Fresh, January 7, 2025: In Effort to Save Endangered Mussels, Minnesota and Wisconsin Rivers May Be Designated Critical Habitat

January 7, 2025

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. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.

— Christian Thorsberg, Interim Fresh Editor

This Week’s Watersheds

Michigan’s Senate Appropriations Committee declined to vote on a $50 million state grant for a proposed copper mine in the western Upper Peninsula.
Environmental groups are urging the Wisconsin state government to use its $4 billion surplus by investing $1 billion into water infrastructure over the next two years.
After a recent land acquisition in southwest Indiana, the state DNR will establish a new fish and wildlife area that will double as a flood and military-activity buffer for the community.
Nearly 4,000 miles of rivers in Minnesota and Wisconsin may be designated as “critical habitat” for endangered freshwater mussels in an effort to support their recovery.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has had its right to inspect soil and water samples upheld in a federal appeals court, following a challenge from a contracting company.

“EGLE’s ability to conduct environmental inspections under state court orders is vital to holding bad actors accountable and protecting Michigan’s wetlands and natural resources.” — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Just over four years ago, a company named P&P Contracting Services, Inc. bought nearly 16 acres of regulated wetlands in Bay County, Michigan. Not long after this acquisition, the land’s surface waters were dredged and drained, replaced with five acres of sugar beet production waste. After collecting soil and water samples of this area — without a warrant, P&P alleged — EGLE barred the company from “taking further illegal action on the property” in an effort to safeguard the area’s freshwater resources, the Michigan Advance reports.

After the dispute was taken to a federal court of appeals, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel ruled that the inspection occurred lawfully, under a valid court order. Now, a second case — “seeking to hold the defendants accountable under the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act and restore the wetlands to their previous condition” — is pending.

Fresh from the Great Lakes News Collaborative

MSU is studying lamprey sex. Can birth control save Great Lakes from invaders? — Bridge Michigan
Here’s the dirt: how Doug Ford is shaping Ontario’s environmental laws in his second term — The Narwhal
How much ice will be on the Great Lakes this year? Forecasters make prediction. — Michigan Public
Walleye Numbers are Down in Lake Erie — Great Lakes Now

Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, Michigan Public and The Narwhal work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work here.

Mississippi, St. Croix Rivers May Be Designated Critical Habitat

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to designate 3,974 miles of rivers throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin — including lengthy portions of the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers — as critical habitat for endangered freshwater mussels, Minnesota Public Radio reports. The classification, aimed to “help guide federal restoration efforts,” would also be the latest step in a regional recovery plan, announced last year, for four endangered freshwater mussel species: sheepnose, spectaclecase, snuffbox, and rayed bean mussels. A single mussel can filter 10 gallons of water within just a few minutes, removing sediment and pollutants from river systems. “They provide just immeasurable benefits to the river ecosystem,” Nick Utrup, a biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service, told MPR. Habitat loss, dams, and pollution have contributed to mussels’ decline in recent years. The public comment period for the proposal is open until February 11.

In the News

Wisconsin’s Billion Dollar Question: A coalition of more than 30 environmental and conservation groups have called on Wisconsin’s government to allocate at least $953 million from the next two-year state budget (2025-2027) for drinking water infrastructure, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. The ask, which follows the fiftieth anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act, is backed by startling data: within Wisconsin, 150,000 lead service lines still need replacement, 42,000 private wells exceed nitrate health standards, and 90 water systems have elevated PFAS levels. The EPA estimates that Wisconsin will need to invest $11.75 billion into water infrastructure over the next 20 years.

Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area: Nearly 4,000 acres in southwest Indiana will become the Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has announced. The land, acquired with the support of the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, the Conservation Fund, and the Nature Conservancy, will serve as both a recreation area and natural buffer between communities and the Lake Glendora Test Facility’s military activities. Crucially, the area’s wetlands and creek should also help mitigate the local effects of flooding, Indiana Public Radio reports. The DNR hopes to open the area to the public in April.

Looking Ahead

Copperwood Project: Before Michigan’s state Senate adjourned for the year, the appropriations committee approved more than $240 million in grants for entities such as Dow Chemical, the University of Michigan, and Detroit Diesel, Fox 2 Detroit reports. A notable omission however was the Copperwood project — a proposed 505-acre copper mine from Highland Copper on the shores of Lake Superior, estimated to create 380 permanent jobs and bolster the region’s economy. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board last year approved a $50 million state grant for the project, though the Senate committee did not bring the dispersal of these funds to a vote in its last session before the holidays. “The Senate will act when they choose to act…from our perspective, it’s just a matter of time, stepping into the new year and continuing to educate the Senate,” Highland Copper CEO Barry O’Shea told the Michigan Advance. Because the company is investing $425 million into the mine, O’Shea also said receiving the grant is not “do or die.”

Upcoming Events

February 18-20 — Annual Invasive Species Forum — learn more and register

February 19-21 — Michigan Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting — learn more

Other News

State of the Great Lakes: Michigan has released the annual State of the Great Lakes report, which features a lake-by-lake ecological summary and highlights 15 stories of environmental challenges and successes.

Western Pennsylvania’s Mussels: Researchers have detected elevated levels of radium — a radioactive element — in the Allegheny River watershed’s freshwater mussels. The contaminants are likely residuals from nearby, historic oil and gas production discharge, Inside Climate News reports.

Christian Thorsberg

Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer from Chicago. He is passionate about climate and cultural phenomena that often appear slow or invisible, and he examines these themes in his journalism, poetry, and fiction.