The Northeast-Midwest Institute held its annual Great Lakes Environmental Summit on Wednesday, February 5th. Held for over 30 years, the Summit serves as one of the primary convenings of policy experts, advocates, and stakeholders in Washington, D.C. to discuss the issues that are most impactful to the health of the Great Lakes. For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Summit was held in-person on Capitol Hill.
Scott Sowa, Great Lakes Program Director for The Nature Conservancy, which sponsored the event, opened the Summit with remarks. He reflected on the progress made on Great Lakes restoration, accelerated by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and the importance of continuing that progress going forward.
Congressman Bill Huizenga followed, echoing those themes and making clear the connection between environmental progress and economic success in the Great Lakes region. Congressman Huizenga also recapped the progress made on Great Lakes issues in the 118th Congress and previewed the issues on the table for the 119th Congress, including reauthorizing the GLRI and other Great Lakes programs. Later, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur addressed the Summit and discussed the region’s needs around data collection and research and funding equity.
Seven Congressional Committee staffers from six Committees also addressed the Summit, including Senate Environment and Public Works, House Transportation and Infrastructure, and House and Senate Agriculture. These speakers updated attendees on the GLRI reauthorization, the appropriations process, budget reconciliation, the Farm Bill, and other critical topics. Representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office presented on conservation programs and the GLRI, respectively. The Summit concluded with a roundtable discussion.
NEMWI President Dr. Michael Goff expressed NEMWI’s gratitude for the support of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which sponsored this year’s Summit, and for the support of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, GEI Consultants, the Great Lakes Commission, and Ducks Unlimited, which co-sponsored the event.
The Nature Conservancy helps advance conservation across six continents, including in more than 80 countries and territories and all 50 U.S. states. And, for more than 65 years, The Nature Conservancy has helped protect and restore millions of acres of lands and waters throughout the Great Lakes. Guided by science and leveraging decades of on-the-ground experience, TNC collaborates with countless public and private sector partners to scale innovative solutions for the biggest conservation challenges, ensuring both people and nature can thrive. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is a coalition of local, state, and regional advocates working together to establish Great Lakes restoration and protection as a national conservation priority. The Great Lakes Commission, a binational government agency established in 1955, works to advance policies and programs that protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. GEI Consultants is a leading consulting engineering, policy, and environmental firm that delivers value by providing professional services to improve our world’s built environments. Ducks Unlimited is the world’s leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. Since 1937, DU has conserved more than 18 million acres of waterfowl habitat across North America.