Federal Resilience Programs: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative | Article

The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater system in the world, containing over 84 percent of the above-ground, liquid freshwater in North America and providing roughly 40 million people with water. The region is also important for the economy, supporting 50 percent of all U.S.-Canada border trade and a seven billion dollar fishing industry that boasts over 75,000 jobs. In addition, the Great Lakes are important for tourism, recreation, and energy production.

The ecological health of the Great Lakes has been threatened for several decades. Algal blooms, habitat loss, and nonpoint source pollution stress native species and diminish regional ecosystem services. Destruction of wetlands in the Great Lakes Basin has resulted in habitat loss for fish and other wildlife, as well as reduced pollution control. Invasive species like the zebra mussel, sea lamprey, and asian carp compete with native species for food and habitat and exacerbate algal blooms.

What is the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)?

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is an interagency collaboration to protect and restore the Great Lakes. Established in 2010, the program aims to provide safe water for drinking and recreation, ensure fish are safe for consumption, prevent new and control existing invasive species, mitigate harmful algal blooms, protect native habitat, and delist all Areas of Concern, which are EPA-designated environmentally damaged areas. The federal agencies that oversee GLRI—including the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—fund and administer projects that are resilient to multiple stressors, such as climate change, invasive species, and population fluctuations.

How does GLRI relate to climate adaptation and resilience?

The coastal wetlands in the Great Lakes Basin provide ecosystem services such as filtering pollutants, supporting biodiversity, controlling erosion, and protecting against storms and flooding. Forests and grasslands in the region provide similar ecosystem services. The Great Lakes are also able to influence the local climate by reducing temperature extremes.

About 50 percent of wetlands and 60 percent of forests in the Great Lakes Basin have been lost, decreasing the services provided by these ecosystems. Additionally, the impacts of climate change threaten existing ecosystems and indigenous cultures in the region. GLRI works to protect and restore ecosystems to bolster their climate adaptation and resilience benefits. GLRI also provides funds for indigenous communities to lead on-the-ground resilience work, including restoring stream passage and riparian habitats for native fish populations and protecting Great Lakes coastal wetlands.

How does GLRI work?

Congress appropriates GLRI funding to the EPA, the lead agency administering the program. The funds are then distributed to federal agency partners, which use some of the funds to implement agency-specific projects and apportion the rest to local governments, non-profit organizations, tribal governments, and universities to carry out other projects.

Funding to non-federal entities is provided through grants, the priorities for which are established every four years in the GLRI Action Plan. The most recent Action Plan , established through Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, contains five priority areas: toxic substances and Areas of Concern; invasive species; impacts of nonpoint source pollution on nearshore health; habitats and species; and foundations for future restoration actions. All projects must address at least one priority area.

GLRI in Action

In 2017, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the City of Superior Environmental Services Division of Public Works, used funding from the GLR to install a stormwater retention basin to reduce nonpoint source pollution. The project channels stormwater—which previously discharged to a combined sewer system—into a wetland basin. Pollution in the stormwater is naturally filtered through the vegetation in the basin before making its way into Lake Superior.

What is the outcome of GLRI?

GLRI has funded over 6,000 projects, totaling $3.48 billion and resulting in the protection of over 440,000 acres of habitat. As a result, four Areas of Concern have been delisted, and projects funded by GLRI have reduced harmful algal blooms by preventing over one million pounds of phosphorus from entering the Great Lakes. In addition, over 670 educators received hands-on training in Great Lakes-based education and stewardship in 2019. A 2018 University of Michigan study estimated that every dollar of federal spending on GLRI produces $3.35 in additional economic activity. The same study also found that GLRI created or supported an average of 5,180 jobs per year.

What is the current state of GLRI?

Passed in January 2021, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-294) reauthorizes funding for GLRI, increasing funding from $300 million to $375 million in FY 2022, with a $25 million increase each year until FY 2026. There are currently over 1,500 ongoing projects funded by GLRI.

Author: Anna Sophia Roberts