Restoring the Great Lakes: Success Stories from the 2012 Field Season

Now in its third year, the Great Lake Restoration Initiative continues to fund priority research and restoration throughout the Great Lakes basin. As we tighten our budgets in a tough economic climate, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative ensures that our dedicated staff and our project partners have the resources they need to bring positive environmental change to the Great Lakes. Their hard work is needed now more than ever. In addition to 37 million people, the Great Lakes are also home to over 30 Areas of Concern. An AOC is a geographic area that is so polluted that it threatens aquatic life and potentially jeopardizes human health. With the largest group of freshwater lakes on the planet in jeopardy, the time has come to roll up our sleeves and get to work making the Great Lakes cleaner and safer.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proud to be a federal partner in the implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and we are excited to share with you our success stories from the 2012 field season. Through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Service received more than $43.5 million in funding to reduce toxic substances, restore critical habitat, protect wildlife and prevent the movement of invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species into and throughout the Great Lakes. In our third edition of Restoring the Great Lakes we present only a sampling of the amazing work our staff, field teams and project partners have accomplished with support from Great Lakes Restoration Initiative dollars.

From the small darting figure of the piping plover on the beach to the shadowy form of the mighty lake sturgeon under your boat, you may be surprised to learn how the work of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes basin is all around you. If the stories within this book spark your curiosity, we invite you out to our national wildlife refuges and national fish hatcheries to learn more not only about the fish and wildlife of the Great Lakes, but also the people who depend on this resource as a source of income and way of life. We are already planning our 2013 field season and we look forward to sharing our ongoing Great Lakes Restoration Initiative accomplishments.