Great Lakes Conference

Great Lakes Restoration 2009 Conference Presentations

We are please to make available the presentations (as Adobe Acrobat PDF files) from the Healing Our Waters® – Great Lakes Coalition 5th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference.
 

Thursday, September 10

Fulfilling The Promise – The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Fulfilling the Promise: Securing Permanent Funding for Great Lakes Restoration

Protecting and Restoring Lake Superior

Lake Superior, Elizabeth LaPlante, US Environmental Protection Agency
Lake Superior Lakewide Management Plan Identifying and Reducing Chemicals of Concern, Carri Lohse-Hanson, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Lake Superior Habitat Status and Challenges, Ann McCammon Soltis, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

“Great Waters” – A National Approach to Restoration Read More » »

A Unique Moment in Time

It has been a “Hell of a year” for those advocating for Great Lakes restoration, with a constellation of great lakes leaders in the White House and Congress, we are looking at a very promising situation to achieve our goal of a healthy Great Lakes ecosystem.

 “This really is a unique moment in time and it is our moment and we need to celebrate and move forward,” HOW Co-Chair Andy Buchsbaum said to nearly 300 people crowding the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center at the opening of the Annual Meeting of the Healing Our Waters Coalition.

“The Success we have had so far Read More » »

Great Expectations

The Healing Our Waters Coalition is coming together in Duluth, Minn. for its fifth annual conference amid great expectations for reaching our restoration goals. The federal spigot is finally flowing into the Great Lakes and we need to develop strategies to ensure the money is well spent on proven Great Lakes restoration programs. The federal investment couldn’t come at a better time for the region’s economy.

The HOW meeting on the shores of Lake Superior is drawing attention from far away Washington as can be Read More » »

It’s a Celebration

The fourth annual Healing Our Waters Coalition Conference opened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Wednesday night to much fanfare and celebration over the successful passage of the Great Lakes Compact in the eight state legislatures. The following morning, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (D) used his keynote speech to implore those concerned with the Great Lakes to take it to the next level and use the Compact as a foundation to meet all the goals for restoration set by the eight states just a few years ago.

“We need to make sure this is a top priority for everyone in the United Read More » »

Great Lakes are the Economy, Stupid!

Swing voters and the economy are foremost on the minds of the presidential candidates, as voters from five of those swing states plan to meet at the Great Lakes Restoration Conference in Wisconsin, September 10-12 to urge John McCain and Barack Obama to restore the Great Lakes – the foundation of the 8-state region’s economy.

“Residents of the Great Lakes states are looking to the next president and Congress to restore our Great Lakes within five years to protect the local economy, our drinking water, national parklands, and way of life,” said Tom Kiernan, president of Read More » »

Top Regional Leaders to Make Case in Chicago for Economic Benefits of Great Lakes Restoration

Chicago (August 20) – A new report by top national economists quantifying the regional economic benefit of restoring the Great Lakes ecosystem will highlight the 3rd Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference in Chicago, Sept. 6-8.

“The conference is intended to light a fire under Congress, the President and presidential candidates to restore the Great Lakes because the problems only get worse and more expensive the longer we wait,” said Tom Kiernan, president of the National Parks Conservation Association and co-chairman of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “The conference will make clear that industry, business and conservation groups agree: The Great Read More » »