Events

Buffalo Here We Come

The Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives Boat Tour team are VERY excited to kick off the tour this week in Buffalo. Earth Voyager set sail from Port Huron, MI earlier this week. We’ll be blogging from Buffalo, and all the tour stops. For now, spread the word, and don’t forget to send a letter to the presidential candidates about protecting the Great Lakes!

Wisconsin Joins Michigan In Ballast Battle

Wisconsin has taken steps to join Michigan as the second state to regulate ballast water in the Great Lakes sending a clear signal to Washington that absent Congressional leadership and legislation, the state is prepared take the initiative to create ad hoc ballast controls. As it turns out, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has the legal authority to regulate ballast water discharges under the state’s Pollutant Discharge Elimination System so international shippers may soon have to apply for permits for discharges into Lakes Michigan and Superior.

Wisconsin’s determination of its legal authority to regulate ballast water under existing state Read More » »

Republican Candidates Strike Out Looking on Great Lakes in Debate

While the Republican candidates were clearly playing “base” ball at an economy-focused debate in Dearborn, MI last night - with Giuliani and Romney sparring over who cut more taxes - they struck out looking on a clear economic development priority for the region: restoring the Great Lakes.

A recent Brookings Institution report found that investing in the Great Lakes Restoration plan would bring in a greater than 2-to-1 return on investment of at least $50 billion to the region. That kind of economic boon means job creation and a new way forward in a region struggling to find its Read More » »

Coalition Comments on Federal Efforts to Restore Great Lakes

The Healing Our Waters® - Great Lakes Coalition will be presenting the following comments today at the October 2 meeting of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration in Chicago.

Comments of Healing Our Waters Coalition Members on Progress Implementing the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy — October 2, 2007

This document was prepared on behalf of the Healing Our Waters Coalition by coalition members including Alliance for the Great Lakes, Clean Water Action, Ducks Unlimited, Great Lakes United, National Parks Conservation Association, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, and Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.

Overall Comments

In 2005, business, Read More » »

Speak Out For Your Great Lakes

…AT THE GREAT LAKES REGIONAL COLLABORATION PUBLIC MEETING

OCTOBER 2ND, 2007
1PM – 4PM

RADISON HOTEL AND SUITES CHICAGO
160 E. HURON

In 2005 over 1,500 local, state, federal, tribal and environmental leaders came together as part of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) to develop a comprehensive Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes. Congress has introduced legislation to implement many of the manageable solutions from the Strategy.

HOWEVER, UNDER EPA LEADERSHIP THE GLRC HAS NOT PUBLICLY MET IN NEARLY TWO YEARS.

Since that time, the Great Lakes have suffered from billions of gallons of sewage pollution, several new invasive species, and multi-national companies being Read More » »

New Report: Restoring Great Lakes Would Bring Region $50 Billion in Economic Gain

Clean-up Would Also Lead to $30-$50 Billion in Short-term Economic Activity

‘The Great Lakes economy depends on the health of the Great Lakes’

Chicago, IL (Sept. 5, 2007)—As political, business and advocacy leaders convene in Chicago to discuss the increasing toll invasive species, sewage contamination, toxic pollution and other threats are having on the Great Lakes, a new independent report released today concludes that restoring the health of the Great Lakes will create $50 billion in economic benefit for the region.

The cost-benefit analysis, conducted by the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, finds that efforts to improve the health of the Great Lakes Read More » »

Lawmakers, ODNR, OEC team up to pull the plug on invasive species –tainted ballast water in Lake Erie

Media Advisory
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Lawmakers, ODNR, OEC team up to pull the plug on invasive species –tainted ballast water in Lake Erie
Two-front effort opened up on federal and state levels
(CLEVELAND, OH) — Alewife. Round Goby. Spiny Waterflea. Zebra mussels.

None of these exotic-sounding species are native to Lake Erie. These exotic species have been hitch hiking their way up the St. Lawrence River via the ballast water of ocean going vessels for decades. Since then there’s been no getting rid Read More » »

Join Us for the 3rd Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference

Learn more and sign-up to attend this year’s Healing Our Waters® - Great Lakes Restoration Conference here:
http://www.greatlakes.org/calendar/restoration_conference.asp

Join key players from government, business and advocacy groups who are at the center of the movement to restore the Great Lakes. Help set the Great Lakes restoration agenda for the coming year; hear first-hand about the issues facing the Great Lakes; and help advance the actions needed to protect the world’s largest surface fresh water source.

And, best of all, have fun doing it: Enjoy an evening at the Shedd Aquarium, a beautiful sunset cruise, dynamic speakers, field trips Read More » »

Save the Date: 3rd Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference

Join key players from government, business and advocacy groups who are at the center of the movement to restore the Great Lakes. Help set the Great Lakes restoration agenda for the coming year; hear first-hand about the issues facing the Great Lakes; and help advance the actions needed to protect the world’s largest surface fresh water source.

And, best of all, have fun doing it: Enjoy an evening at the Shedd Aquarium, a beautiful sunset cruise, dynamic speakers, field trips and much more!

When: September 6-8, 2007

Where: Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois

About the conference:
We have a once-in-a-generation chance to significantly restore the Read More » »

Great Lakes Day - Washington, D.C. - March 6-7, 2006

March 6-7, 2006
Agenda

If you are interested in attending Great Lakes Day, please send an email to Pam Goddard (goddardp@nwf.org) with your contact information and why you are interested in coming.

The Great Lakes region’s annual descent on Washington, D.C. - Great Lakes Day - is March 6-7, 2007. Like last year, the Healing Our Waters® - Great Lakes Coalition (the coalition that runs the Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives campaign) will be complementing the activities sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission and the Northeast-Midwest Institute. We will provide travel scholarships and lobby training for Great Lakes advocates from the Read More » »