Great Lakes Policy

Informing public policy with sound science has long been recognized as a vital need for effective management and protection of the large lakes of the world. With its mission to promote all aspects of large lakes research and communicate research findings, IAGLR is uniquely positioned to foster the connection between science and policy.

Highlights

IAGLR Statements & Reports

• Letter on proposed revision of definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) (Re: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322) -  Letter to Stacey Jensen, Director Oceans, Wetlands and Communities Division, Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Milton Boyd, Acting Director for Policy and Legislation, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Department of the Army. January 5, 2026
• In Support of Science: IAGLR’s response to recent U.S. federal actions, February 26, 2025
• Applying Earth Observatory Data to Large Lakes Under Shared Governance, presented by Jérôme Marty at the European Space Agency Centre for Earth Observation's Environmental Crimes Workshop, June 11-12, 2024, Frascati, Italy.
• Brief presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development Study on Freshwater in Canada on pollution issues and recommended actions, November 23, 2023
• Great Lakes Revival: How Restoring Polluted Waters Leads to Rebirth of Great Lakes Communities, 2019

Joint Statements

• Share Priorities for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, a joint statement from 15 organizations, shared at Great Lakes Day in Ottaway, December 8, 2025
• Letter to Michigan's Congressional Delegration, from more than 500 nonprofit and philanthropic organizations in Michigan, March 20, 2025
• Letter to U.S. Congress in support of science, led by the Union of Concerned Scientists and co-signed by 48 scientific societies, March 3, 2025
• Letter to the Membership Committee of the Association of American Universities regarding the National Research Council’s Highly Prestigious Awards List, August 9, 2024

Statements with the Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies

• Letter on proposed revision of definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) (Re: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322) -  Letter to Stacey Jensen, Director Oceans, Wetlands and Communities Division, Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Milton Boyd, Acting Director for Policy and Legislation, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Department of the Army. January 5, 2026
• Letter urging science-based definition of WOTUS (Re: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093) -  Letter to the Honorable Lee Zeldin, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. April 23, 2025
• Re: Implementation of “Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research” Memo - Letter to Arati Prabhakar, Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Poicy, October 29, 2024
• Statement of World Aquatic Scientific Societies on the Need to Take Urgent Action against Human-Caused Climate Change, Based on Scientific Evidence | Press Release, September 14, 2020
• Amici Curiae Brief in support of Hawaii Wildlife Fund - Supreme Court Case, County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, July 19, 2019
• Request for 200-day Comment Period and Additional Public Hearings on WOTUS rule, February 22, 2019
• Aquatic Scientists Push Back Against Narrow WOTUS Rule, December 11, 2018
• WOTUS Action Alert: Efforts to replace Clean Water Rule continue, May 29, 2018
• Statement opposing repeal of the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule, November 20, 2017
• CASS Condemns Silencing of EPA Scientists, October  27, 2017
• CASS opposes repeal of the Clean Water Rule, September 26, 2017

Past Projects

State of Lake conferences

The State of Lake conferences facilitate interactions between researchers and managers on diverse topics related to issues relevant for a specific lake. These conferences bring together lake-specific research, policy development, management, and education to broaden the discussion and provide diverse interaction among stakeholders. IAGLR hosted the conference series from 2017–2022.

Checkup: Assessing Ecosystem Health of the Detroit River and Western Lake Erie

IAGLR partnered on the production of the 11th biennial State of the Strait report titled “Checkup: Assessing Ecosystem Health of the Detroit River and Western Lake Erie.” This report is based on the evaluation of long-term datasets on 61 indicators of ecosystem health and discussions at the State of the Strait conference held on November 19, 2020, at the University of Windsor, Ontario. More than 40 organizations contributed individual indicator reports and more than 200 people participated in this binational conference. See press release for more information.

Evaluating Great Lakes Area of Concern Restoration

How effective are efforts to restore the most degraded areas in the Great Lakes? With support from the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, IAGLR worked to answer that question. Under the leadership of Dr. John Hartig, IAGLR conducted research with Canadian and U.S. experts to evaluate achievements and lessons learned from 32 years of efforts to clean up Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

State of the Strait: Status and Trends of Key Indicators 2007

IAGLR partnered on the production of this report, based on the Detroit River-Western Lake Erie Indicator Project. This document describes the major conclusions and recommendations from this three-year U.S.-Canada assessment, based on 50 indicators/trend data summaries that were discussed at the 2006 State of the Strait Conference held in Flat Rock, Michigan on December 5th, 2006.

Great Lakes Science & Policy: Strengthening the Connection

With funding from the Joyce Foundation, IAGLR initiated a two-year project (2001-2002) to help strengthen the science-policy linkage in the Great Lakes Basin. As part of the project, IAGLR posted 24 years of the Journal of Great Lakes Research online, in a searchable, printable format. Another major accomplishment of the project was the creation of an Expert Directory. The project also involved efforts to learn from key scientific and policy organizations within the Great Lakes Basin through surveys and meetings, and three pilot projects to help strengthen the science-policy linkage.