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Environment of the Great Lakes Region What's New | Overview | General Resources | Agencies & Organizations | Discuss 
What's New Obama's 2011 budget trims environment, fattens energy spending Environment News Service (2/1) Three U.S. federal agencies that handle environmental issues had their budgets cut in Obama's 2011 budget - the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - while the Department of Energy budget was increased by $1.8 billion. NOAA, Google join forces to visualize scientific data (1/26) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Google plan to work together on research and development to join NOAA’s oceanographic, meteorological, biological, and climatological data with Google’s software capabilities. COMMENTARY: No doubt Asian carp could devastate Michigan's environment, economy The Grand Rapids Press (1/27) The threat posed by Asian carp to the Great Lakes is real and needs to be addressed. There is no doubt that should the carp enter Lake Michigan it will devastate Michigan's environment and economy. Overflows impact environment The Cornwall Standard Freeholder (1/21) An estimated 477 million litres of stormwater and untreated sewage was dumped into the St. Lawrence River last year as a result of eight combined sewer overflow events. Windsor cleans up act as Detroit spews sewage into river The Windsor Star (1/20) While Windsor builds a $60 million riverfront basin to stop raw sewage overflows, the City of Detroit is dumping billions of gallons of untreated waste into the Detroit River. NYPA puts money behind Greenway Buffalo Business First (1/20) The head of the New York Power Authority was joined Wednesday by representatives from Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and other environmental groups at Tifft Nature Preserve to share details on new funding for ecological projects.
Overview The environment of the Great Lakes region is blessed with huge forests and wilderness areas, rich agricultural land, hundreds of tributaries and thousands of smaller lakes, and extensive mineral deposits. The region's glacial history and the tremendous influence of the lakes themselves create unique conditions that support a wealth of biological diversity, including more than 130 rare species and ecosystems. The environment supports a world-class fishery and a variety of wildlife, such as white-tailed deer, beaver, muskrat, weasel, fox, black bear, bobcat, moose and other furbearing animals. Bird populations thrive on the various terrains, some migrating south in the winter, others making permanent homes. An estimated 180 species of fish are native to the Great Lakes, including small- and large-mouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, lake herring, whitefish, walleye and lake trout. Rare species making their home in the Great Lakes region include the world's last known population of the white catspaw pearly mussel, the copper redhorse fish and the Kirtland's warbler. The region's sand dunes, coastal marshes, rocky shorelines, lakeplain prairies, savannas, forests, fens, wetlands and other landscapes contain features that are either unique or best represented withink the Great Lakes basin. For example, the world's largest freshwater dunes line the shores of Lake Michigan. Over the course of history, many types of pollution have inflicted and been reduced in the region, yet significant challenges remain. These range from threats to divert water out of the Great Lakes basin to the introduction of nonindigenous invasive species and airborne toxics into the basin. Protection of water quality and sustainable development remain long-term goals.
General Resources Great Lakes Atlas U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) This Environmental Atlas and Resource Book is an excellent resource on the Great Lakes, including physical characteristics, natural processes, people, concerns, joint management and new directions (mirrored on Environment Canada's site). Great Lakes Radio Consortium The Great Lakes Radio Consortium produces environmentally focused radio features and news featured on more than 100 public radio stations around the Great Lakes region and several national radio programs. Illinois Natural Resources Information Network Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Provides natural resource-related information to the citizens of Illinois so that individuals and groups can make informed decisions about natural resource management and policy. Science & The Environment Bulletin Environment Canada This bimonthly publication provides information on leading-edge environmental science and technology. Includes collections on habitat, pollution, species at risk, water and related topics. Software for Environmental Awareness United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 and Purdue University produce free interactive software programs on environmental topics. Summary of Environmental Law in North America Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) The CEC created this summary to improve public access to the environmental law of the three parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement; i.e., Canada, Mexico and the United States. Visualizing the Great Lakes U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) GLNPO has an extensive collection of images from around the Great Lakes that is available for you to use.
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