Photo: NASA

Virtual Workshop:
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative


January 26 + 27, 2022

2021 was a good year for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) – the multi-agency program charged with conserving and restoring a system that holds 84 percent of all the fresh surface water in North America. In January, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act drew overwhelming bipartisan support and reauthorized the popular program through 2026 to the tune of more than $300 million annually. Then, in November, the $1 trillion infrastructure bill tacked on an additional $1 billion for the GLRI.

In the wake of this big political and financial windfall, a billion-dollar question now looms. How – and where – should that money be spent? The GLRI’s current action plan runs through 2024 and instructs the 16 federal agencies tasked with achieving its goals to focus on the following issues:

  • Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern

  • Invasive Species

  • Nonpoint Source Pollution Impacts on Nearshore Health

  • Habitats and Species

  • Foundations for Future Restoration Actions

In January 2022, the Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources presented a two-day virtual workshop that helped journalists learn more about how the GLRI hopes to achieve those goals. Participating journalists joined a virtual conversation with policymakers, tribal leaders, environmental organizations, industry representatives, scientists and local residents to hear first-hand what GLRI projects mean for the eight U.S. states, two Canadian provinces and more than 30 million people who call the Great Lakes region home.

IJNR maintains editorial independence and control in all of its programming and decision-making.

This workshop is made possible by support from the Joyce Foundation.