Climate Change

Nutrients, Climate Change and Chemical Contamination Top Water Quality Concerns at Green Bay Meeting

The IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board (WQB) gathered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on May 8-9 for its board meeting and to host a public engagement event.

Lake Champlain–Richelieu River Study Holds Climate Risk Workshop

Climate experts and IJC board members are working to assess the impacts of future flooding in the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River (LCRR) basin.

Step In and Speak Out for the Great Lakes in 2019

Across the Great Lakes region, residents overwhelmingly value the lakes and everything they provide – recreationally, economically and aesthetically. In binational polls taken by an IJC board, in person, and in letters and emails, citizens have expressed a deep caring for and desire to protect the…

Basinwide Partnership Seeks to Advance New Era of Water Management

Shoreline communities throughout the Great Lakes basin face many of the same challenges related to water. But solutions vary when it comes those challenges, which include seasonal flooding, aging or inadequate infrastructure and beaches that are unsafe for families to enjoy. 

More Light and Less Ice Cover Could Mean Fewer Cisco in Great Lakes

Climate change has been reducing the average amount of ice and snow cover on the Great Lakes. For fish species like ciscoes, this could end up being a problem. Researchers at the University of Vermont are studying if more light, because of less ice cover, could have an impact on fish egg…

The Meltdown: How Climate Change is Affecting Ice on Lake Superior

Changes in lake ice tell a story about a region’s climate. The time when lake ice freezes and breaks is highly sensitive to changes in climate, along with how long that ice remains intact.

IJC’s 2017 Triennial Assessment of Progress

The IJC, as part of its responsibilities under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, is required to submit a triennial assessment of progress regarding Great Lakes water quality to the United States and Canadian governments.

How Communities Can Prepare for the Next Extreme Storm

While we all hope extreme storms won’t happen in our community, the reality is that rain events and other extreme storms regularly cause major damage and disrupt lives and livelihoods.

Could Dust Impact Water Management in the West?

Recent studies by the U.S. Department of Energy indicate that dust and soot particles can speed up the melting of mountain snowpacks, potentially impacting water supplies that rely on snowmelt. Snowpack melting can now occur weeks earlier than normal in the Rocky Mountains of the western United…

Climate Change and Dams Present Challenges for Wild Rice at Rainy Lake

Wild rice has been struggling in historically fertile ground at Rainy Lake, located at the Ontario-Minnesota border. While climate change has played a role in the declining success of the notoriously sensitive plant, water level and flow management by humans has played a part, too.