Communication: Though the regulatory history spans nearly three centuries, involving scores of government and civic organizations, the poster helped me summarize the topic in about 500 words, indicating important milestones.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
URL: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
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Project Description
The Great Lakes, the largest system of fresh surface water in the world, once pristine, have become a symbol of modern environmental damage. Disparate remediation efforts over nearly a century, culminated with the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
The GLRI is among the most comprehensive and far-reaching restorative programs (on par with Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and the Everglades Restoration) ever undertaken by the federal government. By most accounts it’s lauded as a success, particularly in its role to embrace existing federal, bi-national and state programs and identify key steps forward.
Government documents offer a window into the GLRI, starting with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to the creation of the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force to President Barak Obama’s signing of legislation funding the GLRI in 2009.
The Great Lakes are a source of drinking water, recreation, transportation, and economic growth, making the GLRI vital to individuals and communities. Understanding the GLRI, then, is of critical interest to a wide range of information seekers.
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Methodology
I started with the US Government Manual for an overview of organizational structure of my topic. An article titled, “History of Agency Organizational Changes,” gave me a glimpse into the scope, noting the Great Lakes Basin Commission, established in 1967 by Executive Order was terminated with another Executive Order in 1981.
In scanning the resource section on “Boards, Commissions, and Committees,” I found a Marine Mammal Commission and a Migratory Bird Conservation Commission and other environmental and fishery organizations. A list of “Binational Commissions” pointed me directly to the International Joint Commission, which became a key source. The US Government Manual included links to other resources, decoding government acronyms, which I referenced frequently.
In the early stages of research, indexes, whether in books or government reports, proved useful. Dan Egan’s book, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes led me to see the comparison between the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the cleanup and restoration in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the Everglades. Egan’s book magnified the scope of the GLRI. His book doesn’t specifically cover the GLRI. He details government efforts on both sides of the boarder along with non-government organization (NGO) involvement. I began to search by water quality, diversion, ownership, industry, and commerce.
The footnotes in the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy provided a sense of the complexity encompassed within the GLRI on tribal laws and prior legislation.
Government hearings and reports were the richest and most concrete resources I consulted. A field hearing presided over by Sen. George Voinovich, D-Ohio, in 2003, revealed a personal passion and human connection to the Great Lakes. Voinovich had assembled representatives from the NGOs: Great Lakes United and Great Lakes Commission, the Ohio Sea Grant Program, US Army Corps of Engineers, regional administration of the EPA. The testimony illuminated the history of the misuse of the Great Lakes. I rather enjoyed Voinovich’s enthusiasm for the topic. He’d been mayor of Cleveland and Governor of Ohio before becoming a US Senator. His entire career has been focused on the Great Lakes, and throughout the hearing he interjected bits of information from his experience.
Another benefit of the field hearing – especially one led by someone so invested as Voinovich – was the depth of the testimony. Voinovich mentioned laws and efforts I would never have found any other way, including the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, Lakewide Management Plans, Remedial Action Plans, Great Lakes Water Quality Indicators and Monitoring Act, Water Resources Development Act. Additionally, boards, councils and other organizations would have been difficult to find, but the hearing mentioned the Council of Great Lakes Governors and the Great Lakes Science Center.
If I were helping a student or researcher, I would certainly suggest Congressional hearings as a way to dig deeper.
Deliverables
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My Role
I am the sole author of this paper, which also included a presentation poster. I was inspired by a lifetime love of and experience in and around the Great Lakes.
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Learning Outcome Achieved: Research
Rationale
My research demonstrates the ability to confront a massive government undertaking using government documents. I identified important points that led to enabling the GLRI. I revealed numerous government (including international) and non-government structures involved, and how citizens can continue as watchdogs to ensure its comprehensive goals are achieved. I also made use of a legislative literature review as a way to gain purchase on over a century’s worth of national, international, and multi-state and municipality governance.
Learning Outcome Achieved: Communication
Rationale
Creating a poster to present my findings is a tool I can use professionally to condense the history, challenges, and solutions surrounding the Great Lakes and the GLRI — or any wide-ranging topic. Though the regulatory history spans nearly three centuries, involving scores of government and civic organizations, the poster helped me summarize the topic in about 500 words, indicating important milestones.
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