at the Loomis Street boat 
launch in Ludington Tuesday evening. Source: Ludington Daily News (3/17)


Alternatives to nuclear dangerous, too
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The threat of a major radiation leak after an earthquake and tsunami knocked 
out cooling systems at a nuclear plant in northern Japan has focused the 
world's attention on alternative energy sources. Source: The Toronto Star 
(3/17)


Quebec will no longer authorize fracking for oil, gas
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Nathalie Normandeau, Quebec's natural resources minister, announced 
Wednesday that the Quebec government would no longer authorize any hydraulic 
fracturing operations in the province. Source: The Montreal Gazette (3/17)


Great Lakes shippers protest cut in dredging funds
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Great Lakes shipping companies say their industry would be hit hard by an 
Obama administration proposal to cut funding by one-third for dredging the 
region's ports and waterways. Source: The Wall Street Journal (3/16)


More VHS found in Lakes Superior and Michigan
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Researchers say they found more cases of the fish killing virus VHS in the 
Great Lakes last year. But they did not find any big fish kills from the 
disease. Mike Simonson reports from Superior. Source: Business North (3/16)


Demineralized water leak from Pickering nuclear station no threat: officials
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A demineralized water leak at Pickering nuclear power plant contained 
"negligible radiation" and poses little risk, Ontario Power Generation said 
on Wednesday. Source: The Toronto Star (3/16)


Could global warming be causing recent earthquakes?
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Severe earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and now Japan have experts around the 
world asking whether the world's tectonic plates are becoming more active - 
and what could be causing it. Source: The Montreal Gazette (3/15)


Live carp smuggled into Canada
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Smugglers keep hauling live Asian carp from Southern fish farms bound for 
food markets in the Lake Ontario city of Toronto, even as the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers studies how to keep the fish from swimming into the Great 
Lakes through the back door - the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Source: 
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (3/13)


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