Listed below are US government programs related to the Great Lakes.
The last column of the list shows whether each program is focused
specifically on the lakes or simply affects them.
Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) |
Air Program |
The purpose of this program, which began in 1970, is to
(1) protect and enhance the quality of the nation's air
resources, (2) initiate and accelerate a national research
and development program to achieve the prevention and
control of air pollution, (3) provide technical and financial
assistance to state and local governments in connection
with the development and execution of their air pollution
prevention and control programs, and (4) encourage and
assist the development and operation of regional air pollution
prevention and control programs. |
|
Aquatic Stressors Research Program |
The goal of this research program, which began in 1975,
is to advance scientifically sound approaches for monitoring
trends in ecological conditions of the nation's aquatic
resources, including the Great Lakes; identify impaired
watersheds and diagnose causes of degradation; and develop
risk-based assessments for supporting restoration and
remediation decisions. |
|
Children's Health Program |
This program (1) identifies and evaluates children's health
issues, (2) develops approaches for addressing these issues,
and (3) prioritizes and implements appropriate actions
on children's health issues. This 1997 program funds pollution
prevention activities and is largely a voluntary program
building state capacity in human health. |
|
Clean Water Act (CWA) Water Quality Monitoring
and Section 106 Grants |
Operating since 1972, this program develops and implements
comprehensive monitoring programs at the state and tribal
levels to address all water quality management needs under
the CWA. Section 106 Grants awards grants to states and
to eligible Indian tribes as base program support to maintain
their surface water and groundwater programs. |
|
Clean Water State Revolving Fund |
The purpose of this program is to provide grants to states
for long-term financing for construction of wastewater
treatment facilities and implementation of state management
plans. This program began in 1972. |
|
Coastal Environmental Management |
The purpose of this program, which started in 1991, is
to provide grants that would assist in the preparation
and implementation of lakewide management plans and remedial
action plans for the areas of concern in the Great Lakes.
This program addresses cleanup, restoration, and pollution
prevention. |
Yes |
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund |
This program provides grants to states to establish drinking
water state revolving funds, whose purpose is to support
drinking water system infrastructure improvements. These
grants provide loans and other types of financial assistance
to eligible public water supply authorities. The program
started in 1996. |
|
Environmental Justice Small Grants |
This program, which began in 1994, provides financial
assistance to grassroots community-based groups to support
projects to design, demonstrate, or disseminate practices,
methods, or techniques related to environmental justice. |
|
Environmental Justice Through Pollution Prevention
Grants |
This pollution prevention program provides low income,
minority communities with pollution prevention resources
to address community environmental issues. This program
started as a pilot program in 1995 through discretionary
funds, but the last year of funding was 2001. |
|
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program |
The goal of this program is to advance scientifically
sound approaches for monitoring trends in ecological conditions
of the nation's aquatic resources, including the Great
Lakes. The program identifies impaired watersheds and
diagnoses causes of degradation and forecasts risk-based
assessments and options to support restoration and remediation
decisions. This research program began in 1989. |
|
Food Quality Protection Act/Strategic Agricultural
Initiative |
The purpose of this program is to ensure continuing safety
of the nation's food supply by promoting the transition
from potentially hazardous conventional pesticides to
pesticides with reduced risk to human health and the environment.
This program started in 1998. |
|
Funding Guidance - Competitive Grants |
This is a grant program in which GLNPO, in concert with
Regions 2,3, and 5, funds a consortium of programs, agencies,
and public and private institutions for reducing the level
of toxic substances in the Great Lakes; protecting and
restoring vital habitats; protecting human health; and
restoring and maintaining stable, diverse, and self-sustaining
populations. This program started in 1993, and it funds
research, cleanup, restoration, and pollution prevention
activities. |
Yes |
Global Climate Change Research Program |
The goal of this program is to advance scientifically
sound approaches for monitoring trends in ecological conditions
of the nation's aquatic resources, including the Great
Lakes. Program activities identify impaired watersheds
and diagnose causes of degradation. This research program
began in 1975. |
|
Great Lakes Air Deposition Grant Program |
The goals of the Great Lakes Air Deposition Grant Program
are to (1) better understand the impacts of deposition
of pollutants to all water bodies in the Great Lakes region,
(2) ensure continued progress in reducing sources and
loadings of atmospheric deposition to the Great Lakes
region, and (3) reduce the environmental and public health
impacts associated with air emissions and subsequent atmospheric
deposition. This research program began in 1993. |
Yes |
Great Lakes Legacy Act |
The Act authorizes funding to help with the remediation
of contaminated sediment in "Areas of Concern located
wholly or partially in the United States" including
specific funding designated for public outreach and research
components. |
Yes |
Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy |
The purpose of this program, which started in 1997, is
to reduce and eliminate persistent toxic substances, especially
those that bioaccumulate, in the Great Lakes. The strategy
uses pollution prevention as a preferred approach. Research
and cleanup are also components of this program. |
Yes |
Indian Environmental General Assistance Program |
This 1992 program assists federally recognized Indian
tribes and nations to build their overall capacity to
manage environmental programs and conduct activities. |
|
Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network |
This program, initiated in 1990, assesses the health of
the Great Lakes ecosystem through a series of air-monitoring
stations in cooperation with Canada. It provides information
to measure the amounts of chemicals and toxic substances
deposited into the Great Lakes through air deposition
to establish trend analysis and cause/effect relationships. |
Yes |
Lakewide Management Plans |
The purpose of the program is to protect the Great Lakes
from beneficial use impairments for the "open waters"
of each lake and to develop strategies to improve the
environmental health of the lake. This program, initiated
in 1987, is a cleanup, restoration, and pollution prevention
program. |
Yes |
Monitoring Program |
The purpose of this research program, which began in 1975,
is to assess the ecosystem health of the Great Lakes.
Information is gathered to measure whole lake response
to control measures using trend analysis and cause/effect
relationships. |
Yes |
National Pollution Discharge Elimination
System |
The goal of this program is to assure that U.S. waters
remain fishable, swimmable, and drinkable, through regulating
point source discharges to surface water. The program
ensures that discharges do not cause or contribute to
a violation of water quality standards. This program started
in 1972 and is largely delegated to states. |
|
Niagara River and New York State Areas of
Concern |
The purpose of this program, started in 1987, is to restore
and protect the beneficial uses in these areas of concern
through a remedial action plan. Cleanup, restoration,
and pollution prevention are goals of this program. |
Yes |
Niagara River Toxics Management Plan |
The purpose of this program is to reduce toxic chemical
inputs to the Niagara River; achieve ambient water quality
that will protect human health, aquatic life, and wildlife;
and while doing so, improve and protect water quality
in Lake Ontario. This program started in 1987 with the
goal of cleanup, restoration, and pollution prevention. |
Yes |
Non-Point Source Program |
The purpose of this program is to attain the goals of
the CWA. This restoration and pollution prevention program
started in 1987. |
|
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) Program |
This program was created in 1980 to conduct several activities
related to PCBs. These activities include reviewing and
tracking projects involving the remediation, storage,
and disposal of PCBs; conducting inspections to determine
compliance with federal PCB regulations; and conducting
projects for reducing the use of PCBs. This program includes
cleanup and pollution prevention. |
|
Pollution Prevention (P2) Demonstration Grants |
This program provides grants for capacity building and
for innovative pollution prevention projects, especially
those projects having potential for regional impacts.
Funded projects include supporting the Great Lakes regional
P2 roundtable, providing technical assistance, and coordinating
P2 partnerships. This pollution prevention program began
in 1993. |
|
Pollution Prevention for States Grant Program |
The goal of this grant program is to promote strategies
and solutions that assist businesses and industries in
reducing waste at the source. The majority of grants fund
state-based projects in areas of technical assistance
and training, education and outreach, regulatory integration,
data collection and research, demonstration projects,
and recognition
programs. This pollution prevention program began in 1991. |
|
Public Water Supply Program |
The purpose of this program is to ensure that clean and
safe drinking water is provided to the public. This program
was created in 1974. |
|
RCRA Subtitle C Corrective Action Program |
The goals of this program are evaluating the potential
environmental risk impacts from RCRA-regulated hazardous
waste facilities, ensuring adequate facility investigation,
ensuring cleanup of contaminants, and managing facilities
long-term controls for the protection of human health
and the environment. This cleanup and restoration program
started in 1980. |
|
RCRA Subtitle C Enforcement and Compliance
Program |
This program provides for the on-site evaluation and inspection
of hazardous waste sites to enforce compliance with regulations
designed for protecting human health and the environment
and conserving valuable material and energy resources.
This program, started in 1976, involves cleanup, restoration,
and pollution prevention. |
|
RCRA Subtitle C Hazardous Waste Management
Program Support |
This program assists state governments in the development
and implementation of an authorized state hazardous waste
management program for the purpose of controlling the
generation, transportation, storage, and disposal of hazardous
waste. Funding first began in 1978. |
|
RCRA Subtitle C Permitting |
The purpose of this program is to issue permits that allow
for monitoring the handling of hazardous waste to ensure
better waste management and restoration of contaminated
waste sites through a regulated permitting program. This
program started in 1980, and it addresses restoration
and pollution prevention in accordance with RCRA regulations. |
|
RCRA Subtitle C State Program Support - Great
Lakes Initiative |
The purpose of this program, started in 1992, is to assist
states in developing and implementing an authorized state
hazardous waste management program for the purpose of
controlling the generation, transportation, storage, and
disposal of hazardous wastes. Cleanup and pollution prevention
are the goals of this program. |
Yes |
RCRA Subtitle D Solid Waste Management Assistance
Program/Jobs Through Recycling Initiative |
The purpose of this program is to promote use of integrated
solid waste management systems to solve municipal solid
waste generation and management problems at the local,
regional, and national levels. The program provides assistance
to state, local, and tribal governments and organizations
to increase waste diversion from landfills and incinerators.
This pollution prevention program started in 1976. |
|
RCRA Subtitle D Tribal Solid Waste Assistance
Grants |
The goal of the program is to encourage re-use of properties
that have been stigmatized by the presence of, or perception
of, environmental contamination. This restoration program
began in 1998. |
|
RCRA Subtitle I Underground Storage Tanks
and Leaking Underground Storage Tanks |
This program regulates the use of underground storage
tanks and requires cleanup of releases and spills. This
cleanup program started in 1989. |
|
Regional Geographic Initiative (RGI)/Environmental
Priorities Program (EPP) |
The purpose of RGI is to (1) fund projects that are identified
as high priority, (2) support geographic place-based projects,
(3) address multimedia problems, and (4) highlight agency
priorities and strategies. The purpose of EPP is to fund
projects or purchases that aid in environmental protection.
These activities were started in 1994, and they include
research, cleanup, restoration, and pollution prevention. |
|
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Brownfields |
The goal of the program is to encourage re-use of properties
that have been stigmatized by the presence of, or perception
of, environmental contamination. This restoration program
began in 1998. |
|
State and Tribal Environmental Justice (EJ)
Program |
This program was created to provide capacity building
financial assistance to states and tribes that are working
to address EJ issues. This program started in 1998. |
|
State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference |
The purpose of this program, started in 1994, is to assess
the ecosystem health of the Great Lakes and to provide
information to measure whole lake response to control
measures using trend analysis and cause/effect relationships. |
Yes |
Superfund |
The goal of this program is to protect human health and
the environment from risks associated with abandoned hazardous
waste sites and to respond to hazardous substance spill
emergencies. The primary focus of the program is the assessment
and remediation of long-term cleanups. This cleanup program
was created in 1980. |
|
Total Maximum Daily Load Program |
The purpose of this 1973 program is to identify waters
not meeting state water quality standards, and for those
waters, calculate the maximum amount of a pollutant the
water can receive and still meet water quality standards.
This is a restoration program according to EPA officials |
|
Tribal Solid Waste Assistance Grants |
This 1993 program was created to assist tribes in solid
waste management and promote compliance with the provisions
of RCRA Subtitle D. This is a cleanup, restoration, and
pollution prevention program. |
|
Underground Injection Control |
The program was created to protect underground sources
of drinking water by controlling underground injection.
This is a pollution prevention program. |
|
Waste Pesticide Collection Program (Agricultural
Clean Sweep or Waste Pesticide Disposal) |
This pollution prevention program achieves reductions
in persistent bioaccumulative toxins and prevents contamination
of air, soil, and water resources by safely disposing
of pesticides. This program started in 1988. |
|
Water Quality Management Planning |
The purpose of this program, which began in 1972, is to
promote the enhancement of water quality through water
quality management planning. This program involves both
restoration and pollution prevention. |
|
Water Quality Standards Program |
The purpose of this program is to support efforts to restore
and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity
of the nation's waters by defining the uses to be protected
and the water quality conditions needed to protect these
uses. |
|
Wetlands |
The goal of this 1972 program is to regulate the discharge
of dredged or fill material into waters of the United
States, including wetlands. Wetland Program Development
Grants are designed to assist state, tribal, and local
government agencies in building their wetland management
programs. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Army Corps of
Engineers |
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration |
This restoration program funds the planning, design, and
construction of projects to restore and enhance aquatic
ecosystems. Program activities began in 1998. |
|
Beneficial Use of Dredged Material |
This program, which was established in 1992, funds the
planning, design, and construction of projects to protect,
restore, and enhance aquatic habitats using sediments
dredged from federal navigation projects. It is classified
as a restoration program. |
|
Cleaning and Snagging |
Originally created in 1954, the purpose of this program
is to plan, design, and construct projects for emergency
removal of debris that threatens to aggravate damage caused
by flooding. |
|
Confined Disposal Facilities |
This cleanup program was established in 1970. Its purpose
is to design, construct, and operate confined disposal
facilities for the disposal of contaminated dredged materials
from federal navigation projects. |
|
Emergency Stream Bank and Shorline Protection |
This program was created in 1946 and its purpose is to
plan, design, and construct projects to protect public
facilities and services from stream bank and shoreline
erosion. |
|
Environmental Dredging |
This environmental cleanup program was created in 1990.
The program's purpose is to assist in the planning, design,
and construction of projects to remove contaminated sediments
from areas outside federal navigation channels. |
|
Environmental Improvements |
The purpose of this restoration program, which was started
in 1986, is to plan, design, and construct projects to
restore and enhance aquatic ecosystems at sites impacted
by Corps projects. |
|
Flood Plain Management Services |
Created in 1960, this program provides flood plain information
and technical assistance to states and local communities. |
|
Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration |
The purpose of this fiscal year 2000 program, which began
in 2002, is to plan, design, and construct projects to
restore Great Lakes fisheries and their beneficial uses. |
Yes |
Great Lakes Remedial Action Plans and Sediment
Remediation |
This program was started in 1990 to plan, design, and
construct research demonstration projects of promising
technologies for contaminated sediment remediation. |
Yes |
Great Lakes Remedial Action Plans and Sediment
Remediation Support |
This program, which was authorized in 1990, is designed
to provide technical support focused on the development
and implementation of remedial action plans to clean up
the Great Lakes' areas of concern. |
Yes |
Great Lakes Tributary Models
|
This program was created in 1996. Its purpose is to develop
computer models of sediment loading and transport to Great
Lakes tributaries to support state and local conservation
and pollution prevention activities. |
Yes |
Planning Assistance to States |
This program was created in 1974, and its purpose is to
provide staff and financial assistance to states in planning
for the use, development, and conservation of water resources. |
|
Shore Protection |
The purpose of this restoration program, created in 1962,
is to plan, design, and construct projects to restore
and protect shores against waves and currents. |
|
Small Flood Control Projects |
This program, which was created in 1948, funds activities
related to the planning, design, and construction of projects
to reduce flood damages. |
|
Small Navigation Projects |
Created in 1960, the purpose of this program is to plan,
design, and construct projects to improve navigation. |
|
Tribal Partnership Program |
This program was started in 2000, and it seeks to provide
tribal groups with assistance in planning for the use,
development, and conservation of water resources. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department of Agriculture-Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) |
Agricultural Research Service Research Units |
This research and pollution prevention program started
in 1990 to develop agricultural best management practices,
including water management strategies for corn and soybean
production systems, and to assess the impact of these
practices on field, farm, and watershed scales. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department
of Agriculture-Cooperative State Research, Education,
and Extension Service (CSREES) |
Hatch Act Research Program |
This research program was started in the late 1800s to
promote efficient production, marketing, distribution,
and utilization of crops and livestock essential to the
food supply and health and welfare of the American people,
while conserving resources and improving rural living
conditions. |
|
Integrated Activities Program |
This program supports integrated research, education,
and extension on critical agricultural issues. Program
activities began in 2000. |
|
McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research
Program |
Forestry Research Program The purpose of the program,
which began in 1962, is to support research essential
to the efficient and effective use of the nation's forest
resources. |
|
National Research Initiative Program |
This program provides support for research with the greatest
potential of expanding the knowledge base needed to solve
current problems and unforeseen issues involving the future
agricultural and forestry enterprise. The program was
created in 1965 and activities began in 1991. |
|
Small Business Innovation Research Program |
Research Program The purpose of this program, which began
in 1986, is to strengthen the role
of small, innovative firms in federally funded research
and development activities. |
|
Special Research Grants Program |
This program was created in 1965 to fund research on problems
of national, regional, and local interest that fall beyond
the normal emphasis of the formula programs. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department
of Agriculture-Farm Services Agency (FSA) |
Conservation Reserve Program |
This voluntary restoration and conservation program for
agricultural landowners was created in 1985. Through this
program, landowners receive annual rental payments and
cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource
conserving vegetative covers on eligible farmland. |
|
Emergency Conservation Program |
This program provides emergency funding for farmers and
ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by wind erosion,
floods, hurricanes, or other natural disasters and for
carrying out emergency water conservation measures during
periods of severe drought. This restoration program began
in 1978. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department of
Agriculture-Forest Service (FS) |
Atmospheric Ecosystem Interactions at Multiple
Scales |
This research program, which began in 1996, focuses on
air quality in the western Great Lakes. The program examines
factors that impact summertime surface ozone pollution
patterns and activities, including
observing smoke trajectories from prescribed and wildland
fires. |
|
Cooperative Forestry |
Originally created in the 1930s, the current program started
in 1978 to address watershed health and water quality
activities on nonfederal forest lands. It provides restoration
and management assistance activities, including cooperative
federal, state, and local forest stewardship; prevention
and control of insects and diseases; and improvement of
fish
and wildlife habitat. |
|
Forest Health Management |
This program was created in1947, with current program
activities having begun in 1978 as a coordinated effort
among federal, state, and local entities for the management
of forest health on nonfederal forested lands. The program
funds activities to sustain healthy forest conditions. |
|
Recreation, Heritage, and Wilderness Management |
The purpose of this program, which dates back to the 1930s,
is to connect people to the land by providing recreational
settings and services. |
|
Soil, Water, and Air Management |
This program funds activitie related to the management
of water, soil, and air resources for public use, including
the inventory, assessment, and monitoring of these resources.
It is classified as a cleanup, restoration, and pollution
prevention program. |
|
Watershed, Lake, Riparian and Stream Analysis,
and Restoration |
Stream Analysis, and Restoration This research and restoration
program, which started in 2000, studies watershed and
stream processes from relatively undisturbed systems to
highly degraded systems. It develops technologies to restore
these systems and tests them in rural forested and urban
landscapes. |
|
Wildland Fire Management |
Originally created in the 1920s, the purpose of the current
program is to protect state and private lands from wildland
fires by providing protection and management assistance. |
|
Wildlife, Fish, and Rare Plants Resource
Management |
This program, which began in the 1930s, funds activities
related to cleanup, restoration, pollution prevention,
and habitat improvement. The program's goal is to maintain
diverse and productive wildlife, fish, and sensitive plant
habitats as an integral part of managing national forest
ecosystems. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department of
Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) |
Environmental Quality Incentives Program |
The purpose of this program, created in 1985, is to provide
technical, educational, and financial assistance to eligible
farmers and ranchers to address soil, water, and related
natural resource concerns on their lands in an environmentally
beneficial and cost-effective manner. It funds pollution
prevention, soil and water conservation, and water quality
improvement activities. |
|
Farmland Protection Program |
This program, which began in 1996, provides matching funds
to help purchase development rights to keep productive
farm and ranch land in agricultural uses. The Department
of Agriculture provides up to 50 percent of the fair market
easement value. |
|
Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion
Sediment Control |
Originally authorized in 1936, the program, as amended,
funds pollution prevention projects that improve Great
Lakes water quality by promoting soil erosion and sediment
control through information and education programs, grants,
technical assistance, and coalition building. |
Yes |
National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) |
This program is a partnership of federal land management
agencies, state agricultural experiment stations, and
state and local units of government that provides soil
survey information necessary for understanding, managing,
conserving, and sustaining the nation's limited soil resources.
It dates back to 1935. |
|
Plant Materials for Conservation/Plant Materials |
The purpose of this program, which began in 1937, is to
use native plants to solve natural resource problems.
Scientists search for plants that meet an identified conservation
need, such as wetland restoration, and test their performance.
Once proven, new species are released to the private sector
for commercial production. |
|
Resource Conservation and Development |
This program, which started in 1962, encourages and improves
the capability of state and local units of government
and local nonprofit organizations in rural areas to plan,
develop, and carry out programs for resource conservation
and development. Program activities include cleanup, restoration,
pollution prevention, coordination, and conservation
technical services. |
|
River Basin Studies, Watershed Surveys and
Planning, and Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention |
This mid-1940s program was created to provide planning
assistance to federal, state, and local agencies for developing
and coordinating water and related land resources programs
in watershed and river basins. Program activities include
restoration, pollution prevention, and financial and technical
assistance for watershed protection and flood
prevention. |
|
Soil and Water Conservation/Conservation
Technical Assistance |
This program provides voluntary conservation technical
assistance to land users, communities, units of state
and local governments, and other federal agencies in planning
and implementing conservation systems. It began in 1935,
and it addresses natural resource issues, such as erosion,
fish and wildlife habitat, and air quality. Its activities
relate to cleanup, pollution prevention, restoration,
and technical assistance. |
|
Wetland Reserve Program |
This voluntary program provides landowners with financial
and technical assistance to restore and protect wetlands.
It began in 1985, and it funds cleanup, restoration, and
pollution prevention activities. |
|
Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program |
This is a voluntary restoration program for the development
and improvement of wildlife habitat, primarily on private
lands. It provides technical assistance and up to 75 percent
cost-share assistance to establish and improve fish and
wildlife habitat. The program began in 1998. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department
of Commerce-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) |
Coastal Mapping/Mapping and Charting Program |
This program is part of the National Geodetic Survey.
The primary mission of this program is to define the shoreline
for nautical charts. |
|
Coastal Remote Sensing, Coastal Change and
Analysis Program |
The goal of this program, which started in 2001, is to
develop and distribute data in the coastal zone through
remote sensing technology. The Great Lakes are the current
focus of this program. |
|
Coastal Zone Management Program |
This program began in 1972. It is a federal-state partnership
that provides a basis for protecting, restoring, and responsibly
developing the nation's important and diverse coastal
communities and resources. The program includes encouraging
and assisting states in the wise use of land and water,
and encouraging the participation and cooperation of all
government sectors with programs affecting the coast. |
|
Episodic Events, Great Lakes Experiment |
This research program began in 1997 to create a modeling
program for seasonal sediment resuspension. It assesses
the (1) impact on transporting and the transformation
of chemically important materials and (2) effect on Lake
Michigan ecology. |
Yes |
Geodesy Program |
This program, managed by the National Geodetic Survey,
monitors crustal motion in the Great Lakes by measuring
latitudes, longitudes, and elevations at 16 water level
stations. This information provides better knowledge about
flooding and drainage scenarios in the region. |
|
Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory |
This program was established in 1970 and established the
Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory to conduct
physical, chemical, and environmental modeling research
and to provide scientific expertise and services to manage
and protect ecosystems. |
Yes |
Great Lakes Restoration Project |
Originated from a 2001 federal appropriation to acquire
and restore critical habitat, implement storm water controls,
and clean contaminated sites along the five Great Lakes.
The eight participating states were required to provide
matching monies. |
Yes |
Landscape Characterization and Restoration
Program |
This restoration program, which began in 1997, helps coastal
resource managers examine the effects of management on
coastal habitat through habitat restoration planning activities
and ecosystem studies. |
|
National Estuarine Research Reserve System
(NERRS) |
NERRS is a network of protected areas established to promote
informed management of the nation's coastal and estuarine
habitats. This statefederal partnership accomplishes this
through linked programs of scientific understanding, education,
and stewardship. This research program began in 1972. |
|
National Sea Grant College Program |
The purpose of this research program, which began in 1968,
is to support education and research in the various fields
relating to the development of marine resources. All Great
Lakes states, except Pennsylvania, have a Sea Grant College. |
|
National Status and Trends Mussel Water Project |
This program is a contaminant-monitoring program for U.S.
coastal waters. It collects samples from some 300 sites
in the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto
Rico, and the Great Lakes. Samples are analyzed for a
broad suite of contaminants, including toxic elements,
pesticides, industrial chemicals, and hydrocarbons. This
pollution prevention program began nationwide in 1986,
with monitoring in the Great Lakes beginning in 1992. |
|
National Weather Service (NWS) |
This program, which dates back to the 1890s, provides
water, hydrologic, and climate warnings for the United
States and its adjacent waters. Ten NWS Great Lakes forecast
offices provide users with continuous real-time data and
forecasts. NWS also operates the Environmental Modeling
Center, which produces numerical weather prediction models
that are transmitted to these forecast offices, and the
National Data Buoy Center, which manages an observational
network. |
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Office of Response and Restoration - Coastal
Protection and Restoration Division |
This division has undertaken, in coordination with cleanup
and trustee agencies, environmental assessment, pollution
prevention, cleanup, mitigation, and restoration activities
to protect and restore coastal habitats and resources
at hazardous waste sites nationwide since 1985 (in the
Great Lakes since 1993). |
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Office of Response and Restoration - Damage
Assessment Center |
The Damage Assessment Center, which started in 1990, conducts
natural resources damage assessments to restore coastal
resources injured by oil and hazardous material releases.
The center conducts cleanup, restoration, and pollution
prevention activities. |
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Office of Response and Restoration - Hazardous
Materials (HAZMAT) |
This program, which started in 1987, conducts activities
to reduce risks to coastal habitats and resources from
oil and chemical spills by providing advice and developing
tools to aid in spill response. HAZMAT undertakes cleanup,
restoration, and pollution prevention activities. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department of Health and Human Services-Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |
Great Lakes Human Health Effects Research
Program |
This is a community-based research program that began
in 1992, with emphasis on public health education and
intervention strategies. Its goal is to prohibit exposure
to toxic chemicals and prevent adverse health outcomes
in citizens of the Great Lakes. |
Yes |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department of Homeland Security-Coast
Guard |
National Invasive Species Act/Ballast Water
Program |
Under this program, the Secretary of Transportation issues
national guidelines to prevent the introduction of aquatic
nuisance species into U.S. waters by ships. |
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Oil Spill Removal Organization Program |
This is a voluntary pollution prevention program created
by the Coast Guard to assist facility and vessel responders
in writing their oil spill response plans. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department of
Interior-Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) |
1836 Fisheries Treaty - Implementation of
the August 7, 2000 Consent Decree |
This program was mandated in 2000 by a Federal District
Court decree. It requires FWS to increase lake trout stocking
for restoration programs and to evaluate factors impeding
lake trout restoration. It also provides technical assistance
to five Native American tribes in the Chippewa-Ottawa
Resource Authority, the State of Michigan, and selected
federal agencies involved with managing sport and commercial
fisheries in certain areas of Lakes. |
Yes |
Aquatic Nuisance Species Regional Coordination
and Technical Assistance |
This program provides regional aquatic nuisance species
coordination and technical assistance to the Fisheries
Program of FWS's Northeast Region. Activities support
regional prevention and control of aquatic nuisance species
introductions and range expansions. |
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Aquatic Nuisance Species Surveillance and
Control |
This program was started in 1991 to prevent and control
infestations in the coastal and inland waters of the United
States by the zebra mussel and other nonindigenous aquatic
nuisance species. Its activities include research, prevention
of species introductions, control of introduced species,
and mitigation of impacts to native fish and wildlife
resources. |
|
Blue Pike Activities in the Great Lakes |
This is a research program that was started in 1993 to
establish the scientific relationships among the original
Lake Erie blue pike, the recently caught "blue walleyes,"
and other closely related species using genetic analysis
of their DNA. |
Yes |
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge |
Established by Public Law in 2001, the Detroit River International
Refuge is the first international refuge in North America.
The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge will conserve,
protect and restore habitat of waterfowl, fish and migratory
birds. The authorized Refuge boundary includes islands,
coastal wetlands, marshes, shoals and riverfront lands.
It is one of only a few refuges situated in a major metropolitan
area. |
Yes |
Ecosystem Management in the Lower Great Lakes |
This program was created in 1990 to develop and adopt
aquatic community and habitat goals and objectives. It
also develops and conducts comprehensive and standardized
ecological monitoring to support ecosystem management. |
Yes |
Endangered Species Program |
This conservation and restoration program was created
in 1973 to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon
which endangered species and threatened species depend
may be conserved and to provide for the conservation of
such endangered and threatened species. |
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Evaluation and Restoration of Great Lakes
Estuaries and Tributaries |
The purpose of this program, which began in 1992, is to
identify, inventory, protect, and rehabilitate significant
aquatic habitats, including those used by fish and wildlife
for spawning, breeding, nesting, rearing, and feeding. |
Yes |
Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance -
Great Lakes Operations |
This program, dating back to 1972, aids in conservation
of native fish and wildlife species and their habitats.
It provides support for the management of interjurisdictional
fisheries, aids in restoration of depleted fish populations
to preclude listing as endangered species, and provides
technical assistance to state and tribal fish and wildlife
management agencies to fulfill federal trust responsibilities.
The program funds research, restoration, and technical
assistance activities. |
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Great Lakes Coastal Program |
This program, which began in 2000, funds projects that
seek to protect and restore Great Lakes coastal ecosystems
for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and people. Its goals
are to identify and prioritize coastal habitats and conduct
research to evaluate ecosystem health, identify threats,
and lend biological focus to the planning processes of
other agencies. |
Yes |
Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration
Act |
Since 1991, this program has developed and implemented
proposals for restoration of fish and wildlife resources
in the Great Lakes Basin. It has provided assistance to
the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, states, Indian tribes,
and others to encourage cooperative conservation, restoration,
and management of the fish and wildlife resources and
their habitats. |
Yes |
Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon Rehabilitation
Program |
This program started in 1993, and it funds projects that
seek to conserve, rehabilitate, and reestablish self-sustaining
populations of lake sturgeon to levels that permit delisting
from state and federal endangered species lists. Objectives
include identification and restoration of critical habitat
and public education. |
Yes |
La Crosse Fish Health Center |
This center, which began operating in 1962, provides fish
health inspection services to six national and four tribal
fish hatcheries to minimize the risk of introducing disease
agents into the wild. This program assists state research
facilities and private fish hatcheries in diagnosing and
controlling infectious disease agents and provides technical
assistance regarding fish health and propagation. |
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Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Reintroduction
Program |
This research program was started in 1993 to determine
the feasibility of re-introducing/restoring Atlantic salmon
to the Lake Ontario watershed. |
Yes |
Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River American
Eel Restoration Program |
This research program, which started in 1997, provides
research funds to protect and enhance the abundance of
American eel populations in the Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence
River watershed. |
Yes |
Lower Great Lakes Lake Trout Restoration
Program |
The purpose of this program is to rehabilitate the lake
trout population of Lakes Erie and Ontario so the new
population can become self-sustaining through natural
reproduction and produce a harvestable annual surplus.
Program activities began in the late 1970s. |
Yes |
Lower Great Lakes Ruffe Surveillance Program |
This 1993 program provides funding for surveillance of
invasive species to ensure prompt detection of new populations
of ruffe and monitor or track expansions of already existing
populations. |
Yes |
National Fish Hatchery System - Great Lakes
Operations |
This 1993 program provides funding for surveillance of
invasive species to ensure prompt detection of new populations
of ruffe and monitor or track expansions of already existing
populations. |
Yes |
National Fish Passage Program |
This program restores native fish and other aquatic species
to selfsustaining levels. Generally, this restoration
is done by removing barriers to fish movement or providing
ways for aquatic species to bypass them. The program works
on a voluntary basis with federal, state, local, and tribal
agencies, as well as private partners and stakeholders.
This restoration program's activities began in 1999. |
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Natural Resource Damage Assessment Program |
This program's goal is to restore, replace, rehabilitate,
or acquire the equivalent of natural resources injured
or lost as a result of contamination by oil or hazardous
substances. This cleanup and restoration program began
in 1981. |
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New York Aquatic Resource Management |
The focus of this program is natural resource assessment
and management planning on military installations. Specifically,
the goal of this program is to determine the presence
or absence of threatened or endangered species of state
or national concern and to prepare a comprehensive natural
resource management plan for the Seneca Army Depot and
Fort Drum, both of which lie within the Great Lakes Basin. |
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New York Natural Resource Management Program |
The primary focus of this program is natural resource
assessment and planning on military installations. Activities
under this program include conducting a natural resource
community survey for the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station,
conducting additional surveys as needed, and preparing
and implementing management plans to protect the natural
resources. Program activities began in 1998. |
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New York State Canal System Aquatic Nuisance
Species Program |
This is a multifaceted program started in 1998. It includes
various components to address aquatic invasive species
issues within the Canal system. It seeks to work with
partner agencies to detect, monitor, and manage populations
of aquatic invasive species inhabiting or transiting the
Canal and implement prevention strategies as appropriate. |
Yes |
Partners for Fish and Wildlife (Private Lands
Program) |
This is a voluntary habitat restoration program that provides
restoration expertise and financial assistance to private
landowners, tribes, and other conservation partners who
voluntarily restore fish and wildlife habitat on their
properties. The program targets restoring habitat for
migratory birds, interjurisdictional fish, and threatened
or endangered species on private land. Program activities
began in 1987. |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department of Interior-National Park Service
(NPS) |
Midwest Region - Great Lakes Strategic Plan
Activities |
The purpose of this 1993-initiated program is to foster
research cooperation among state and federal agencies
involved with natural resource issues of mutual interest.
These issues include aquatic exotic species, such as the
sea lamprey, shoreline stabilization and monitoring, bald
eagle monitoring, near shore fisheries, beach nourishment
and fecal coliform issues, air quality, and cultural resource
issues. |
Yes |
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Department |
Program |
Purpose |
Specific to the Great Lakes?
(blank = "no") |
Department of
Interior-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) |
Biological Information Management Delivery |
This research program has two primary areas relevant to
the Great Lakes Basin: the National Biological Information
Infrastructure (NBII) and the Gap Analysis Program (GAP).
NBII was created in 1993 and provides increased access
to data and information on biological resources. The GAP
provides broad geographic information on biological diversity
that planners, managers, and policy makers need to make
informed decisions. In addition, the program provides
support for Great Lakes research, primarily at the USGS
Great Lakes Science Center. |
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Biological Research and Monitoring |
This research program, dating back to 1927, funds biological
studies to develop new methods and techniques to identify,
observe, and manage fish and wildlife. Studies are designed
to identify, understand, and control invasive species
and their habitats; inventory populations of animals,
plants, and their habitats; and monitor changes in abundance,
distribution, and health of biological resources through
time and determine the causes of the changes. |
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Coastal and Marine Geology |
The program provides scientific information needed to
evaluate the origin and impact of natural coastal processes,
especially understanding the effect of human-induced changes.
This program has been providing information and products
to guide the preservation and sustainable development
of the nation's marine and coastal environments since
1994. |
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Cooperative Research Units Program |
This program, created in 1935, establishes and maintains
cooperative partnerships with states and universities
to address local, state, regional, national and international
issues related to fish, wildlife, and natural resources
of concern. The activities of the program are research,
technical assistance, and student education. |
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Cooperative Topographic Mapping (CTM) Program |
This research program provides data that locates and describes
the features of the earth's surface. The program provides
support for the National Map by continuing to maintain
basic data for the United States and its territories. |
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Cooperative Water Program |
This is an ongoing partnership between USGS and nonfederal
agencies. The program jointly funds water resources projects
in every state, Puerto Rico, and several U.S. Trust territories.
Research, data collection, assessment, and aerial appraisal
activities are conducted through this program. |
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Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program |
This program studies and addresses natural and human-induced
changes on the landscape. It encompasses global change
research, integrates natural hazard data layers, delivers
landscape information, and provides computer support. |
|
Land Remote Sensing Program |
This program, initiated in the 1930s, promotes the use
of remote sensing for understanding the earth's land environment
through photography and other imagery from aircraft, as
well as satellites. |
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Mineral Resources Program |
This program, created in 1879, provides scientific information
for resource assessments and research results of mineral
potential, production, consumption, and environmental
behavior. This information is used to characterize the
life cycles of mineral commodities from deposit formation,
exploration, and discovery through production, use, reuse,
and disposal. |
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National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program |
This program was established in 1992 to implement and
coordinate an expanded geologic mapping effort by USGS,
the state geological surveys, and universities. The primary
goal of the program is to collect, process, analyze, translate,
and disseminate earth-science information through geologic
maps. |
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National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA)
Program |
The long-term mission and goals of the NAWQA program,
which began in 1991, are to provide long-term, nationwide
information on the quality of streams, groundwater, and
aquatic ecosystems. NAWQA's goals are to assess the status
and trends of national water quality and to understand
the factors that affect it. |
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National Water Use Information Program |
This program was created in 1979 to collect, store, analyze,
and disseminate water-use information, both nationally
and locally, to a wide variety of government agencies
and private organizations. It is a cooperative program
that includes state and local government entities. |
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USGS Ground-Water Resources Program |
This program encompasses regional studies of groundwater
systems; provides multidisciplinary studies of critical
groundwater issues; provides access to groundwater data,
and research and methods development. It also provides
scientific information and many of the tools that are
used by federal, state, and local management and regulatory
agencies to make important decisions about the nation's
groundwater resources. It was created in 1995. |
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USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program |
This program was created in 1982 to provide scientific
information and tools that explain the occurrence, behavior,
and effects of toxic substances in the nation's hydrologic
environments. Program results support decision making
by resource managers, regulators, industry, and the public.
Work is performed by USGS scientists who collaborate with
a wide range of federal and nonfederal organizations and
individuals. |
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Water Resource Research Act Programs |
This program, dating back to 1964, provides an institutional
mechanism for promoting state, regional, and national
coordination of water resources, research, and training.
It comprises a network of institutes to facilitate research
and information technology transfer. With its matching
requirements, it is also a mechanism for promoting state
investments in research and training. |
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Earth Surface Dynamics Program - Central
Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Coalition |
This 1998 initiated research program provides scientific
information to evaluate natural coastal processes and
understand human-induced changes. It develops predictive
models of natural systems and the effects of human activities
on them, and the capability to predict future changes.
Program data is used to guide the preservation and sustainable
development of the nation's marine and coastal environments. |
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