What is the Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium?
The Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium consists of scientific and policy experts drawn from key U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, state and provincial agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other interest groups with responsibility for coastal wetlands monitoring. Approximately two dozen agencies, organizations and institutions have been brought into the Consortium as Project Management Team members. This is an unprecedented assembly of coastal wetlands expertise. In addition, other members are brought in as small project teams are formed to address discrete project elements and pilot studies. The Consortium is coordinated by staff at the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has been funded by the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office in Chicago, Illinois.

What is the purpose of the Consortium?
The Consortium's purpose is to design an implementable, long-term program to monitor Great Lakes coastal wetlands. This is being accomplished through the development of indicators to assess the condition of Great Lakes coastal wetlands. The selected indicators were selected through the State of the Lake Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) process. The Consortium will provide scientific support for this monitoring program; create a database that is publicly accessible; recruit the leadership required to implement the long-term monitoring program; and develop a network of funders and agencies who will support the Great Lakes coastal wetlands monitoring program.