WASHINGTON, D.C. –  In a ceremony held today, the Great Lakes Commission (GLC), Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC), and International Joint Commission (IJC) formally signed the first-ever memorandum of understanding between them. The agreement sets a clear path for advancing the commissions’ existing shared goals and objectives, such as developing a Great Lakes science plan, coordinating science vessel activities, and promoting annual Great Lakes Day events.  Photos from the ceremony are available here.

Each commission plays a different but complementary role in Great Lakes management and represent important stakeholders in advancing sound policies and projects. The IJC helps Canada and the United States prevent and resolve issues over the use of the waters they share, including through the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; the GLC represents the interests of the Great Lakes provinces and states on priority issues; and the GLFC ensures fishery management is based on science and highly coordinated among the state, provincial, and U.S. tribal jurisdictions in the basin.

“The GLC is excited to formalize our existing relationship with the other Great Lakes commissions,” said Erika Jensen, executive director of the GLC. “Together we can build upon our decades of coordination to further a strong regional economy and healthy environment, and to achieve the balanced and sustainable use of Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin water resources.”

“Our three commissions, although having different mandates and missions, very much benefit from joining forces to achieve our shared objectives: Great Lakes restoration and management based on rigorous science,” said Marc Gaden, executive secretary of the GLFC. “While we have worked well together for decades, this MOU steps up our level of collaboration and renews our commitment to each other to seek synergies, share information, and support each other’s work.”

“This MOU strengthens existing partnerships to create an even greater position of strength for all three commissions,” said Heather Stirratt, director of the Great Lakes Regional Office of the IJC. “Having the additional insights and perspectives from experts at the three commissions will set us all on a clearer path for advancing the goals and objectives of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and other work to the benefit of all in the region.”

The agreement was signed following the Semiannual Meeting of the Great Lakes Commission, and in advance of Thursday’s annual Great Lakes Day celebration, including the Great Lakes Day Congressional Breakfast Reception. This event will feature remarks by regional leaders and members of Congress who play a critical role in shaping Great Lakes policies.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.

Washington, D.C. – A binational coalition of regional agencies, Indigenous Nations, legislators, local communities, and business, maritime and environmental groups today released shared priorities for restoring the Great Lakes and supporting the region’s economy. The priorities were released in advance of Great Lakes Day, an annual event that brings together regional leaders and members of Congress who play a critical role in shaping Great Lakes policies.

Restoring and protecting the Great Lakes is an enduring, bipartisan priority for the nation and for Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River basin communities,” the priorities read. “Our organizations support the following priorities to accelerate progress, foster equity, build resilience, and ensure the Great Lakes are a source of drinking water, an environmental treasure, and an economic engine for North America.

The agenda urges Congress and the Biden administration to: capitalize on investments in Great Lakes restoration, including by appropriating no less than $450 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in FY 2025; ensure water infrastructure investments tackle historic inequities; enhance the Great Lakes’ resiliency to the impacts of climate change; develop coordinated regional science plans; strengthen Great Lakes ports and the maritime transportation system; support federal actions to address harmful algal blooms; take action to address emerging contaminants; and protect the Great Lakes basin from invasive carp and other aquatic invasive species.

The priorities are endorsed by the Great Lakes Commission, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition, American Great Lakes Ports Association, Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus, Great Lakes Business Network, and Lake Carriers’ Association.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) today issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the 2024 Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program (GLSNRP) grant program.

For more than 30 years, grants provided by GLSNRP have enabled local partners to reduce nutrients and sediments entering the Great Lakes. This year’s program will continue to help grantees take action to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural watersheds and eroding shorelines and streambanks in the Great Lakes basin.

Through the program, nonfederal units of government, Indigenous Nations, and incorporated nonprofit organizations are eligible to receive grants for up to $300,000, supporting work over a period of up to four years. Applicants are invited to submit proposals for activities associated with one of the following project types: agricultural nonpoint, or shoreline and streambanks.

A webinar for potential applicants will be held on March 13, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Applications are due at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on April 29, 2024 and will be reviewed by representatives from the eight Great Lakes states, as well as partners at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Final decisions on funded projects are anticipated in summer 2024, with work to begin no later than October 1, 2024.

The GLC has managed GLSNRP with funding support through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative since 2010. Funded projects support progress toward the achievement of GLRI Action Plan objectives and goals. This program is a partnership between NRCS, U.S. EPA, and the Great Lakes states. Please visit www.nutrientreduction.org for more information or contact Connor Roessler at croessler@glc.org.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.