Making a Difference in the Future of the Great Lakes
NY Sea Grant teams up with GL Commission
to help set restoration priorities

BROCKPORT, NY, March 26, 2004 - On April 27, 2004, New York Sea Grant will host "Great Lakes Restoration Priorities Workshop: Your Chance to Make a Difference in Our Lakes' Future." The event will be held from 8:30 am - 5 pm at the Holiday Inn in Rochester, adjacent to the Rochester Airport.

"The road to restoration of the Great Lakes begins with a well-informed stakeholder constituency," says NY Sea Grant Sr. Extension Associate and workshop organizer Chuck O'Neill. "We're offering presentations on the current state of Lakes Erie and Ontario as well as an ample opportunity for New York's Great Lakes resource users and managers to register their input on what they, as stakeholders, believe the restoration priorities to be."

Why is there a need for these priorities? Comprising one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water resource, the Great Lakes have been degraded by human development and use to the point that they are in need of protection and restoration. In response, the Governors of the eight Great Lakes states drafted priorities toward the development of restoration strategies for the lakes. These target such issues as Great Lakes shoreline and economic development, fisheries and invasive species, water quality, pollution prevention, and ensuring the sustainable use of resources.

Through public forums such as this one and others in Great Lakes states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, the Great Lakes Commission and Sea Grant are providing scientific and technical guidance for the generation of a final version of these legislative, appropriations and policy priorities.

"High quality Great Lakes are high on every Basin resident's agenda," says NYSG Director Jack Mattice. "But the goals and schedules of restoration need the input from all stakeholders to make sure that the Lakes become all they can be for all of us." Adds O'Neill, "This input will help develop a shared vision and the principles, goals, objectives and strategic actions needed to achieve that vision."

Breakout sessions during the workshop will address such questions as: 'What are your priorities for Great Lakes restoration you wish to share with the Great Lakes governors?' and 'What advice do you have on the design and implementation of a large-scale restoration plan to advance the Governor's priorities for the Great Lakes ecosystem?' Workshop outcomes will be distilled into a proceedings document to be shared with Great Lakes leadership and the entire community of stakeholders in the interest of promoting consensus and unity of purpose in restoration and protection initiatives.

The initiative is funded by the National Sea Grant Program and each workshop features a partnership between the state's Sea Grant Program, governor's office, relevant state agencies and the Great Lakes Commission.