Our community's environmental health is greatly influenced by the Great Lakes--the largest source of fresh water in the world. There are several major issues (including diversion, water levels, fish diseases, invasive species and clean water) that could greatly alter our way of living if they were upset—and there’s evidence that many are.  

Great Lakes Heath

Other Rochester Issues:

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Great Lakes in the News

Great Lakes Resources Online.

Major report on the health of our Great Lakes. Climate Change and Great Lakes Water Resources November 2007 - This report provides a comprehensive look at how climate change will impact water resources in the Great Lakes region and in other regions of the United States. By exploring the impact climate change will have in reducing water supplies across the country, this report highlights the need for water conservation laws and policies in the face of growing demand for clean, fresh water." --National Wildlife Federation is solely responsible for the content of this report.

A new threat to our lakes is underway by Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS).  Check out all news links on this issue in the past: VHS News Links

 Help be a part of the Great Lakes community: Great Lakes Town Hall - Residents of the Great Lakes are divided by great physical and political distances. Stretching from the remote Northwoods of Minnesota and Western Ontario through the heavily industrialized and arrigated lands of the eastern Midwest, and on to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes drainage basin spans two countries, two provinces and eight states. These distances make it difficult for the basin's 37 million residents to recognize and act on their shared concern for the Lakes. The Great Lakes Town Hall is designed to bridge those distances. Like the town meetings on which it is modeled, the Great Lakes Town Hall provides a "space" where residents from all across the Great Lakes basin - and all walks of life within the basin - can come together to identify common concerns, set the political agenda, share and develop collective solutions, and demand - as a public - that the Lakes are clean, abundant, and natural for generations to come.

    Looking for a way to help our Great Lakes and take Action? Great Lakes Restoration More than 80 organizations representing millions of residents in the Great Lakes have joined a new coalition whose goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Formed in 2005 with support from the Wege Foundation, Joyce Foundation, and others, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition reflects a growing public awareness about the urgent need to protect the Great Lakes. The Coalition seeks to secure a sustainable restoration plan and the billions of dollars of state and federal funding needed to implement it. Led by the National Wildlife Federation and the National Parks Conservation Association, the coalition seeks to clean up sewage and toxic sediments, to restore damaged habitat, to protect high quality habitat, and to control and prevent the introduction of invasive species, each of which is an essential component of restoring the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem. For more information on how to join the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition contact Chris Grubb (grubbc@nwf.org ) or Jeff Skelding (jskelding@nwf.org ).

How to clean up the Great Lakes: CSREES Great Lakes Regional Water Quality Program A Regional Water Quality Leadership Team is guiding the regional coordination project and coordinate multi-state programming decisions; Theme Teams provide expertise in research, extension, and education around six of the eight national water quality themes and serve as resources for regional programming decisions; project advisory teams guide regional flagship projects; state advisory committees serve as a forum for discussing state and regional issues and priorities at the state level; and a Regional Liaison coordinates Regional Team activities and strengthens partnerships with other educational institutions, federal and state agencies, and producer and non-profit groups.

  Learn all about our Great Lakes from those who have experienced it—you. -- Great Lakes Wiki - The Great Lakes Wiki explores new ways of speeding the flow of information, knowledge and news about one of the world's greatest natural resources. It relies on the experience and knowledge of a network of citizens, including scientists, hunters, policymakers, environmentalists, anglers, lakeside property owners, boaters, business operators and others who care about the Great Lakes region.

Keeping tabs on Ontario Lake's Health:  Great Lakes Observing System The Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) is being developed to provide critical real-time and historical data for multiple users, including, among others, resource managers, researchers, homeland security interests, the commercial shipping industry and the recreational boating community.

  What kind of aquatic pests can we anticipate for the Great Lakes: Sea Grant: National Aquatic Nuisance Species Clearinghouse Welcome to Sea Grant's NATIONAL AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES CLEARINGHOUSE, an international library of research, public policy, and outreach education publications pertaining to invasive marine and fresh-water aquatic nuisance species in North America. It is the home of North America's most extensive library of publications related to the spread, biology, impacts and control of zebra mussels. The Clearinghouse is operated by New York Sea Grant, a bipartite research, education and technology transfer program of Cornell University and the State University of New York. The Clearinghouse is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is located on the campus of State University of New York at Brockport.

Keep track of the news pertaining to the Great Lakes: News in the Great Lakes Region --and Lake Ontario (GLIN - Current Lake Ontario Conditions ) from Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN)

Great Lakes Educators of Aquatic and Marine Science GLEAMS is a network of people—from the Great Lakes Region—representing a variety of disciplines and working together for the advancement of aquatic education. GLEAMS aims to provide educators with information, methods and materials for including water related content and activities into their curricula. GLEAMS also provides its members with opportunities to network and connect with marine and aquatic science educators throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond.

EPA; Great Lakes "The Great Lakes - Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario - form the largest surface freshwater system on the Earth. More than 30 million people live in the Great Lakes basin, and the daily activities of these people, from the water consumed to the waste returned, directly affects the Great Lakes environments. The United States and Canada both have jurisdiction over the Great Lakes Basin. Within the US, the EPA and nine other agencies together administer more than 140 different federal programs helping fund and implement environmental restoration and management activities in the Great Lakes basin. In addition, governance of the Great Lakes system is shared with eight U.S. states, nearly 40 Tribal Nations, more than half a dozen major metropolitan areas, and numerous county and local governments. This site provides information about efforts to keep the lakes clean for the people, animals, and plants that depend on them."  Find out about these topics: Areas of Concern (AOCs) - Clean Water Act - Contaminated Sediments Program - Ecosystems - Environmental Indicators - Funding Program - Great Lakes Atlas - Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy (GLTBS) - Great Lakes Ecosystem Report - Human Health Program - Interagency Task Force - Invasive Species - Lakewide Management Plans - Monitoring Program - State-of-the-Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) - Visualizing the Great Lakes Photo Collection - Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA)

LOCI: Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative "The Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative, is a public/private, grassroots, regional partnership. The U.S. portion of Lake Ontario’s shoreline and watershed lies wholly in New York State. Despite significant water quality improvements in the open, offshore waters of the Lake over the last three decades, the 300 miles of shoreline, river and creek mouths, and embayments suffer from many impairments that limit their recreational use, elevate the cost of drinking water withdrawals that serve over a million customers, including the Rochester and Syracuse metropolitan areas, and affect the region’s recreation and tourism based economy and property values, reliant on high quality water resources."

Find out abut Great Lakes Environmental Studies from On Board the Research Vessel (R/V) Lake Guardian  The R/V Lake Guardian is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) largest research and monitoring vessel. It is the only self-contained, non-polluting research ship on the Great Lakes. The R/V Lake Guardian ¾ operated by the EPA’s Chicago-based Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) ¾ is used, extensively, to support EPA monitoring and research activities. It is also used to support research activities conducted by Federal, State, and, local agencies, and universities. The R/V Lake Guardian has been operating on the waters of the Great Lakes for the past 12 years.

Keep track of beach closings:  from Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN) -  beachnet - browse the beachnet archives - Seeks to facilitate communication and networking between people interested in the improvement of recreational beach water quality in the Great Lakes basin. The e-mail list is coordinated by the Great Lakes Beaches Association. Both the Association and listserv membership are open to the public.

  Find out about the state of our Great Lakes: 2001-2003 priorities and progress under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement now available http://www.ijc.org/news/030910.html   2001-2003 Priorities and Progress under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Now Available from the IJC  In preparation for its 2003 Great Lakes Conference and Biennial Meeting and the writing of its Twelfth Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality , the IJC today, released the 2001-2003 Priorities and Progress under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement , authored by its advisory boards on the Great Lakes. The International Joint Commission is responsible for evaluating the governments’ progress in implementing Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, identifying unmet challenges, and recommending solutions. It relies on the work and investigations of its boards and on public consultation. Source: International Joint Commission (2003-09-10)

 Monitor the health of the Great Lakes: Great Lakes Air Deposition Program - Contamination of the Great Lakes with toxic substances is a well documented problem. For many of these substances, including several of the most egregious, the major route of entry into the Lakes is through deposition of air pollution. Of most concern are those toxic chemicals that are persistent in the environment and bioaccumulate as they move up the food chain. These chemicals, commonly referred to as Persistent, Bioaccumulative Toxics (PBTs) include PCBs, Dioxins and Furans, Mercury and many pesticides, such as DDT and Lindane, among many others. The list of adverse effects these chemicals cause in humans and wildlife is long and includes cancer, as well as immune, reproductive, and mental dysfunction. Tracing the pathway from release of these chemicals into the air to atmospheric transport, deposition, sedimentation and re-volatilization, bioaccumulation, exposure, and ultimately health effects is a complicated matter.

  Keep your eyes peeled on this site:  AREA OF CONCERN - Rochester Embayment - This site is a sad reminder that there is so little information about our environment and yet we proceed with chemical contamination and other bad environmental practices with almost no in-depth information about even our Rochester-area environment.  Democrat & Chronicle: Great Lakes chemical hot spots go Online — As of today, Web users will be able to dial up a comprehensive look at 43 chemical hot spots that dot the Great Lakes basin. The International Joint Commission, a U.S.-Canadian Great Lakes advisory group, this morning released its first status report in 10 years on these so-called “areas of concern,” which are marked by extensive contaminated chemical sediments that may date back 90 years.  There is one official area of concern in the Rochester region -- the Rochester Embayment, which is composed of the northernmost six miles of the Genesee River and a linked portion of Lake Ontario measuring 35 square miles. Information regarding progress on cleaning up the Embayment is very sketchy, or non-existent, on the IJC’s Matrix. The database tabulates changes to infrastructure, ongoing remediation projects, planned actions and other measures. (May 1, 2003) Democrat and Chronicle

  What is the Green Book, how can you get it, and what you can do about it are all here. Great Lakes United -Basin government leaders are finally considering a major investment in Great Lakes restoration, but have not yet put forth a specific plan. Accordingly, Great Lakes environmental, conservation, and labor groups have developed an action agenda to help guide those efforts from a citizen point of view. Citizens need to be at the table early and often, working with government parties to see through the development and implementation of a sound Great Lakes action plan.

Find out how the Army Corps of Engineers is going to take care of the algae problem in Ontario Beach: US Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District The purpose of the Rochester 1135 Demonstration Project is to collect data that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of improving the water circulation and alleviating the algae problem at Ontario Beach adjacent to the western pier at the mouth of the Genesee River. Algae are carried to this beach by easterly currents and the west pier blocks this flow, creating a stagnant area in which algae accumulates. The demonstration project will consist of three separate initiatives. One initiative will simulate the effect of placing a culvert through the pier, the second initiative will pump the algae directly to the river, and the third initiative is a set of improved beach maintenance methods.

Great Lakes Environmental Directory: extensive information regarding Great Lakes environment The Great Lakes Directory (Great Lakes Environmental Directory) provides information via an extensive online library of Great Lakes environmental articles and organizations focused on the following: Great Lakes environment, threatened and endangered species, pollution, Great Lakes watershed issues, water quality, exotic species (alien species), Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Great Lakes ecology, air pollution, water pollution, water export, gas and oil drilling, Great Lakes aquatic habitat issues, mercury, wastewater/ sewage and septic issues, climate change (greenhouse effect), acid rain, drinking water contamination, Great Lakes wetlands protection, general EPA Region 5 and other Great Lakes issues and information, including Great Lakes activist resources (Great Lakes grants, free environmental software/ downloads, advocacy tools, research, links, grassroots success stories, government information, Great Lakes environmental events, jobs and other environmental/ ecological resources).

To see photos of the algae clean up at Rochester Harbor and a full description of what the Army Corps. of Engineers is doing and the time schedule go here: Rochester 1135 Demonstration Project  http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/hot_topics/roch_index.html

Great Lakes governors' proposed Annex 2001- released December 14, 2000 The text of the governors' "Annex 2001"

"According to the National Resources Defense Council, which publishes an annual report card on U.S. beach closings, Monroe County is among the top players for tracking water quality at beaches." --DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE

Here’s a great online project for learned all the salient facts about our Great Lakes: Historical Collections of the Great Lakes: The Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (HCGL) is part of the Center for Archival Collections at Bowling Green State University. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, and make available to scholars, students, and the public, historical materials documenting the Great Lakes region and connecting waterways. The HCGL's collections include materials related to commercial shipping, shipbuilding, navigation, maritime law, commercial fishing, shipwrecks, yachting, labor history, popular literature, freshwater ecology, recreation, and the history of Great Lakes ports.

  Biosphère "Since its opening in 1995, Environment Canada’s Biosphère has been a showcase for environmental education. The Biosphère raises the awareness of young people and their families about major environmental issues, including those related to water and climate change, and the sustainable development of the Great Lakes – St Lawrence ecosystem."

Great Lakes Environment in the News (Please note, links open in new window.)

Resources for specific information on the Great Lakes: 

• Great Lakes Forever Great Lakes Forever is a public education initiative of Biodiversity Project and its partners. Great Lakes Forever is designed to raise awareness of the ecological value of the Great Lakes and concern about the threats to the ecosystem’s health. It is also designed to encourage citizen involvement in Great Lakes protection. The campaign has two goals: A broader, more engaged constituency that sees reasons to care more about the Great Lakes and is therefore more receptive to messages encouraging positive actions.Institutional commitment and a sustainable capacity to build a more engaged Great Lakes constituency. Great Lakes Forever frames discussion of the Lakes around four key issues: water quality, water quantity, habitat protection, and invasive species control. Working with a coalition of Wisconsin partners and region-wide advisors, we are working to raise the profile of important, but poorly understood Great Lakes issues, such as: polluted run-off, groundwater depletion, and habitat loss. The program combines five communications components in an effort to reach the public on these issues: media outreach (press kits,) educational advertising (print and radio,) point-of-experience signs (at coastal park facilities,) community events, and Web-based outreach.
•  Great Lake Program: brought to you by the University of Buffalo.  The program is one of some 10 university-based Great Lakes research centers in the U.S. and Canada to develop, evaluate and synthesize scientific and technical knowledge on the Great Lakes ecosystem in support of public education and policy formation.
•  Amphibians and Reptiles in Great Lakes Wetlands: THREATS AND CONSERVATION - This fact sheet describes the importance of wetlands to people, to the ecology of the biosphere as a whole, and especially to the amphibians and reptiles that depend upon wetlands for their survival. It examines some of the various threats to our remaining Great Lakes wetlands and some of the ongoing efforts to protect existing wetlands and restore degraded ones.
•  Impacts of Climate Change in the United States - Great Lakes THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON THE GREAT LAKES REGION Critical Findings for the Great Lakes Region from the First National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change
•  Great Lakes Regional Assessment (GLRA) The Great Lakes assessment was one of 19 regional assessments sponsored by the USEPA and coordinated by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). The Great Lakes Regional Assessment team consists of over 30 faculty, research associates, graduate and undergraduate students, and external collaborators from around the region.
•  The Great Lakes Protection Fund is a private, nonprofit corporation formed in 1989 by the Governors of the Great Lakes States. It is a permanent environmental endowment that supports collaborative actions to improve the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem.
•  International Joint Commission: The Role of the International Joint Commission
  Canada and the United States created the International Joint Commission because they recognized that each country is affected by the other's actions in lake and river systems along the border. The two countries cooperate to manage these waters wisely and to protect them for the benefit of today's citizens and future generations.
•  Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement The Agreement, first signed in 1972 and renewed in 1978, expresses the commitment of each country to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem and includes a number of objectives and guidelines to achieve these goals. It reaffirms the rights and obligation of Canada and the United States under the Boundary Waters Treaty and has become a major focus of Commission activity.
•  EPA Great Lakes Water Agreement: 
•  Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory: 
•  International Joint Commission: Many rivers and some of the largest lakes in the world lie along, or flow across, the border between the United States and Canada. The International Joint Commission assists governments in finding solutions to problems in these waters.
•  US Army Corps. of Engineers, Great Lakes Region: "What We Do This site provides information about Corps activities and projects within the Great Lakes Region. Our business is to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain navigational channels and flood control measures, and to provide disaster assistance to the nation. We also implement environmental restoration projects as well as regulate shoreline construction and the filling of wetland areas. Our office also has the mission to provide technical support to the International Joint Commission."
•  Council of Great Lakes Governors: The Council of Great Lakes Governors is a private, non-profit organization devoted to working cooperatively on public policy issues common to its eight member states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Since its establishment in 1983, the Council has served as a vehicle for actively addressing the many issues that arise as a result of the Great Lakes Governors collective responsibility for both the world’s largest source of fresh water and the industrial heartland of North America.
•  Great Lakes Commission: The Commission addresses a variety of issues involving environmental protection, resource management, transportation and economic development, and provides services ranging from policy development and regional advocacy, to communications, coordination and research.

•  Great Lakes Information Networks: The Great Lakes Information Network, or GLIN, is a partnership that provides one place online for people to find information relating to the binational Great Lakes region.
•  International Association for Great Lakes Research: The International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) is a scientific organization made up of researchers studying the Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world, as well as those with an interest in such research.
•  Great Lakes United: Great Lakes United is an international coalition dedicated to preserving and restoring the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River ecosystem. Great Lakes United is made up of member organizations representing environmentalists, conservationists, hunters and anglers, labor unions, community groups, and citizens of the United States, Canada, and First Nations and Tribes.
•  New York Water Environment Association: The New York Water Environment Association, Inc. (NYWEA) was founded in 1929, by professionals in the field of water quality as a non-profit, educational organization. Association members helped lead the way toward existing state and national clean water programs. Today the Association has over 2,500 members representing diverse backgrounds and specialties, but all are concerned and involved with protecting and enhancing our precious water resources.
•  For a copy of a report about taking water from the Great Lakes, go to International Joint Commission
•  Great Lakes Area of Concern (EPA) In an effort to clean up the most polluted areas in the Great Lakes, the United States and Canada, in Annex 2 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, committed to cooperate with State and Provincial Governments to ensure that Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) are developed and implemented for all designated Areas of Concern (AOCs) in the Great Lakes basin.
•  The Great Lakes Science Center is in its eighth decade of providing information about biological resources in the Great Lakes Basin. Our research results are used by management agencies, other researchers, and the public to gain a better understanding about this unique resource, and to better manage it for the public interest.
•  The Great Lakes Research Consortium is an organization of sixteen colleges and universities in New York, with nine affiliate campuses in Ontario, dedicated to collaborative research and education on the Great lakes. Our mission is to improve the understanding of the Great Lakes ecosystem, including the physical , biological, and chemical processes that shape it, as well as the social and political forces that affect human impact on the lakes and their associated economic resources. We accomplish this through research, instruction and public service.
•  Onboard the U.S. EPA Research Vessel R/V Lake Guardian The Research Vessel (R/V) Lake Guardian is the only self-contained, non-polluting research ship on the Great Lakes. The continuing work that is being done on this vessel is helping up solve environmental problems not only in the Great Lakes but in fresh waters throughout the world.
• SOS Save our Sodus Save Our Sodus, Inc. is an organization concerned with deteriorating water quality in Sodus Bay. Our members include local residents, vacationers, property owners, businesses, farmers, boaters, sportspeople and many others who recognize the importance of preserving the bay's natural beauty and purity. Water quality and pollution are quickly becoming an international concern and threaten to emerge this century as a global crisis to the world's populations. We understand that the best way to effectively protect and preserve these waters is locally, through citizen support and community action. By joining together, we can increase public awareness, create a common voice and reverse the pollution damage that is done daily to Sodus Bay and its tributaries.
•  Water Resource Board FL-LOWPA FL-LOWPA is a coalition of all 25 counties in New York State's Lake Ontario drainage basin. FL-LOWPA fosters coordinated watershed management programs across the Lake Ontario Basin based on local needs.
•  CGLI- Council of Great Lakes Industries Industries is a non-profit organization that represents the common interests of U.S. and Canadian industrial organizations from the manufacturing, utilities, transportation, communications, financial services and trade sectors that have investments in the Great Lakes Basin. The Council works to ensure that industry is a substantive partner in the Great Lakes region's public policy development process. The Council is a partner organization with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Geneva, Switzerland. 
•   Great Lakes Environment - USEPA
•  Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network - Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network - [Meteorological Service of Canada - The Green Lane]  The Meteorological Service of Canada is Canada's source for meteorological information. The Service monitors water quantities, provides information and conducts research on climate, atmospheric science, air quality, ice and other environmental issues, making it an important source of expertise in these areas
•  Great Lakes Protection Fund The Great Lakes Protection Fund is a private, nonprofit corporation formed in 1989 by the Governors of the Great Lakes States. It is a permanent environmental endowment that supports collaborative actions to improve the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The Fund's Board of Directors is comprised of two governor appointed representatives from each member state. The Board of Directors meets quarterly and governs the Fund's operation. Members of the Fund staff perform the day-to-day functions.
•  Protect the Great Lakes While the Great Lakes may seem so vast that they are immune to human impacts, in fact they are relatively fragile and under increasing threat. Now more than ever the Great Lakes need a voice to put the reins on corporate polluters, stop harmful development and ensure good governance. The PIRGs and PennEnvironment are working together to provide this voice through our unique campaign to protect the Lakes. We analyze and create environmental policy solutions through coordinated state-based research, analysis and advocacy.  "Our magnificent Great Lakes are under siege." - Healing Our Water: An Agenda for Great Lakes Restoration This web site is a project of the state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) in partnership with PennEnvironment.
•  Great Lakes Observing System GLOS - The Great Lakes node of the national Integrated Ocean Observing System - The Great Lakes Commission is leading development of an integrated Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) to provide critical real-time data for multiple users, including, among others, resource managers, researchers, homeland security interests, the commercial shipping industry and the recreational boating community.
• Great Lakes Restoration More than 80 organizations representing millions of residents in the Great Lakes have joined a new coalition whose goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes.
•  LOCI: Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative The mission of the Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative (LOCI), encompassing all of New York State’s North Coast stakeholders from the Niagara River to the St. Lawrence River, is to enlist and retain broad public commitment for remediation, restoration, protection, conservation and sustainable use of the coastal region. This mission will be accomplished by securing funds and resources to achieve scientific understanding, educate citizens, and implement locally supported priorities, programs and projects as identified through LOCI's Action Agenda, released in 2006 and available on this website.
• Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | University of Minnesota Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit The Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (GLNF-CESU) is a network of faculty and staff from 19 leading academic programs, specialists from eight organizations, and resource managers from six federal land management and natural resource research organizations. The GLNF-CESU biogeographic region includes all or parts of 12 states, over 30 percent of the nation's total population, several of the nation's largest metropolitan areas, and some of the nations most significant water resources and forestlands. The GLNF-CESU is the 12th unit to join a national network of CESUs.
• Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative "The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI) is a binational coalition of mayors and other local officials that works actively with federal, state, and provincial governments to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes. GLSLCI is an independent 501(c)(3) headquartered in Chicago. David Ullrich is the Executive Director and point of contact for the Initiative. Before heading the Initiative, Mr. Ullrich was deputy regional administrator for the Great Lakes region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1992 until 2003. During his 30 years with EPA, he had been acting regional administrator, director of the Waste Management Division, acting regional counsel, and chief of Air Enforcement."
• Our Great Lakes have a myriad of environmental problems. How are we doing in fixing them? Read this report form Great Lakes United: A Way Forward Strengthening Decision-Making and Accountability under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement 'The Problem In December 2005, over 200 scientists endorsed a report entitled Prescription for Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection and Restoration (Avoiding the Tipping Point of Irreversible Changes). This report concluded: There is compelling evidence that in many parts of the Great Lakes we are at or beyond this tipping point. Certain areas of the Great Lakes are increasingly experiencing ecosystem breakdown, where intensifying levels of stress from a combination of sources have overwhelmed the natural processes that normally stabilize and buffer the system from permanent change."--from Great Lakes United