A first-term senator from Illinois gets an early chance to lead on Great Lakes policy.

Will Sen. Mark Kirk fill the void left by many long-time Great Lakes advocates who have left Congress?

Two nature restoration projects in Southwest Michigan are rejuvenating wetland habitats as a hospitable home for endangered species, including one of the world’s rarest butterflies.

Phosphorous fertilizers will soon be restricted in Michigan as the state addresses one of the ways the nutrient infiltrates waters and spurs the creation of zones of low oxygen that harm aquatic life.

Great Lakes shorelines may pose s challenges for soft shoreline engineering–use of natural materials to control erosion and many states encourage its use but don’t require it.

State agencies are striving to prepare Michigan’s recreational areas for the upcoming summer.

In many Great Lakes states, countless soda bottles are tossed aside, never to see a recycling bin. The same goes for used medicine containers, juice bottles and food containers that are otherwise doomed for a landfill.

One way to keep an arm’s length from the vapid Earth Day sales pitches, TV ads and junk mail circulating this month is to remember that the Great Lakes not only had a role in the creation of that event – but a role in the entire modern environmental era.

Preserving historic barns does more than maintain the beauty of the state’s rural landscape — it has economic benefits as well, preservation experts say.
It often creates new businesses, agritourism destinations and jobs.

Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association maintains three lighthouses: Big Sable Point and the Ludington North Breakwater Light in Ludington, Mich.; and Little Sable Point, in Shelby, Mich.

Working Bugs, an East Lansing based company, is doing big things with small microorganisms. It is a small part of a growing biomanufacturing industry hoping to replace petroleum in plastics, clothing, fuel and other products.