Washington, D.C. – During Great Lakes Day in D.C., 14 members of Congress spoke in support of the lakes, which hold 95% of America’s fresh surface water and provide the backbone for a $6 trillion regional economy.  More than 150 attendees and mayors of 30 different communities in the Great Lakes states and provinces, and the Anishinabek Nation, also attended the Great Lakes Day Congressional Breakfast Reception, hosted annually by the Great Lakes Commission and the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

At its Semiannual Meeting, held in advance of Great Lakes Day, the GLC passed resolutions calling for updates to the federal standard for navigation dredging projects in the Great Lakes basin, as well as to the accuracy of the International Great Lakes Datum.

During the meeting, the GLC convened expert panels on artificial intelligence applications for the Great Lakes region, sustainability and environmental considerations related to AI, and new technologies and innovations in the water sector. Commissioners also voted to welcome two new Observers to the GLC: the American Great Lakes Ports Association and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. 

The GLC will next convene in Duluth, Minnesota, for its Annual Meeting in October. More information will be available on www.glc.org in advance of the meeting. 

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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.