The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative continues to be a model, large-scale ecosystem restoration program that includes a strong federal-state collaboration process in program planning and implementation.
This long history of federal-state collaboration in prioritizing the most pressing Great Lakes issues dates to the 1970s with the original signing of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and in the 1980s during the initial development of Lakewide Action and Management Plans (LAMPs) and Remedial Action Plans. In 2003, the Great Lakes Governors identified nine priorities for restoration and protection, which led to the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. It was this strategy that provided the framework for the first GLRI Action Plan in 2010. The federal-state collaboration process has evolved over the past 15 years and will continue to guide implementation under GLRI Action Plan IV. This collaboration happens across many environmental issues and levels of government, and it is further facilitated by multi-state entities, including the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The states — Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York — play a critical role in setting GLRI priorities, including the Objectives, Commitments and Measures of Progress in this and previous GLRI Action Plans. Since GLRI’s inception in 2010, over $521 million of GLRI funds have been awarded to Great Lakes states through the end of 2022. GLRI funding leveraged with state and local resources has allowed states to successfully implement hundreds of projects.
These projects simultaneously advance state priorities, contribute to progress under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, including LAMPs, and are essential for meeting GLRI goals.
Under GLRI Action Plan IV, state partnerships will remain especially impactful in the cleanup of Areas of Concern (AOCs), with their leadership role in identifying and co-funding projects and facilitating Public Advisory Committees as well as community engagement activities. Coordinated restoration of habitats by the federal and state private lands programs will continue in future years through the GLRI Pollinator Task Force to enhance native pollinators such as native bees. The Council of Lake Committees will continue to be an important venue for state fishery managers to provide direction on GLRI-funded native prey fish restoration in individual lakes. Cross-discipline expert groups convened by the Great Lakes Commission, such as the Invasive Mussel Collaborative, will advance state fishery priorities to increase native fish populations while identifying best practices for controlling invasive mussels. Federal agencies and states will continue to advance green infrastructure, climate adaption and water quality goals through local partnership projects such as in Duluth, Minnesota, to reduce high stream flows and pollutant loadings from urban streams, a goal of the Lake Superior LAMP. Finally, state-led education programs will continue to promote Great Lakes ecosystem and education stewardship where students get hands-on experience to learn about Great Lakes habitats and species.
Continue reading about the Action Plan IV: