Events

Great Lakes Day 2010 – February 23-24 – Washington, DC – Registration is now open!

With your help, the effort to restore the Great Lakes has made significant progress in the past year, which is why it is more important now than ever to attend Great Lakes Day, February 23-24 in Washington, D.C.!

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 » »

New Orleans or Bust!

We are all heading down to The Big Easy to launch a coalition that will address all of America’s waterways. It isn’t just the Great Lakes that need restoration, but also the Florida Everglades, Puget Sound, the Chesapeake Bay, Louisiana Coastal Waters and Long Island Sound. So, conservation leaders working to restore this country’s great iconic waters are gathering in Louisiana this week to form a coalition to put restoration on a fast-track.

The gathering opens tonight and will continue through Friday morning. Heavy weights in the restoration movement will be speaking, such as President and CEO of NWF Larry Schweiger, Read More » »

Great Lakes Day is a Big Success!

From all we’ve heard at headquarters, Great Lakes advocates made a big impact on Washington today. The Great Lakes Commission joined the Healing Our Waters Coalition, the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the NE Midwest Institute and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative to tell Congress and the Administration that the Great Lakes need to be a major priority this year.

Gildo Tori, director of public policy for Ducks Unlimited said that everyone was in agreement about what the priorities were and how the government should address them. Tori says that several Congressmen remarked that they were impressed that everyone Read More » »

It’s Great Lakes Day

Great Lakes Day opened with a breakfast on Capitol Hill where Michigan’s Rep. Vern Ehlers and Sen. Carl Levin, Ohio’s Rep. Marcy Kaptur and Wisconsin’s Rep. Gwen Moore urged more than 150 advocates to fight for funds for Great Lakes restoration.

“Fight as hard as you possibly can… fight for those funds!” said Sen. Levin. As we know, funds for Great Lakes restoration mean more jobs and a stronger economy.

Rep. Kaptur encouraged advocates to talk about the economic recovery bill during their meetings with lawmakers. “The Great Lakes can speak with one voice,” she said.

And they are -whether they are from Read More » »

EPA Administrator: ‘We’re Back on the Job’

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson re-affirmed the Obama Administration’s support for the Great Lakes, vowing, “We’re back on the job.”

Administrator Jackson went through the list of Great Lakes restoration priorities, assuring advocates that the White House would work to restore the lakes.

“We remain committed to modernizing wastewater treatment,” said Jackson at none point.

Jeff Skelding, national campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, had this to say about Administrator Jackson’s keynote address in front of Great Lakes Commission and Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition members.

“The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is pleased that the highest levels of the Obama Administration Read More » »

2009 Great Lakes Day Registration

Washington, DC -  February 24 and 25, 2009

As part of the annual Great Lakes Day in Washington, DC, the Healing Our Waters® – Great Lakes Coalition (HOW) brings coalition members and allies from the Great Lakes states to Washington to discuss the importance of restoring and protecting the Great Lakes with elected officials on Capitol Hill. Please join us in Washington to continue to elevate the importance of Great Lakes restoration in the halls of Congress.

Scholarship applications due February 1st so CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW.

For a preliminary Great Lakes Day 2009 Agenda, click here

Please 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 » »