Rochester, New York – At its Annual Meeting, held last week on the shores of Lake Ontario in Rochester, New York, the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) passed resolutions calling for reauthorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and stronger protections against the introduction of invasive species.

“The Great Lakes Commission urges both federal governments to better protect the Great Lakes by taking action to restrict the import of high-risk species,” said GLC Chair Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. “Once established in the lakes, these species are extremely difficult to eradicate and costly to control. Additionally, we call on the U.S. Congress to pass the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024, which would reauthorize this incredibly successful program through FY 2031. Since 2010, the GLRI has provided more than $4 billion to fund more than 8,100 projects across the Great Lakes region which protect our freshwater resources.”

The Annual Meeting featured remarks from representatives of U.S. EPA Regions 2 and 5, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Rochester Mayor Malik Evans. Great Lakes Commissioners also heard from expert panels on critical issues facing the lakes, including community watershed restoration, coastal resilience, and engaging youth in environmental stewardship.

At the meeting, the GLC re-elected its leadership: Chair Mertz, and Vice Chair Timothy Bruno, Great Lakes Program Coordinator, Interstate Water Resources Management, at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. In advance of the meeting, GLC leadership planted two red maple trees at the Rochester Museum & Science Center. As a founding member of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Trees and Green Events initiatives, the GLC has committed to using sustainable practices at its meetings and supporting the initiative’s goal of planting 250 million trees in the Great Lakes basin by 2033.

The GLC will next convene in Washington, D.C. for its Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day on March 4-6, 2025. More information will be available on www.glc.org in advance of the meeting.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.