Lake Erie Areas of Concern Summit

July 11-12, 2006
Tom Ridge Environmental Center
Erie, Pennsylvania

Pre-meeting Materials

• Agenda (PDF Updated 7/6/06)
• Fact Sheets on Lake Erie’s Areas of Concern (PDF)
• Survey Responses on Remedial Action Plan Activities in Lake Erie’s Areas of Concern (PDF)
• Lake Erie Critical Leaders Proceedings Summary (PDF)
• Lake Erie Critical Leaders Recommendations Summary (PDF)
• Registration Form (PDF)
• Map, Directions and Hotel Arrangements (PDF)

Program
The program includes an overview of AOC and lakewide management efforts on Lake Erie; a review of opportunities for Lake Erie’s AOCs to collaborate with and benefit from programs and resources available at the federal, state/provincial and local levels; and examples of how local Remedial Action Plan (RAP) groups have developed the capacity needed to advance restoration efforts in their AOCs. Representatives from Lake Erie’s 12 AOCs will discuss their work, the challenges they face, and how they would like to collaborate with other partners. The meeting will feature two keynote speakers: Murray Charlton, chief of Lake Management Research with Environment Canada’s National Water Research Institute; and David Ullrich, Director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and former deputy regional administrator for the Great Lakes region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Who Should Attend
The meeting is intended for members of U.S. and Canadian RAP groups from the 12 Lake Erie AOCs, participants in the Lake Erie LaMP, agency staff, and other partners involved in the Lake Erie AOCs and LaMP.

Date & Location
The Lake Erie Areas of Concern Summit will be held on Tuesday-Wednesday, July 11-12, 2006, at the new Tom Ridge Environmental Center in Erie, PA. The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday and adjourn by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Dinner Cruise on Presque Isle Bay
The meeting will include an optional dinner cruise on beautiful Presque Isle Bay on Tuesday evening. This will include dinner, cash bar and a two-hour cruise on Presque Isle Bay aboard the Victorian Princess, an authentic paddlewheeler. Representatives from the Presque Isle Bay AOC Public Advisory Committee and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will describe Presque Isle’s natural features and efforts to restore and protect the bay. The dinner cruise is optional and is open to all meeting participants and their guests. The cost is $35 per person and advance registration is required (see the registration form).

Travel Funding
Limited funding is available to help cover travel and lodging costs for representatives from local RAP groups. Interested RAP participants should contact the chair of their RAP group.

Agenda and Registration Form
The meeting agenda and registration form have been mailed to members of the RAP committees for the 12 AOCs on Lake Erie. They are also linked above.

Sponsors
The Lake Erie Areas of Concern Summit is sponsored by the Presque Isle Bay Public Advisory Council, U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office, the Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, and the Great Lakes Commission.

Contact
Matt Doss
Great Lakes Commission
mdoss@glc.org
voice: 734-971-9135
fax: 734-971-9150