[dailynews] December 14, 2012

Great Lakes Daily News: December 14, 2012
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/


Keeping an eye on the Great Lakes canary
-------------------------------------------------
With the advent of new problems, from dead zones and algae blooms to 
invasive species like Asian carp, there are many eyes on Lake Erie-the Great 
Lakes' "canary in the coal mine." Source: Great Lakes Echo (12/14)


Historic car ferry S.S. Badger's future in doubt after it doesn't get EPA 
exemption
-------------------------------------------------
The future is in doubt for the S.S. Badger, the last coal-fired steamship on 
the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard reauthorization bill sent to President 
Obama does not include a provision that would have allowed the Badger to 
operate under its current permit without regard to any expiration date. 
Source: Detroit Free Press (12/14)


Canadians alert for missing buoys
-------------------------------------------------
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is asking for Michigan and Ohio's 
help to find three missing scientific buoys that apparently worked loose 
from their moorings on Lake Erie. Source: The Toledo Blade (12/14)


EPA to tighten soot rules by 20 percent
-------------------------------------------------
The Environmental Protection Agency has a new rule that will force 
communities across the country to improve air quality by the end of the 
decade while making it harder for some industries to expand operations 
without strict pollution controls. Source: The Washington Post (12/14)


Mich. bill to allow hunting of gray wolf
-------------------------------------------------
Michigan moved to the brink of establishing hunting seasons for the gray 
wolf Thursday, as the state Legislature prepared to enact a bill designating 
the once-imperiled species a game animal. Source: The Detroit News (12/14)


Low water levels reveal sunken ships in the Great Lakes
-------------------------------------------------
Water levels are low enough in the Great Lakes that parts of sunken ships 
have become visible. John Karl, science communicator for the University of 
Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, says Wisconsin actually leads the nation in 
the number of shipwrecks listed on the national register of historic places. 
Source: Milwaukee Public Radio (12/14)


8 ships set to winter in the Twin Ports
-------------------------------------------------
Eight ships are tentatively slated to lay up for the winter in the Twin 
Ports- Duluth, Minn. That would be the same number as last winter, but fewer 
than some recent years. Source: Duluth News Tribune (12/14)


Residents make inroads against invasive phragmites
-------------------------------------------------
Wetlands are among the most productive and bio-diverse ecosystems in the 
Great Lakes basin, home to hundreds of plant and animal species, providing 
shelter for migrating birds and spawning grounds for fish. Phragmites 
threatens to turn wetlands into a monoculture - an ecosystem dominated by a 
single species. Source: The Voice (12/14)


Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story 
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html