Contact: Mike Donahue E-mail: mdonahue@glc.org

For immediate release January 9, 2001

2001 Semiannual Meeting of the Great Lakes Commission, May 15-16
States, provinces work to ensure prosperity for the region

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Policymakers and opinion leaders throughout the binational Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region will convene May 15-16 in Ann Arbor, Mich., to address and act on key public policy issues affecting the environment and economy of the world’s largest system of fresh surface water. State and provincial delegates to the Great Lakes Commission will be joined at the event by many other government officials and private sector and citizen groups with a leadership role in Great Lakes policy development.

The meeting theme, ensuring environmental and economic prosperity for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region, addresses a vision articulated by Chair Nat Robinson and Vice Chair Sam Speck, both of whom were elected to their leadership positions in October 2000. "Realizing this vision," explains Robinson, "rests on three critical elements: a bold strategy, regionwide partnerships, and relentless and aggressive advocacy." The Commission's legislative and appropriations priorities for the 107th Congress, as embodied in its "Great Lakes Program for Environmental and Economic Prosperity" will be a major focus of the semiannual meeting.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. on May 15 and conclude at noon on May 16. Policy positions offered by the membership will be adopted on issues of environmental protection, resource management, transportation and sustainable development. Social events include a reception, dinner, and tours of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey's Great Lakes Science Center.

The Semiannual Meeting of the Great Lakes Commission is hosted by its Michigan Delegation whose members include Tracy Mehan (delegation chair), director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's Office of the Great Lakes; Rep. William Callahan; Frank D'Itri, professor at Michigan State University's Institute of Water Research; Jennifer Granholm, Michigan attorney general; and Sen. Walter North.

Semiannual meeting attendees will want to stay for a special symposium immediately following the Commission meeting titled, "Looking Back, Looking Forward: Assessing Aquatic Nuisance Species Prevention and Control" (May 16-17). The symposium will examine progress under the U.S. National Invasive Species Act and assess the current state of, and prospects for, prevention and control programs. A special focus will be placed on research and policy developments and needs for ballast management in commercial vessels. Symposium participants will make recommendations on new directions in research, detection and monitoring, and regulatory and other management needs as reauthorization of the Act approaches. The symposium is being organized in cooperation with the Commission-staffed Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, which coordinates regional prevention and control efforts. The panel will hold its spring meeting immediately following the symposium on May 18.

All events are open to the public. The registration fee is waived for members of the press.

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by Nathaniel E. Robinson (Wisconsin), is a nonpartisan, binational compact agency created by state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of state legislators, agency officials and governors’ appointees from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a "Declaration of Partnership." The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.