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GLC hosts 2022 Semiannual Meeting in Green Bay
The GLC passed resolutions supporting USGS science programs and short-sea shipping, and approved an Action Plan for a Resilient Great Lakes Basin at its 2022 semiannual meeting, held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, June 7-9, 2022.
During the meeting, the GLC heard remarks from Governor Tony Evers, Wisconsin Senator André Jacque, and Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich, and was joined by expert panels on reducing nutrient runoff in Great Lakes watersheds, ensuring infrastructure investments are accessible to disadvantaged and small communities, protecting Great Lakes shorelines, and integrating regional research efforts.
Commissioners and guests also discussed conservation opportunities in the 2023 Farm Bill and worked on a draft regional blueprint for water infrastructure to be released later this year. The day before the meeting, Commissioners and guests visited local farms to learn about conservation practices that help improve water quality and support the needs of farmers contributing to the region’s food supply.
The GLC will next meet for its annual meeting, October 11-13, in Erie, Pennsylvania.
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Blue Accounting releases new metric on species regulations
Blue Accounting has published a new metric to track regional consistency of regulations for aquatic invasive species included in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers’ list of Least Wanted AIS, species regulated at a federal level in Canada by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and species regulated at a federal level in the United States by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Effective regional management of aquatic invasive species requires that species are consistently regulated across federal, provincial, and state governments. Regulated species lists identify plants and animals for which certain activities are illegal in a jurisdiction — e.g., importation, sale, or possession. Inconsistencies in these lists create legal gaps that can lead to an invasive species being released into the Great Lakes basin.
The tool can be explored at https://www.blueaccounting.org/metric/species-harmonization.
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GLC and partners working to reduce online sales of AIS
The GLC recently released a report on the second phase of its work to stop internet sales of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the Great Lakes region. The GLC initiative, known as the Great Lakes Detector of Invasive Aquatics in Trade (GLDIATR), demonstrated that "web crawling" applications can be used to track the online sale of priority AIS and support the work of AIS researchers, outreach coordinators, managers, and law enforcement officials across the Great Lakes basin.
More than 52,000 webpages were collected, which resulted in the identification of 299 sellers of AIS. The findings included websites in over 40 states and provinces, of which 67 sellers were found to reside in the Great Lakes region. To help reduce the availability of AIS for sale, the GLC worked with an advisory committee to contact identified sellers and encourage them to make changes. The GLC started the GLDIATR effort in 2010 and continues to work with partners to combat the trade of AIS over the internet.
Visit the GLC website for more information on work to stop AIS in the Great Lakes basin.
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Coastal restoration project groundbreaking event in Buffalo, NY
On July 19, the GLC joined local, state, and federal partners to celebrate the groundbreaking of a significant restoration project along the coastline of the Niagara River in Buffalo, New York. The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park Shoreline and Aquatic Habitat Project will naturalize approximately 2,500 feet of the park's failing seawall, significantly improve close to 5 acres of coastal wetland, and return 2 acres of historically filled lake bottom back to Lake Erie.
More information on the project is available online.
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IMC releases Dreissena Project Coordination Mapper
The Invasive Mussel Collaborative (IMC) recently announced the release of a coordination tool to help protect the Great Lakes basin from the impacts of invasive mussels. The new Dreissena Project Coordination Mapper allows researchers and managers to share their work and collaborate with others for the advancement and protection of waterways from invasive mussels in the Great Lakes and beyond.
The mapper features 120 past and current projects from across North America and new project information is being accepted on an ongoing basis. A frequently updated project database is helpful to capture the current state of science for dynamic areas of research such as dreissenid mussel control. The mapper will improve coordination of invasive mussel research and control by facilitating sharing projects during the early stages, opening up the opportunity to develop new collaborations without having to wait until results are published.
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Habitat restoration featured in new videos
New videos recently released by the GLC highlight partnership-based efforts to restore critical habitat at sites in Illinois and Michigan.
One video highlights work to restore natural shoreline at Brandenburg Park along Lake St. Clair in Michigan. A partnership led by the GLC and NOAA replaced a failing metal sea wall with naturalized shoreline and offshore shoals to reduce wave energy and increase resiliency to varying water levels, improving fish and wildlife habitat and enhancing community access to the waterfront.
The second video shows how a collaborative effort between local, state, regional and federal organizations is restoring more than 100 acres of wetlands, connecting Illinois' Powderhorn Lake to its northern neighbor, Wolf Lake, and ultimately Lake Michigan.
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Fourth annual Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz
Hundreds of organizations across the region worked together to educate the public about AIS during the fourth annual Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz, held July 1-10, 2022. Volunteers and professional inspectors demonstrated to boaters how to prevent the spread of AIS, ways to identify AIS, and how to report AIS, which are recognized as one of the most significant threats to the ecological and economic health of the Great Lakes. This annual event is hosted by state and provincial agencies with the support of the GLC and partner organizations.
This year the GLC awarded more than $65,000 in grants to Tribes and local organizations in the Great Lakes region to participate in the Landing Blitz. 2022 is the first year that these competitive grants were available to expand outreach and education efforts. Visit the event website for more information.
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Resources available on harmful algal bloom (HAB) research and human health risks
This spring, the Great Lakes HABs Collaborative published two factsheets on human health effects of harmful algal blooms, covering chronic long-term effects and exposure to HAB toxins through aerosolization. View all the HABs Collaborative's factsheets and publications here.
Additionally, the HABs Collaborative, with the support of the GLC, developed the HABs Research Mapper. This app will help the Great Lakes research community to collaborate by sharing information on their work and directing the water management community to research projects of interest around the Great Lakes basin.
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Did you know: Lake Superior contains half of the water in all the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes hold over 5,400 cubic miles of water. Of this amount, Lake Superior holds 2,900 cubic miles, or 3 quadrillion gallons — accounting for more than 50% of the water! The rest is distributed among the other four lakes, with Lake Michigan holding the second most, Huron third, Ontario fourth, and Erie holding the least. To raise the water level of Lake Superior by one inch, you would need to pour more than 500 billion additional gallons into it!
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- 2022 National Water Use Data Workshop
August 16-18, 2022 - Salt Lake City, UT
- Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference
September 7, 2022 - Toledo, OH
- Great Lakes Dredging Team Annual Meeting
September 14-15, 2022 - Milwaukee, WI
- 2022 Great Lakes Public Forum
September 27-29, 2022 - Niagara Falls, ON
- 2022 Great Lakes Commission Annual Meeting
October 11-13, 2022 - Erie, PA
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