Great Lakes

The Great Lakes cruise ships that already bring passengers to such cities as Cleveland, Detroit, Port Colborne, and Duluth could soon be adding Buffalo to their list of destinations. After more than three years of planning and conducting economic impact studies, Buffalo is as close as it has ever been to becoming a Great Lakes cruise port city.

Insufficient infrastructure, high development costs and a lack of environmental impact data among the reasons the project was hard to justify in the short term, a state report said.

The South Buffalo Democrat said the bill would secure legal rights for the entire ecosystem, and give people and nature a role in the decision-making process regarding current and future Great Lakes projects.

Eligible fishery sectors include commercial harvesters and for-hire fishing operations based in the New York waters of Lake Erie or Lake Ontario, including the Upper and Lower Niagara River and the St. Lawrence River.

March 2 marks the observation of Great Lakes Day, a virtual event that brings together a binational coalition of regional agencies, legislators, local communities, tribes and business, maritime and environmental groups.

Teams from more than a dozen U.S. and Canadian universities and government agencies will venture onto the frozen surfaces of all five lakes this month.

The Great Lakes Commission has unveiled a new website that allows Great Lakes decision-makers to track the region’s progress to reduce harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie and to stop aquatic invasive species.

Another project in New York's Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) has begun.

Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes may be cleaner in the coming years, thanks to $1 billion in funding from the federal infrastructure bill.

Those responsible for monitoring and managing water flow in the Great Lakes have deviated from their usual flow controls to address lower-than-average…