Stay updated with breaking news from Audrey porter. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
SHARES Research boat explores a sinkhole on the northern edge of Rockport’s Middle Island. Image: NOAA/David Ruck, Great Lakes Outreach Media What do sharks, mysterious sinkholes, Indigenous foods, poaching and Milwaukee harbor have in common? All were topics of the most-viewed stories on Great Lakes Echo last year. And more than half – nine – of the most popular 16 stories dealt with wildlife Some on the top-16 roster were newly reported in 2020, including ones about mysterious sinkholes under Lake Huron and recipes for Great Lakes Indigenous foods. But other stories displayed a long lifespan of reader attention, including the most popular one – about bull sharks in the Great Lakes (not) published in 2015. The longest-lived – about regulating water levels on the Great Lakes – first appeared in 2009. ....
Map of Great Lakes Areas of Concern: Image: Adapted from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Editor’s note: This is the final part of a 5-part series by Kalah Harris, Audrey Porter, Yue Jiang and Claire Moore that focuses on trans-border U.S. and Canadian environmental research projects. By Audrey Porter During 35 years of restoration in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern, there has been gradual progress and a hopeful future ahead, according to a new study. Development of a remedial action plan began in 1985 to restore heavily contaminated sites in 42 Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). AOC restoration has not been easy as U.S. and Canadian researchers said in the study, and it requires focusing on gathering stakeholders, coordinating efforts and ensuring use restoration. ....