Great Lakes Now

Superior Maximus | Hidden Below: Live

Thu, 07 May 2026 19:28:15 +0000

Join a livestreamed expedition to the deepest point in the Great Lakes! Explore a hidden underwater world from your own screen and have your questions answered LIVE.

June 7, 2026
11 A.M. E.T.
Backup dates: June 8 – 9

The date and time of this livestream are subject to change due to weather conditions. Sign up for the Great Lakes Now newsletter to get reminders and updates delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.greatlakesnow.org/great-lakes-now-newsletter/

More than 400 meters (1,300 feet) beneath Lake Superior lies the deepest point in the Great Lakes. It’s a place where no light reaches and few people have ever seen. Great Lakes Now is teaming up with freshwater explorers Yvonne Drebert and Zach Melnick to send cameras to the bottom and explore the area for the first time in 40 years.

What we’re hoping to see:
• The kiyi, a rare deepwater fish that is believed to live only in Lake Superior.
• Alien looking deepwater sculpin
• Forests of colorful hydra
• The deepwater-adapted siscowet lake trout

Along for the voyage is Michigan DNR fisheries biologist Shawn Sitar, who has been investigating the recent appearance of “zombie fish,” emaciated siscowet turning up across Lake Superior, many of them from the deepest parts of the lake.

Watch live and ask questions in real time as Drebert, Melnick, and Sitar guide you through the depths of one of the largest lakes on Earth.

Follow Great Lakes Now and Hidden Below: The Great Lakes on social media to stay updated about the expedition:

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RESCHEDULED: Superior Maximus

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 18:57:10 +0000

SCHEDULE CHANGE
Our Superior Maximus ROV dive to the deepest point in the Great Lakes is being postponed by a day due to rough weather conditions on Lake Superior today.

The good news? We’re now planning to go live tomorrow, June 7 at 11:00 AM ET.

We’ll still be descending more than 1,330 feet (406 m) into the deepest, darkest depths of the Great Lakes to see what lives there. From deepwater lake trout and kiyi to freshwater shrimp and whatever else our cameras uncover, we’re excited to share the journey with you.

#SuperiorMaximus #LakeSuperior #GreatLakes #ROV #DeepSeaExploration #FreshwaterExploration #HiddenBelow #LiveStream

To learn more about supporting Detroit PBS and Great Lakes Now, visit https://www.detroitpbs.org/

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This Underwater Camera Can Livestream from 1,600 Feet Deep

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:29:31 +0000

Meet Kiyi: the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that’s going to make the journey of over 1,300 feet to the deepest point in Lake Superior.

ROVs are often used by scientists to explore underwater ecosystems. But Kiyi was built so that filmmakers— like Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert from @InspiredPlanet-x6r— can capture detailed footage in underwater environments.

You can see Kiyi in action during the Superior Maximus livestream on June 6 at 1pm.

Learn more at GreatLakesNow.org/HiddenBelow

#GreatLakes #Camera #Livestream #Exploration #Filmmaking #LakeSuperior #Technology #Underwater #Robot #FreshwaterWorld

To learn more about supporting Detroit PBS and Great Lakes Now, visit https://www.detroitpbs.org/

The post This Underwater Camera Can Livestream from 1,600 Feet Deep appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes scientists worry about federal cuts to NOAA

Interlochen Public Radio and Grist — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:34:10 +0000

By Vivian La, IPR

This coverage is made possible in part through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

Some groups that do research and collect data on the Great Lakes face existential threats as the federal budgeting process for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gets underway.

A proposed budget request from President Trump would zero out programs that scientists say are the foundation of weather observations, water quality, maritime safety and recreation on the Great Lakes. The President wants to cut NOAA’s budget by $1.3 billion, or one-third of current funding levels to better match priorities related to halting climate research.

“The investment that we make pays off in terms of safer water, public safety, public health, as well as economic activity,” said Gregory Dick, director of the Cooperative Institute Lakes Research (CIGLR), a partnership between the University of Michigan and NOAA.

Researchers at CIGLR work closely with NOAA to conduct work on lake water levels, ice dynamics and harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie. Data is used by state managers, fishermen, boaters and the regional shipping industry.

“That’s the kind of data that you want at your fingertips,” Dick said. “That’s what’s at risk with cuts like the ones we’re talking about.”

Beyond this data, Dick is worried about long-term research on how climate change is affecting the Great Lakes. Water levels are fluctuating and Dick said understanding those dynamics is important for future planning around development and the economy.

Another at-risk program is the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), a regional network collecting data on wave heights, water temperatures, ice, wind and more. The network makes real-time data available to the public, and it’s often used by boaters, fishermen and people who recreate on the lakes.

“If you want to visit a beach, if you want to take your dog and let it run in the lake, it’s really important to know beforehand if there’s a bloom there or dangerous surf conditions,” said Jennifer Boehme, CEO of GLOS.

In a memo released with the budget proposal, the White House stated that “President Trump is committed to eliminating funding for the globalist climate agenda while unleashing American energy production.” The proposed NOAA budget will cut climate research and save taxpayer money, according to the memo.

NOAA programs in the Great Lakes are already adapting to cuts from the previous year. The Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (which houses CIGLR), for example, lost about 40% of its staff last year after rounds of layoffs and early retirements, according to Dick.

GLOS is also in a more vulnerable position this year, Boehme said. The program is up for a contract renewal with NOAA, which happens every five years. And the system hasn’t received all of its appropriated funds from last year.

“Each lapse makes the next one worse, and rebuilding isn’t just a matter of writing another check. The relationships and the seasonal schedules that make the network function can take years to reconstruct,” she said.

Still, the President’s budget is more a signal of priorities than binding, said Alex Eastman, the Great Lakes program manager at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, a nonprofit policy research group. Appropriations are ultimately decided by Congress, which is in the middle of that process.

This year, the House Appropriations Committee has passed a bill that would fund NOAA at levels similar to last year, largely ignoring the President’s budget proposal. But the bill is $300 million short of last year’s funding. The Senate hasn’t passed their version of the appropriations bill yet.

Congress funded these Great Lakes programs last year after the President proposed similar cuts, likely because they know the value they provide for the region and country, Eastman said.

“I do think that the more that Congress pushes back, I think the more the executive branch and the President will see that they’re not gaining anything by continuing to try to impose draconian cuts,” he said.

The post Great Lakes scientists worry about federal cuts to NOAA appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

We Went to the Moon Before the Bottom of Lake Superior

Sun, 31 May 2026 20:31:42 +0000

16 years after we landed on the moon, explorers reached the deepest point in the Great Lakes. In 1985, a submersible reached Superior Maximus, 1,300 feet beneath the surface of Lake Superior. A year later, they left behind a time capsule meant to be opened to celebrate Michigan’s bicentennial in 2037.

40 years later, we’re going back.

We’re teaming up with @hiddenbelowgreatlakes to send an underwater drone down to Superior Maximus to livestream everything we see.

June 6
1 P.M. ET (Subject to change based on weather. Follow us for updates!)
Learn more at GreatLakesNow.org/HiddenBelow

#LakeSuperior #GreatLakes #ROV #UnderwaterRobot #Freshwater #Exploration #LiveStream #GreatLakesExploration #FreshwaterWorld #Fish

To learn more about supporting Detroit PBS and Great Lakes Now, visit https://www.detroitpbs.org/

The post We Went to the Moon Before the Bottom of Lake Superior appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

This northern Michigan program hopes to cultivate the next generation of farmers

Interlochen Public Radio and Grist — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:20:46 +0000

By Vivian La, IPR

This story is made possible through a partnership between Interlochen Public Radio and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

As Michigan faces an aging farmer population, communities are looking for ways to shore up the next generation of growers. But people looking to get in the field face challenges like high costs, access to land and a shifting climate.

Tucked on farmland at the southern edge of Traverse City, one program wants to solve some of these problems by letting aspiring farmers learn by doing.

The Great Lakes Incubator Farm attracts students from all over the country. Over the course of seven months, they learn topics like pest management, how to drive a tractor and what to include in a farm business plan.

“Nobody gets into farming for sane reasons, other than the sanity of knowing where your food comes from and just general health,” said 33-year-old Rachel Greenberg, a student farmer from Indianapolis. “The challenges are pretty never-ending.”

Those challenges include high costs, access to land and volatile weather. Farm bankruptcies last year were up 46% nationally, according to a National Farm Bureau report. As land prices rise due to demand from developers, more than 50,000 acres of farmland has been lost in the last two decades, according to research.

Despite headwinds, the student farmers said they’re driven by wanting to know where their food comes from, to contribute to local communities and teach others to do the same.

‘Pay it forward’

The farm training program — a project of the Grand Traverse Conservation District — has fewer economic pressures than running a farm business, Greenberg said. The fruits and vegetables that students grow will go to locals who have already committed to buying the season’s produce, and leftovers will go to food rescue operations. Unlike a traditional business, the goal isn’t to make a profit.

“The whole incubator idea is something you see a lot in the world of entrepreneurship, and it’s beautiful that somebody saw that and was like, ‘Why don’t we just do that with farming?’” Greenberg said.

Troy Saruna, 28, said at a time where climate change is driving more severe weather, he wants to better understand his impact on the natural world. Saruna worked in conservation around the country prior to the program, and has no farming experience.

Student farmer Troy Saruna waters seedlings in the greenhouse at the Great Lakes Incubator Farm. (Photo credit: Vivian La/IPR News)

The training program focuses on teaching regenerative agriculture, which refers to practices that could reduce the pollution causing climate change by improving soil health.

“Our food systems are just so inextricably tied to the health of the planet,” Saruna said. “I’m just really interested in striking up a new balance where I can understand, interpret and just develop some new instincts in terms of feeding myself and having thriving communities that also support wildlife.”

Farmers with some experience also find the program helpful to dive deeper into certain skills. Shanaya Holmes, 49, runs a small 4-acre farm in Alabama.

Student farmer Shanaya Holmes kneels by a row of spinach. (Photo credit: Vivian La/IPR News)

She’s looking to learn how to grow in a different climate and to improve her record keeping — tracking what’s been planted, what soil was used or how much money was spent on equipment.

“It’s a challenge to switch that button off to come inside and do bookwork, bookwork, bookwork when you’re so used to outside, outside, outside,” she said.

Adam Brown, the farm’s manager and instructor, said the farmer training program is meant to be a stepping stone.

“It’s really built for anybody who can then filter out and work anywhere in the food system, either manage a farm, start their own business, or any rung of that ladder where people can just help out in the food system,” Brown said.

Brown wouldn’t have pursued farming himself if it wasn’t for a similar training program he did 15 years ago on the West Coast. He has a background in ecology.

“I can pay it forward, my lessons, and all the wisdom that I learned throughout my years of farming, and be a mentor to these other people, and I feel like it’s super important,” he said.

Funding the future

The training program, now in its second year, is one of the only programs of its kind in northern Michigan, according to data from Michigan State University.

The Great Lakes Incubator Farm relies mostly on a nearly $700,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture aimed at supporting beginner farmers. That grant ends after this season and Brown plans to reapply for USDA funding this year.

Still, the agency is undergoing changes as it works to match the president’s priorities. Last year, the USDA canceled $148 million in grants — including some in the beginner farmer program — to comply with the president’s early executive orders targeting climate action, environmental justice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Brown said there’s not many large pools of money like this USDA grant program that support efforts to train the next generation of farmers. The Great Lakes Incubator Farm is also supported by some state grants.

Adam Brown sits on a tractor at the Great Lakes Incubator Farm. He teaches students at the farm and says there needs to be more training programs like this to support an aging farmer population. (Photo credit: Vivian La/IPR News)

Lack of consistent funding is a big reason we don’t see more of these training programs, said Jon LaPorte, a farm business management educator for Michigan State University Extension.

“It’s almost like a double-edged sword that they’re trying to help people get started, but then they’ve got the same struggles of staying sustainable themselves,” he said.

That means as the share of young people in farming grows in Michigan, programs to support them might be harder to come by, LaPorte said. Farmers under the age of 45 increased by more than 3,000 people between 2017 and 2022, according to the USDA’s census. Sustaining that growth is a challenge.

“Because of those hurdles, they don’t all stay in, and what we want to see is more of those people being able to stay in, having more farms, more diversity of farms,” he said. “More people involved in agriculture at that level is really, really important.”

There are still resources available, said Katie Brandt, who leads MSU’s Organic Farmer Training Program in East Lansing. MSU Extension put together a beginner farmer’s guide in partnership with the USDA last year. And many farms across the state often accept volunteers for work, she said.

Brown, the farm manager, said students in the training program learn that the growing season doesn’t always go smoothly — and things like frost damage on plants is just part of the job.

“This is a great space for failure too, right? Because there’s not a whole lot of risk here,” he said. “It’s a perfect, experimental type of atmosphere.”

The post This northern Michigan program hopes to cultivate the next generation of farmers appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

We Went to the Moon Before the Bottom of Lake Superior

Fri, 29 May 2026 18:33:14 +0000

16 years after we landed on the moon, explorers reached the deepest point in the Great Lakes.

In 1985, a submersible reached Superior Maximus, 1,300 feet beneath the surface of Lake Superior. A year later, they left behind a time capsule meant to be opened in 2036.

40 years later, we’re going back.

We’re teaming up with @hiddenbelowgreatlakes to send an underwater drone down to Superior Maximus to livestream everything we see.

June 6
1 P.M. ET (Subject to change based on weather. Follow us for updates!)

Learn more at GreatLakesNow.org/HiddenBelow

To learn more about supporting Detroit PBS and Great Lakes Now, visit https://www.detroitpbs.org/

The post We Went to the Moon Before the Bottom of Lake Superior appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes shipping lost third of season to ‘inadequate icebreaking’

Bridge Michigan — Wed, 27 May 2026 20:56:37 +0000

By Bruce Carpenter, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work HERE.

The Lake Carriers’ Association said in a report this week that US-flagged shipping on the Great Lakes lost 82 ship days — a third of its 2026 season — because of “inadequate icebreaking” operations from the US Coast Guard.

“We only get nine months of shipping,” Eric Peace, the vice president of the association, said. “It’s a loss of a significant amount of time.”

Data from the US Coast Guard shows it assisted more than 400 vessels during the shipping season and spent around 3,000 hours breaking ice in the Great Lakes region.

“We only get nine months of shipping,” Eric Peace, the vice president of the association, said. “It’s a loss of a significant amount of time.”

Data from the US Coast Guard shows it assisted more than 400 vessels during the shipping season and spent around 3,000 hours breaking ice in the Great Lakes region.

“During the 135-day operational period, Dec. 9 to April 23, the Coast Guard successfully facilitated the safe and efficient movement of vital commercial vessel traffic,” wrote US Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Brandon Giles in a statement.

“Despite heavy winter conditions, our crews secured the regional maritime supply chain and ensured constant search and rescue readiness, achieving a record of zero casualties across all assisted transits.”

Data from the Lake Carriers’ Association shows that around 160 million tons of cargo move on the Great Lakes in commercial ships every year, between 80 million and 90 million tons of that on US-flagged ships.

While it is unclear how much economic impact the delays had, Peace said it can have ripple effects on the nation’s supply chain.

“Steel builds countries,” he said. “If we cannot actually have an efficient system here on the Great Lakes to ship that iron ore down from Lake Superior to the steel mills in the lower lakes, then we’re impacting the entire national economy and endangering our national economic security.”

“We only get nine months of shipping,” Eric Peace, the vice president of the association, said. “It’s a loss of a significant amount of time.”

Data from the US Coast Guard shows it assisted more than 400 vessels during the shipping season and spent around 3,000 hours breaking ice in the Great Lakes region.

While it is unclear how much economic impact the delays had, Peace said it can have ripple effects on the nation’s supply chain.

Nearly 100% of America’s domestic iron ore passes through the Soo Locks with a value of $5 billion, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers. In a statement, Peace said it took 96 hours for the first vessel carrying iron ore to cross the parallel locks and that 19 ships were stuck in ice for days before icebreakers assisted.

The association has long advocated for a new icebreaker to assist the over-40-year-old icebreaking tugs and the 21-year-old USCGC Mackinaw that the US Coast Guard utilizes. This winter, federal vessels “suffered significant engineering problems, which left them sidelined during the height of the need,” according to the association’s report.

Funding for heavy icebreakers was included in early versions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Congress passed last year, but was cut from the final version.

US Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, said he fought to secure $25 million for the Coast Guard in the US Department of Homeland Security’s 2026 budget.

“Great Lakes shipping isn’t only important to the Midwest, it’s critical to the entire United States economy,” Peters said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the current lack of adequate icebreaking capabilities is contributing to these unnecessary delays to the Great Lakes shipping season. In turn, it’s disrupting key industries and the timely delivery of essential commodities that support Michigan businesses and jobs.”

According to Peace, around $80 million has been appropriated to the Coast Guard’s budget for preliminary work toward a new Great Lakes heavy icebreaker, but more needs to be accomplished before such a vessel gets in the water.

The Coast Guard estimates a new icebreaker could cost as much as $350 million.

“We’ve been able to get nickels and dimes, but we need $100 bills in order to get this thing procured,” he said.

US representatives in the Great Lakes region introduced a bill to help fund a new icebreaker, but it has remained in the House’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation since last July.

“They had an icebreaker under consideration last year, and Congress said, ‘We’ll use the money somewhere else,’” said Kevin McCormack, associate professor of operations and supply chain management at Northwood University. “They didn’t spend a dime, and now it costs a dollar.”

Peace said he hopes lawmakers will recognize when there are transportation issues on the Great Lakes.

“This happens every year here on the Great Lakes, andThe motor vessel American Mariner transits the St. Mary’s River in Michigan on Jan. 3. (Courtesy of Lt. Sam Pollard/The US Coast Guard) for some reason, we just can’t seem to get the Coast Guard to ask for the money to build a new icebreaker that we need.”

The post Great Lakes shipping lost third of season to ‘inadequate icebreaking’ appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Whitefish waning. Should Michigan have commercial trout, walleye catches?

Bridge Michigan — Wed, 27 May 2026 19:21:27 +0000

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work HERE.

With Great Lakes whitefish in steep decline, should Michigan cast a lifeline to commercial fishers and allow them to catch other species?

That was the subject of debate Wednesday, as the state House Natural Resources and Tourism Committee took up a pair of bills that would overhaul the state’s commercial fishing regulations.

The biggest change would open access lake trout and walleye that are currently off-limits to most state-licensed commercial fishers.

Lake whitefish are the livelihood of Michigan’s struggling commercial industry, and they’re vanishing because invasive mussels siphon their main food source. Catches have plunged 70% since 2009.

“If something’s not done, we’re all going to go away in the next five or 10 years,” said Dana Serafin, a commercial fisherman out of Pinconning.

The proposition faces opposition from recreational fishers who vastly outnumber commercial ones: There are 1.2 million recreational fishing licenses in Michigan, with a collective economic impact of about $4 billion, while the state’s commercial fleet has dwindled to just a handful of boats bringing in a few million-dollars’ worth of fish.

In a letter, the Michigan Anglers Consortium contended commercial fishing would “introduce industrial-scale harvest pressure on species whose populations remain fragile.”

The Department of Natural Resources also opposes the bills, predicting they would invite lawsuits and increase tensions.

“These attempts at (a) wholesale rewrite of the entire commercial fishing statute (are) accomplishing one thing,” said Randy Claramount, the state’s fisheries chief. “It’s deepening the divide between recreational and commercial fishers.”

Both sides agree regulations are outdated. Many were written decades ago, when overfishing and invasive lamprey were the top concerns and the mussel crisis had not yet begun.

“Temporary rules became permanent policy while the lakes changed, the science changed, the economy changed,” said Rep. Jason Morgan, D-Ann Arbor, a chief sponsor of the legislation.

Fishing access in the Great Lakes is controlled by a web of state law, policy and court settlements that divide access between recreational anglers, tribal anglers and state-regulated commercial fishers.

For the most part, commercial operations get the whitefish, recreational ones get the salmon and tribes and recreational anglers share the lake trout.

Lawmakers appeared divided on the legislation, with some criticizing the DNR’s current management tactics and others expressing concern about how the bills would affect the agency’s budget.

Rep. David Preston, R-Cedar River and a cosponsor of the legislation, described the hearing as the start of a prolonged conversation about the future of fisheries.

“We’re going to solve this,” Prestin said, adding that “I’ve got a room full of people that love fish, and we’re talking about fishing.”

The post Whitefish waning. Should Michigan have commercial trout, walleye catches? appeared first on Great Lakes Now.

Around 200 acres protected along Lake Superior for longest national scenic trail

Wisconsin Public Radio — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:36:21 +0000

By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

The National Park Service recently acquired more than 200 acres along the south shore of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin for the country’s longest national scenic trail.

The North Country National Scenic Trail is part of the National Park Service and stretches 4,800 miles across eight states from North Dakota to Vermont. About 1,500 miles of the trail has yet to be built.

The agency acquired 213 acres in Iron County this spring from the national nonprofit Trust for Public Land, said Chris Loudenslager, the trail’s superintendent. Iron County land records show the nonprofit group paid roughly $2.5 million to buy the property from a private landowner in September.

“When this property became available, that presented the opportunity to get the trail off the road and into a beautiful property that really provides for the type of experience the North Country National Scenic Trail is intended to provide,” Loudenslager said.

The National Park Service purchased the property with money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The National Park Foundation and Wyss Foundation also offset costs of the acquisition for the Trust for Public Land.

Loudenslager said the purchase means officials will be able to move about 3 miles of the trail off road.

Efforts to protect the property go back almost 20 years, said Will Cooksey, senior project manager at the Trust for Public land. The land purchased will connect Saxon Harbor County Park to the Montreal River that separates Wisconsin from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“The property is outstandingly beautiful. It includes 1,300 feet of shoreline along Lake Superior, so it has commanding views of Lake Superior. Additionally, it has roughly 2,100 feet of shoreline along the Montreal River, including the mouth of the river with the lake,” Cooksey said. “This is a portion of the river that includes Superior Falls as it cascades down about 90 feet into a beautiful pool.”

A view of Superior Falls, which drops 90 feet before the Montreal River empties into Lake Superior. Sara Rubinstein/Courtesy of the Trust for Public Land via Wisconsin Public Radio

Eric Peterson, forest administrator for Iron County, said the county had previously examined buying the property in 2017. He said thousands of people typically visit Iron County on Memorial Day weekend with many of them going through Saxon Harbor campground. He anticipates the acquisition may increase traffic in the future.

“With the North Country trail going through that property now and accessing Superior Falls and the Montreal River, that’s just another access point for people to go and see those things when they’re at our facility,” Peterson said.

Loudenslager said a historic trade route for Native Americans known as the Flambeau Trail followed the Montreal River through the area. It was also the site of a fur trading post operated by John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company from 1808 to 1830, according to the Trust for Public Land.

In a statement, Gov. Tony Evers said the acquisition builds on work to conserve lands in Wisconsin “while bolstering our highly successful outdoor recreation economy and ensuring these spaces are accessible for generations of Wisconsinites and visitors to come.”

Outdoor enthusiasts provided a record-breaking $12 billion boost to Wisconsin’s economy in 2024, according to most recent federal data released this year. Overall, the state’s outdoor recreation industry supports more than 100,000 jobs.

Loudenslager said the National Park Service will work with partners, including the North Country Trail Association, on scouting a potential route through the property while ensuring protection of cultural and natural resources. Construction of the trail could begin as early as next year.

“I think it’s a fantastic achievement for the North Country National Scenic Trail,” Loudenslager said. “It moves the needle toward completing the trail where we have the opportunity to get temporary road walks replaced by actual trail that not only benefits the hikers, but also benefits the local communities.”

About 210 miles of the trail run through Wisconsin, of which about 145 miles are ready to hike.

The post Around 200 acres protected along Lake Superior for longest national scenic trail appeared first on Great Lakes Now.