State Rep. Ken Borton wants to allow recreational wildlife and bird feeding to be protected. He said the intent is to allow feeding of squirrels and other small animals. But state wildlife officials say that would encourage deer and elk to congregate, spreading disease.

Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today.

The attorney general on Wednesday filed a brief in Wisconsin federal court supporting a Native American tribe’s effort to shut down the Line 5 pipeline over fears of a rupture into a river that runs through tribal land.

The Edenville and Sanford dams once blocked invasive lampreys from entering upstream rivers. But the 2020 dam failures provided an opening, and lamprey now threaten native fish. Regulators say they have a plan.

Native American tribes are working with university researchers and others to determine why whitefish, an important source of protein, is declining.

The U.S. EPA proposes federal baseline water quality standards for lakes and streams on reservations.

Thanks to the Clean Water Act, the Rouge is no longer a dumping ground for industrial waste. But its gains are fragile and incomplete, with contaminants still soiling the river bottom and the fish that returned to its waters.

Democratic lawmakers want to end Michigan’s “shameful” reign as the only state without a statewide code to prevent leaky systems from fouling lakes, rivers and groundwater.

But more heavily fertilized corn and more manure for methane raises worries about water pollution.

A forest expert at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is putting together a program to use trees to help keep sources of drinking water cleaner.

The salty solution is killing the state’s precious waters, but efforts to cut back on spraying have met fierce opposition.

The highest predicted climate risk for the Great Lakes region is from heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding, which many cities have seen in recent years.

Lessons and activities based on the monthly Great Lakes Now program.

But skeptics assert change in practices could increase risk to water and health.

Climate change continues to have an impact on residents in Southeast Michigan. As heavy rains have become more frequent, so has the flooding.