The 2019 State of the Great Lakes (SOGL) report recently released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), outlines the status and trends of the Great Lakes.
This report shows that invasive species and excess nutrients continue to undermine ecosystem health. These status reports directly inform state and federal policies toward the Great Lakes.
Andrew Wheeler, EPA Administrator
Overall, Great Lakes water quality is assessed as “fair and unchanging” with a successful reduction of toxic chemicals reported. However, concerns about the “invasive species and excess nutrients” that contribute to toxic and nuisance algae, are highlighted in the report.
Among the indicators of ecosystem health are beach closures, fish consumption and drinking water. Extensive factors are objectively assessed by over 180 government and non-government Great Lakes scientists and other experts.
EPA and the other federal agencies use Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funds to strategically target the biggest threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem — including those identified in the SOGL report.
You can review the full 2019 State of the Great Lakes report.
Special thanks to BoatingIndustry.com for information in this article. Some photos are courtesy Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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