Ann Arbor, Michigan – Organizations across the region will come together to educate the public about aquatic invasive species (AIS) during the seventh annual Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz, to be held June 30 through July 13, 2025. Volunteers will demonstrate to boaters how to prevent the spread of AIS, how to identify AIS, and how to report AIS, which are recognized as one of the most significant threats to the ecological and economic health of the Great Lakes. This annual event is coordinated through an international partnership of Indigenous, federal, state, and provincial agencies with the support of the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) and other partner organizations.

“The Great Lakes Commission is proud to continue coordinating the Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz with our partners,” said GLC Executive Director Erika Jensen. “Invasive species threaten native species and the regional economy. Fish and wildlife cross jurisdictional boundaries, so we all need to work together to avoid spreading harmful species from one water body to another.”

For the fourth year, the Great Lakes Commission has also awarded more than $105,000 in grants to local organizations to conduct outreach to boaters this summer. This funding will be used by grantees to host local Landing Blitz events, expanding the overall reach of the initiative and supporting strategic education and outreach targeted to the recreational activities pathway of AIS introduction and spread.

Thirteen grants were awarded:

Funding for the Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz is provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through a grant agreement between the Great Lakes Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For more information on the Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz, including educational materials, location, and volunteer opportunities, visit www.glc.org/blitz.

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.