A forested coastline along a large lake.

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Updated July 30, 2026

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative's Impact

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a driver for environmental action in the Great Lakes Basin, building upon strategic recommendations presented in the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy of 2005. The initiative is a collaborative effort of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and 15 other federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to address the most significant environmental concerns of the Great Lakes. The importance of the Great Lakes is evident when we look at the numbers:

35 million people in the Great Lakes Basin rely on this important resource for drinking water, transportation, power and recreational opportunities.
10,000 miles of coastline (more than 4,500 miles in the U.S.) and 30,000 islands.
95% of surface water in the U.S. and the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth.

Initiative funding has enabled the Service and our partners to:

Restore, protect, and enhance more than 80,000 acres of coastal wetland and other habitats.
Reopen more than 1,000 miles of Great Lakes tributaries.
Implement projects on more than 11,500 acres of land and water to help control invasive species .

Focus Areas

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a collaborative effort to address the most significant environmental concerns of the Great Lakes. Through an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has allocated funding for projects in the following focus areas.