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Diverting 7 million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan to Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, chiefly to serve Foxconn’s future manufacturing facility, violates the multi-state Great Lakes Compact, according to those who spoke against it at a state public hearing Wednesday. Read the full story by Kenosha News. View the full article

The EPA’s plan to fight Lake Erie algae blooms –summarizing agendas from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania – targets phosphorus, the main cause of the blooms. Phosphorus winds up in the lake from sources including agriculture and wastewater treatment plants. Read the full story by WOSU – Columbus, OH. View the full article

Building on a letter issued earlier this week, the Great Lakes Commission hosted Great Lakes Day in an attempt to bolster support for what one member has dubbed a “national treasure.” Read the full story by Michigan Peninsula News. View the full article

In Michigan, Bay City-based BaySail, a nonprofit organization that owns and operates Appledore IV and Appledore V, is seeking deckhands who are “physically fit, willing to learn and who have a sense of adventure.” Read the full story by MLive. View the full article

Instead of walking the corridors of Capitol Hill to brief members of Congress on Great Lakes issues, former Great Lakes executive Cameron Davis is pitching his platform to be elected as a commissioner to the agency that manages Chicago’s wastewater. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo. View the full article

Toledo, Ohio, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz spent Thursday on Capitol Hill, trying to convince lawmakers not to drain funding for addressing toxic substances, invasive species, and pollution in Lake Erie. President Trump’s budget calls for slashing federal assistance to clean the Great Lakes from $300-million to $30-million. Read the full story by Gray DC. View the full article

The fresh water winter surfing season is now — November through April. Dedicated surfers say, forget the cold! It’s all about the wind and the waves. If you dress for it, surfing on the Great Lakes is second to none. Read the story by WGN-TV – Chicago, IL. View the full article

“They’re [the Great Lakes] a vital natural resource. They are about 20 percent of the world’s supply of fresh surface water, about 90 percent of the nation’s supply,” said Matt Doss. Doss is the policy director for the Great Lakes Commission, an Ann Arbor, Mich., based organization which represents the interests of the eight states whose borders contain portions of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Reporter Magazine. View the full article

Staff Directory | David Betcher joined the Great Lakes Commission in 2014, shortly after completing a degree in geography from the University of Cincinnati. In addition to working with program staff to provide data and mapping support across the Commission’s program areas, he has contributed to projects focused on collaboration, information delivery, and decision support regarding invasive species control; identifying sensitive resources and potential hazards in support of statewide contingency planning; and supporting local response planning efforts with maps and in-depth analysis. David enjoys the challenge of translating project goals to geospatial solutions. He has harmonized datasets across political and jurisdictional boundaries and given additional context to project data using stream network and watershed analysis. David enjoys kayaking on lakes both great and small in his free time and experiences a renewed sense of enthusiasm in his work through the personal connection to the water that it provides. Contact David at [email protected]. Return to the Staff Directory main page Contact For questions or media inquiries, please contact Beth Wanamaker, [email protected]. Recent GLC News Great Lakes Commission calls for full funding of GLRI; reaffirms commitment to NAFTA and U.S.-Canada trade Coalition of states, cities, tribes, business, industry and conservation organizations release joint priorities for the Great Lakes Great Lakes Commission releases new framework to improve Western Lake Erie through investments in water quality credits Position available: Adaptive Management Program Specialist Upcoming GLC Events 2018 Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day March 6 - March 8 Webinar – Beneficial Use of Dredged Material: Can Soil Save Peoria Lake? March 19 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm 2018 Great Lakes Commission Annual Meeting October 2 - October 3 View GLC Calendar > View the full article

A team led by Michigan Technological University and Northwest Indian College released a policy brief outlining what it would take to create a future where fish consumption advisories are no longer needed in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Michigan Tech News. View the full article

A panel of experts explain why toxic algae blooms aren’t going away — and the difficulties of dealing with them. Read the full story by NYUP.com. View the full article

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz will join members of the Ohio Environmental Council on Thursday in Washington D.C. to speak with members of the state’s congressional delegation about Lake Erie and toxic algae. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade. View the full article

Gov. Scott Walker has rescinded a nomination to implement a National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Michigan that would have blanketed dozens of offshore shipwrecks with federal protections. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press. View the full article

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency called for stepped-up efforts Wednesday to reduce nutrient pollution that contributes to algae blooms in Lake Erie but recommended no new federal regulations to accomplish the task. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune. View the full article

Critics of a plan to help a Foxconn Technology Group factory take water from Lake Michigan outnumbered the idea’s supporters at a hearing Wednesday held by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. Get the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio. View the full article

The 32-foot vessel would be equipped to fight fires, conduct search and rescue missions, address spills and any other hazardous material risks, respond to emergency medical calls and assist in the maintenance of port security. Read the full story in the Duluth News Tribune. View the full article

The U.S. Water Alliance, in a report released today, called for government at all levels to focus investment on water infrastructure with an emphasis on water equity related to economically disadvantaged communities in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now. View the full article

News Washington, D.C. – Great Lakes Commissioners from the U.S. and Canada traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to urge Congress to protect the Great Lakes, which hold one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water supply. Commissioners encouraged elected officials to protect the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which was recently cut by 90 percent in President Trump’s proposed FY2019 budget, and to include funding for Great Lakes conservation programs and rural communities in the Farm Bill, which will be up for congressional reauthorization later this year. Commissioners were in D.C. for the 2018 Great Lakes Commission (GLC) Semiannual Meeting, which was held Tuesday and Wednesday. Delegations from the Great Lakes states and provinces, as well as observers, federal, state and nongovernmental partners attended the meeting, which featured keynote remarks from U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) focused on the economic impact of the lakes on Indiana, the region, and the nation. “As Congress debates an infrastructure package, we have to remember that infrastructure includes locks and ports like the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor,” said Senator Young, who serves as vice chair of the bipartisan Senate Great Lakes Task Force. “We can’t overlook the economic significance of the lakes.” Cathy Stepp, newly appointed administrator for U.S. EPA Region 5, also spoke at the meeting. She reaffirmed the EPA’s commitment to the GLRI, which has funded nearly 4,000 Great Lakes restoration projects since 2010. “We are really fortunate that in Region 5 we have legislators on both sides of the aisle who support this funding,” Stepp said. In 2017, the bipartisan Great Lakes congressional delegation reinstated full funding of $300 million for the GLRI after it was zeroed out by the president in his budget. At the meeting, Commissioners endorsed a resolution reaffirming the GLC’s support for NAFTA and the importance of trade between the U.S. and Canada, and encouraged both governments to avoid disrupting current trading patterns and creating uncertainty in markets as re-negotiations continue. The GLC also passed a resolution encouraging the governments to work together to help further grow the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence cruising industry. “On behalf of the leaders of all our states and provinces, the Great Lakes Commission is proud to come together and speak with one voice on behalf of the Great Lakes,” said GLC Chair John Linc Stine, commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The GLC will next convene October 2-3, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Additional information will be available at www.glc.org. ← Previous news release The Great Lakes Commission, led by chairman Jon Allan, director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes, is an interstate compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, and agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org. Contact For questions or media inquiries, please contact Beth Wanamaker, [email protected]. Recent GLC News Great Lakes Commission calls for full funding of GLRI; reaffirms commitment to NAFTA and U.S.-Canada trade Coalition of states, cities, tribes, business, industry and conservation organizations release joint priorities for the Great Lakes Great Lakes Commission releases new framework to improve Western Lake Erie through investments in water quality credits Position available: Adaptive Management Program Specialist Upcoming GLC Events 2018 Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day March 6 - March 8 Webinar – Beneficial Use of Dredged Material: Can Soil Save Peoria Lake? March 19 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm 2018 Great Lakes Commission Annual Meeting October 2 - October 3 View GLC Calendar > View the full article

Spring approaches and that means it’s time for the Great Lakes community to make its annual trek to Washington, D.C. The purpose? To pitch legislators and agencies on the comprehensive needs of the Lakes from the federal government. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now. View the full article

Oral arguments are scheduled Tuesday for Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie’s federal lawsuit seeking to force regulators to declare western Lake Erie “impaired” under the Clean Water Act because of its recurring algae problem. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade. View the full article

An environmental group isn’t giving up the fight against a marina and home development in Saugatuck Township, Michigan on a controversial piece of Lake Michigan dune property at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River. The group has filed an appeal with the Michigan State Court of Appeals. Read the full story by MLive. View the full article

Foxconn’s bid for Lake Michigan water is the latest test of the decade-old Great Lakes Compact, an agreement among the region’s states intended to make it almost impossible to direct water outside the natural basin of the Great Lakes unless it is added to certain products, such as beer and soft drinks. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune. View the full article

Climate change experts attribute last year’s historic flooding to the effects of climate change. They suggest following Europe’s lead to plant vegetation along river shorelines to help absorb run-off. Read the full story by the Montreal Gazette. View the full article

A national report released Tuesday described the work of a Buffalo program as one step toward fixing billions of dollars worth of Great Lakes water infrastructure. The three-year-old PUSH Blue program has improved nearly 20 acres of derelict properties in the city. Read the full story by the Buffalo News. View the full article

With more precipitation in the Great Lakes region over the last few months, Lake Superior, along with the other Great Lakes, are seeing higher than average water levels. According to a report from the Army Corps of Engineers, levels are more than a foot higher than they were compared to last year. Read and view the full story by KQDS Radio, Duluth, MN. View the full article