Check out today’s drone fly-over in Lake Linden, showing the $12 million remediation project underway at Torch Lake. Walter Dennis captured these shots recently where the EPA crews are extracting over 13,000 cubic yards of toxic sediment polluted with heavy metals like lead and zinc, along with PCB’s in Torch Lake. It’s part of the larger initiative to delist Torch Lake as a Great Lakes area of concern. The pollution stems from the historical copper mining activities in the area between the 1840’s and the 1960’s, which resulted in over 200 million tons of crushed rock, stamp sands, being dumped into the lake. The dredged areas will be restored with clean sand. For the 2026 summer season, the Lake Linden Campground and Marina are open during the clean-up, but there will be no access to the beach area. Boaters are urged to stay away from any equipment in the water. In addition, due to leaching of the waste deposit metals into the water, there are ongoing consumption advisories for the lake’s fish. Walter’s photos show the beauty in the surrounding area here in Lake Linden. Hopefully next summer Torch Lake will be restored and clean for folks to enjoy.

There’s so much to do in the Keweenaw...if you’re looking for ideas, check out the Events Calendar over at Visit Keweenaw Events

In the meantime, Walter shares a video he made recently with his drone, flying over the Portage Canal and Houghton, with a few glimpses of Hancock and Ripley, too. It’s always fun to see an overhead perspective of the Keweenaw like this.

I'll be happy when it's finished. Anxious to see
the results.

Nice shots, Walter.

Good to see the cleanup efforts underway at
Torch Lake. And an enjoyable drone video of the
waterway, city and Lift Bridge.

Be careful outdoors with all the wildfire smoke
in the air UP there. Don’t be afraid to wear a mask
if necessary!

Hi
I'm glad to see pollution being cleaned up, anywhere,
any time. That said, I'm particularly happy to see
beautiful spots up north being put right.

Speaking of seeing, the smoke here downstate is so
dense that I thought it was fog when I woke up. I
gather it was like that yesterday in the UP. The TV
news showed a shot of the Mackinac Bridge where the
towers were invisible due to the smoke.

It is beyond gross with the smoke, nothing is open
in my apt, but it sure stinks in here! I hope it
stops..this messed up Autumn last year...this is
just gross.

I remember walking the shores of that lake, and
there were lots of the metal barrels that rusted
and the colors of the sludge seeping were so
gross. We grew up across the road from that
lake...my brothers would fish, and they'd pull in
some gross little critters. I am so glad they are
cleaning that up!

Awesome job Walter!

Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms,
you would never see the true beauty of their
carvings.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

This was on Space Weather:

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY BAD IDEA: Since SpaceX
began launching Starlink satellites in 2019,
astronomers have grown increasingly concerned.
It's almost impossible now to take a deep-sky
image without satellite streaks in the background.
The megaconstellation numbers nearly 11,000
functioning satellites, and SpaceX launched
another 1,730 during the first half of 2026 alone.

Soon, Starlink may be the least of their worries.

Last week, the FCC authorized Reflect Orbital Inc.
to launch a huge space mirror named “Eärendil-1.”
From an orbit about 625 km high, it will cast a
moving, 5-km-wide patch of light onto the Earth
about as bright as a full Moon. Later, the company
could combine beams from multiple satellites to
create much brighter spotlights. Reflect Orbital
wants to launch 50,000 more by 2035, selling
sunlight-on-demand to solar farms, construction
sites and search-and-rescue teams.

If Reflect Orbital's plan is realized, it could be
calamitous not only for astronomy but also for the
natural world as a whole. Nocturnal animals and
night-blooming plants, tuned by evolution to the
rhythm of day and night, would suddenly find their
darkness interrupted by moving pools of redirected
sunlight. Small favors? Reflect Orbital says the
light will not be bright enough to start fires.

The FCC itself acknowledged some of these
concerns, but noted in its order that optical
astronomy and the environment lie largely outside
its jurisdiction. They can only regulate the
project's use of radio signals. For now, no US
agency regulates how bright a satellite may shine.

The company's FCC application attracted more than
1,800 public comments, most of them sharply
critical. Nevertheless, the launch of Eärendil-1
is now expected before the end of the year.

Stay tuned for too much sunlight!

Ugh

Yea Donna, but I can see my old apartment from Walter's drone.

Are those two yellow things surface skimmers (to catch accidental surface spills) or vacuum hoses? Where are they putting the removed material? Maybe they haven't gotten that far yet? Looks like they are only drilling core samples?

Hi
Donna, when you go to Space Weather, is this the site?

SpaceWeather.gov

And, if so, where did you read the story about
Eärendil-1?

it is on that front page, with the picture of light
shining down on that cabin.

Visit Keweenaw has a new Air Quality Index tool on their webpage that provides real-time air quality conditions and practical guidance for avoiding wildfire smoke. The new tool comes to the Copper Country following multiple years of wildfires in Ontario and the upper Midwest. Several factors,
including the position of the jet stream, can impact where smoke travels.

The webpage features live AQI conditions, health guidance for different AQI categories, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Click here to access the new tool:
Visit Keweenaw Air Quality Tool