Fund for Lake Michigan

10/20/2026

Ever wonder what actually keeps Great Lakes water from being piped, trucked, or shipped away to the highest bidder? It’s a farsighted agreement called the Great Lakes Compact, signed in 2008 by all eight Great Lakes states (plus Ontario and Quebec).

A great short piece from WXPR’s Field Notes breaks it down. The Compact protects not just the lakes themselves but their entire watersheds - the land that drains into them. One of its most important rules: with only the rarest exceptions, water can’t be diverted out of the Great Lakes basin into another watershed. That matters a lot in Wisconsin, where about 20% of the state sits in the Great Lakes watershed, separated from the Mississippi basin by a subcontinental divide you’d hardly notice on our flat terrain.

The piece walks through two real cases that tested the rules - Waukesha’s approved diversion for a community straddling the basin line, and a bottling proposal up north that was ultimately blocked. It’s a clear, quick look at the quiet agreement doing a lot of work to keep this water where it belongs.

Several decades ago, some forward-thinking politicians and water resource specialists created the Great Lakes Compact, a legally binding interstate compact with protections for the use and transfer of the waters of the Great Lakes and signed in 2008 by the governors of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan...

10/14/2026

A little fall prep keeps your rain garden working all winter long. Before the snow flies, take a few minutes to clear away anything blocking water from flowing in - fallen leaves, debris, or trash. Compost those leaves and toss the trash, and your garden will be ready to soak up whatever the season brings.

Rain gardens are small but mighty: every one helps capture stormwater before it rushes into our rivers and Lake Michigan. Thanks to our friends at Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District - MMSD for the timely tip.

10/13/2026

Look out at Lake Michigan on a quiet day and it can seem empty. But below the surface lies a whole hidden history - hundreds of shipwrecks, each one a story waiting to be reconstructed.

This fall, the Wisconsin Water Library and the Wisconsin Historical Society are launching a free online book club called "Dive into History," all about Great Lakes shipwrecks and maritime history. The first book pick - up for discussion November 4 - tackles arguably the most famous wreck of them all, the Edmund Fitzgerald.

As one organizer put it, no matter your age, shipwrecks capture the imagination - and they're a wonderful way into appreciating the Great Lakes, even if you've never thought of yourself as a "science person." A cozy fall read with a Great Lakes soul.

This fall, the Wisconsin Water Library and the Wisconsin Historical Society are teaming up to launch an online book club focused on Great Lakes shipwrecks and maritime history. The “Dive

10/08/2026

A thousand years ago, someone carved a canoe from white oak and set it on the water in what we now call Pewaukee Lake. This spring, a diver searching the lakebed for old bottles spotted it - a 17-foot dugout, still intact, now confirmed by radiocarbon dating to be roughly a millennium old.

It's a humbling reminder that people have been living and traveling on these southeastern Wisconsin waters for countless generations. The Wisconsin Historical Society is consulting with tribal historic preservation officers from the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Ho-Chunk Nation, and for now the canoe will rest where it was found, on the bottom of the lake where it's lain for a thousand years.

An ancient dugout canoe found in Pewaukee Lake in southeastern Wisconsin is estimated to be around 1,000 years old.

10/05/2026

632 young sturgeon released into the Milwaukee River - and even a sturgeon-shaped cloud overhead to see them off. What a way to mark 20 years of the Return the Sturgeon Project. We're proud to be the presenting sponsor of Sturgeon Fest, and grateful to everyone who's helped bring this remarkable fish home. Here's to the next 20 years.

10/01/2026

Good news for the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has funded thousands of cleanup and restoration projects across the region since 2010, and it's one step closer to continued funding. We're following along as the process moves ahead.

09/29/2026

Four thousand hours of conservation experience. That's what the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin's 2026 Diversity in Conservation Internship cohort accomplished together this summer - building skills in fieldwork and environmental education, connecting with conservation professionals, and exploring where their careers might lead.

As one intern, Aileena Ilanderage, put it: "This internship was beautifully well-rounded and gave me valuable experiences and skills that I will take with me to my future career."

Programs like this are how we grow the next generation of people who will care for Wisconsin's water and land - and we're proud to help support it. Congratulations to the whole 2026 cohort. We can't wait to see where you go from here.

09/24/2026

Shepherds and solar energy experts, together in one Wisconsin field - what's not to love? Last week, we were proud to be a community partner for a gathering of the ASGA Solar Grazing Association at Wiscovery Farm.

Solar grazing is exactly what it sounds like: letting sheep graze the land beneath solar panels, keeping vegetation in check while the animals do what they do best. It's a clever bit of overlap between clean energy and working farmland - and a growing movement. It was exciting to swap grazing tips, explore tools like Nofence USA, and hear real stories of climate and agricultural transformation in Wisconsin and beyond.

All thanks to sheep and solar. Thanks to everyone who came out.

09/22/2026

We love seeing nature based solutions in action!

09/17/2026

We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the bottoms of the Great Lakes. Some of the navigation charts boaters and researchers still rely on today are over a hundred years old.

That's what a new effort called Lakebed 2030 is out to change. The goal is to map all 94,000-plus square miles of the Great Lakes in high resolution by the end of the decade. So far, only about 17% has been charted. Detailed maps of the lakebed would sharpen our understanding of climate change, invasive species, and pollution - and help keep these waters drinkable, fishable, and swimmable. They'd also update century-old navigation charts and help uncover culturally significant sites still hidden below.

The Great Lakes hold more than 80% of North America's surface freshwater. It's remarkable to think how much of that vast underwater world remains uncharted - and how much we stand to learn by finally seeing it clearly.

GREAT LAKES., (WPBN/WGTU) -- Great lake experts and advocates are meeting for the Lakebed 2030 Conference.The focus is on an initiative to fully map the more th