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Great Lakes Moment

Check out this monthly column by Great Lakes Now contributor John Hartig

AuthorsDetroitFeature DetroitFeature HomepageJohn HartigLatest NewsMichiganNewsOntarioWater Quality and Restoration Efforts
Great Lakes Moment: Gordie Howe International Bridge becomes part of binational trail system
- by John Hartig

World’s longest trail is about to become even longer. Plans are underway to make the Trans Canada Trail connect from Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan.

Great Lakes Moment: Lest we forget – A history of Detroit River oil pollution
- by John Hartig

Today, the Detroit River is much cleaner, and sentinel wildlife species have returned. It is good to look back at the 1960s pollution of the river, notably oil pollution, and recognize how far we have come.

Great Lakes Moment: Ohio provides example for funding Detroit and Rouge rivers’ sediment cleanup
- by John Hartig

Ohio will soon embark on removing the Gorge Dam on the Cuyahoga River. Their approach could be a model for cleaning up contaminated sediments in the Detroit and Rouge rivers.

Great Lakes Moment: Creating a green oasis in southwest Detroit
- by John Hartig

Southwest Detroit has long been known for its heavy industry. In recent years, neighborhoods have teamed up with Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Detroit refinery to strengthen and revitalize these communities.

Great Lakes Moment: A Detroit perspective on the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act
- by John Hartig

On the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, it is good to reflect on some of its successes here in metropolitan Detroit’s backyard.

Great Lakes Moment: Detroit’s new Ralph Wilson Park will provide habitats for a healthy ecosystem
- by John Hartig

For over 100 years, the Detroit River was perceived as a working waterway that supported industry and commerce. As such, its shoreline was progressively hardened with concrete seawalls, steel sheet piling, or broken concrete.

Great Lakes Moment: University of Windsor to build capacity for Canada’s national urban parks
- by John Hartig

Canada is creating a network of urban parks not only to conserve nature, but to connect people and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Great Lakes Moment: Nature right outside your school door
- by John Hartig

Southgate, Michigan has created a significant 41-acre nature center adjacent to Southgate Anderson High School.

Great Lakes Moment: A business case for The Great Lakes Way
- by John Hartig

This new economic impact study estimated the range of impact from elements that make up The Great Lakes Way, including connections to Canada and historical attributes.

Great Lakes Moment: New trail connects people with secluded Detroit River wetlands
- by John Hartig

The new Grosse Ile Township greenway trail is designed to improve public access to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge’s Gibraltar Bay Unit.

Great Lakes Moment: Solving the contaminated sediment remediation funding puzzle
- by John Hartig

Michigan has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to remediate these contaminated sediments, but this won’t occur unless non-federal partners can meet funding requirements.

Great Lakes Moment: Decreasing Great Lakes ice cover has consequences
- by John Hartig

In the Great Lakes basin, less lake ice cover is already having major impacts.

Great Lakes Moment: The event that saved Humbug Marsh
- by John Hartig

Humbug Marsh is an internationally important wetland because of its ecological impact on the Detroit River corridor and the Great Lakes Basin.