Rescuing the Great Lakes
Restoration of the Great Lakes began unofficially in 1969, after the notoriously polluted Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland, near where it empties into Lake Erie. Nearly two decades later, in 1987, the U.S. and Canada signed an agreement creating the Great Lakes Areas of Concern program, which identified 43 Great Lakes watersheds that were most in need of environmental restoration. It also created a process whereby an area can be delisted once its environmental quality has improved.
n 2010, the Obama administration launched the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which, among other things, provides funds for the Areas of Concern program so that all of the areas left in the U.S. can eventually be delisted. Last year, President Trump called for massive cuts to the GLRI, but Congress fully funded it at $300 million, in a bipartisan effort.
This bipartisan support stems from the economic benefits of environmental restoration. A study by a team of economists released last fall found that every dollar invested in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative brings more than $3 in additional economic benefits across the region. “It is no longer the economy versus the environment,” said Jill Jedlicka, executive director of Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, a Western New York nonprofit focused on protecting and restoring the Niagara River watershed. “You cannot have a healthy economy without a healthy environment.”
More.... and some nice photos.....
https://undark.org/article/for-health-and-habitat-rescuing-the-great-lakes/