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Lake Superior

  • Big Abe LeBlanc in front of the truck he used to deliver fresh fish to customers. (Courtesy: Whitney Gravelle)
    Big Abe’s Net
    Ellie Katz
    One calm September day, Big Abe LeBlanc set his fishing net in Lake Superior. Then he called law enforcement and turned himself in. What happened next changed fishing in the Great Lakes forever.
  • The copper deposit Highland Copper Company plans to mine lies underground near Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Lake Superior and the North Country Trail. The mine would be underground, not an open pit. This map comes from Highland Copper’s feasibility study. Highland Copper purchased the Copperwood project from Orvana Resources in 2014, which started drilling exploration around 2008. But the deposit was originally drilled for exploration in the 1950s. (Credit: Highland Copper Company Inc.)
    Funding for UP copper mine held up in Senate Appropriations Committee
    Izzy Ross
    The $50 million grant was advanced by the House Appropriations Committee last week.
  • The lake trout population in Lake Superior dropped by 95 percent because of overfishing and the invasive parasite, sea lamprey.
    After decades, lake trout restored to sustainable levels in Lake Superior
    Lester Graham
    After the population of Lake Superior's top predator fish fell by 95%, the lake trout restoration effort has returned it to sustainable levels, researchers say.
  • The Presque Isle River flows into Lake Superior near the Copperwood deposit. The current mine access road is a short drive from the Presque Isle Campground in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Opponents fear vibrations from rock grinding and lights from the mine site will impact a rustic camping experience. Park officials say the mining company has been accommodating so far, for example, by agreeing to position lights downward to limit light pollution for stargazers. (Credit: Ellie Katz / Points North)
    Public hearing draws on big questions about U.P. copper mining
    Izzy Ross
    In Gogebic County, on the western end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, towering old-growth evergreens carpet the landscape as it rolls down toward the deep blue of Lake Superior.
  • The view of Lake Superior’s shoreline at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A new copper mine near the lakeshore and the state park is stirring controversy. (Credit: David Kenyon / Michigan Department of Natural Resources)
    Copper Country’s Conundrum
    Ellie Katz
    Copper is a key metal for renewable energy, and experts say we’re going to need a lot more of it to transition to clean energy. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is Copper Country. Some see copper mining as an economic boon for the region, but others worry it could come at the cost of some of the Great Lakes’ most pristine wild spaces.
  • The 689-foot bulk carrier Michipicoten has safely anchored in Thunder Bay, Ontario, after combating flooding in Lake Superior, early Saturday morning. U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern Great Lakes has assisted the Canadian bulk carrier Michipicoten to anchorage in Thunder Bay, Ontario, after they initially reported taking on water at approximately 7 a.m. Saturday
    Great Lakes freighter arrives safely in Canada after taking on water
    Rick Brewer
    Transport Canada and the U.S. Coast Guard have launched a joint investigation to determine what caused the breach on the 72-year-old ship.
  • Shawn Howard of WHS Fisheries holds a kiyi. The small, silvery fish used to roam nearly all the Great Lakes but are left only in Lake Superior. But scientists are wondering: Can we find kiyi? And bring them back to the other lakes? (credit: Jason Whalen / Fauna Creative for The Nature Conservancy)
    The Quest for Kiyi
    Ellie Katz
    Small, silvery fish called kiyi used to roam the deep, cold waters of nearly every Great Lake. Remnant populations still exist in Lake Superior, and scientists are wondering: Can we find them? And bring them back to the other Great Lakes?
  • Miners Castle as seen from the upper overlook. It's a landmark along the Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. (Photo: National Park Service)
    Lake Superior is warming fast. Its national parks are starting work to cut fossil fuels
    Izzy Ross
    As national parks around the country try to raise awareness about climate change, those around Lake Superior are taking steps to get cut their emissions.
  • States in the Great Lakes kill beavers and remove dams on select rivers and streams. They’re doing it, in part, for anglers and the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. But some people are not on board with that. (Robes Parrish / USFWS)
    Leave It To Beavers?
    Joe Friedrichs
    States in the Great Lakes kill beavers and remove dams on select rivers and streams. They’re doing it, in part, for anglers and the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. But some people are not on board with that. Today’s episode is all about that conflict, and about how our scientific understanding of the role of beavers may be changing.
  • States in the Great Lakes kill beavers and remove dams on select rivers and streams. They’re doing it, in part, for anglers and the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. But some people are not on board with that. (Robes Parrish / USFWS)
    Leave It To Beavers?
    States in the Great Lakes kill beavers and remove dams on select rivers and streams. They’re doing it, in part, for anglers and the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. But some people are not on board with that. Today’s episode is all about that conflict, and about how our scientific understanding of the role of beavers may be changing.
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