Press Releases

Coalition Announces Grants to Help Groups Participate In $475 Million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (September 1, 2010) —The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition today announced $189,564 in grants that will be awarded to 12 organizations poised to jump-start restoration projects on each of the Great Lakes.

The Coalition grants will help conservation organizations participate in the $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a federal program to clean up toxic pollution, confront aquatic invasive species and restore habitat and wetlands.

Grants of up to $15,000 per project are being awarded to groups in five geographic priority areas: The St. Louis River and St. Louis Bay in Lake Superior; the Read More » »

New Report: Solving Region’s Sewage Crisis Will Create Jobs, Restore Great Lakes

Reversing federal wastewater infrastructure deficit, investing in “green” solutions key to tackling sewage overflows—serious public health threat

Failure to Address $23 Billion Backlog Could Hamper Restoration Efforts

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (Aug. 9, 2010) —The Great Lakes are under siege from sewage pollution, four decades after Congress passed the federal Clean Water Act, according to a new report from the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. (Click here to download the report.)

According to the report, “Turning the Tide: Investing in Wastewater Infrastructure to Create Jobs and Solve the Sewage Crisis in the Great Lakes,” communities that rely on the Great Lakes for Read More » »

Conservation Groups Praise U.S. Senators for Action on Asian Carp, Invasive Species

Great Lakes senators urge Army Corps to study how to build physical barrier to prevent invasive species from traveling between Great Lakes, Mississippi River

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (May 24, 2010)-Conservation groups today praised U.S. senators for taking action to stop the movement of aquatic invasive species like the Asian carp between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. In a letter to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Great Lakes senators are urging Congress to direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study how to build a physical barrier between two of North America’s largest freshwater ecosystems.

The letter to Read More » »

Coalition Targets 5 Great Lakes Restoration Priority Areas

New Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition program to help local groups participate in federal $475 million restoration initiative

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (April, 6 2010)—The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition today launched a new program to help local conservation partners participate in the federal $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The coalition will be providing $200,000 to help groups jump-start restoration projects in five priority areas—one on each of the Great Lakes.

“Our top priority is to ensure that Great Lakes restoration succeeds,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “After decades of abuse, there is an enormous Read More » »

Coalition Targets 5 Great Lakes Restoration Priority Areas

New Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition program to help local groups participate in federal $475 million restoration initiative

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (April, 6 2010)—The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition today launched a new program to help local conservation partners participate in the federal $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The coalition will be providing $200,000 to help groups jump-start restoration projects in five priority areas—one on each of the Great Lakes.

Read a fact sheet on the new program here.

“Our top priority is to ensure that Great Lakes restoration succeeds,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director Read More » »

President Obama Signs Great Lakes Restoration Initiative into Law

Historic Initiative Propels Restoration, Economic Recovery Forward

ANN ARBOR, MICH.—President Obama signed into law on Friday a historic $475 million initiative to address urgent threats to the Great Lakes—the largest supply of surface fresh water in the world.

“With one stroke of his pen, President Obama has propelled Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery forward,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “This is a great day for anyone who cares about clean beaches, safe drinking water, and abundant fish and wildlife populations. This is a victory for the millions of people, businesses and communities which Read More » »

House Approves $475M Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The effort to restore the Great Lakes advanced in the U.S. Congress, as the House of Representatives today approved $475 million to fund a new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative first proposed in President Obama’s budget.

House Appropriations subcommittee fully funds Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (Coalition Statement)

The U.S. House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee today approved full funding for the new $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which addresses some of the most urgent threats to the Great Lakes, including invasive species, toxic pollution and habitat restoration.

The Train Keeps on Moving

Good news in the effort to restore the Great Lakes and revitalize the economy.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at a U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure hearing gave an update on how economic recovery act funds were being used to jump-start the economy, protect human healthy and safeguard the environment.

Said Jackon: “Funding these programs will not only help our economic recovery, but they will protect and increase the number of green jobs, sustain communities, restore and preserve the economic viability of property, promote scientific advances and technological innovation, and ensure a safer, healthier environment.”

Read the her full Read More » »

Michigan to Get $236 Million from EPA, a Boost to Great Lakes Restoration, Economic Recovery

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (PRESS RELEASE)—The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition praised the recent announcement by the U.S. EPA that the state of Michigan is receiving $236 million as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for water infrastructure projects in the state.

“This is a huge boost for the Great Lakes and for Michigan jobs,” said Andy Buchsbaum, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center and co-chair of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “These investments are an  excellent first step to promote economic recovery and Great Lakes restoration while protecting the health Read More » »