The more than 40-page report is a laundry list of programs and problems. The big concerns for the four lakes around Michigan are cyanobacterial blooms, wetlands restoration, chemical trends in the lakes, sediment, and fish populations.
Some of the good news included the recovery of walleye in Saginaw Bay and the best walleye fishing in Lake Erie in 50 years.
And dam removals have opened 150 miles of coldwater tributaries to the St. Joseph River and Lake Michigan.
On the stretch of water from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie, a concern is the amount of hardened shoreline. 90 percent is rock, concrete, or steel. Softening the shoreline makes it more resilient to climate change.