WISCONSIN—The Great Lakes contain 95% of the surface fresh water in North America. About 10% of the U.S. population and 30% of the Canadian population drink water from the Great Lakes.

But the Great Lakes are not pristine. After decades of environmental degradation caused by industrial pollution and other factors, stakeholders expressed interest in a shared strategy to improve the effectiveness of their combined cleanup and restoration work, leading Congress to establish the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 2010.

Over the past 13 years, the initiative has funded thousands of restoration and protection projects in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Since the initiative’s inception, the Forest Service’s National Forest System, Northern Research Station and State, Private and Tribal Forestry programs have received over $142 million in initiative funding to reduce polluted runoff from cities and farms, restore fish and wildlife habitat, fight invasive species, and more. The program areas share in the leadership, coordination and implementation of the Forest Service’s Great Lakes restoration efforts.

According to Sadie Stevens, initiative program lead, “Each of our three program areas fulfill an important role in the Forest Service’s GLRI contributions. NFS accomplishes important restoration and habitat improvement work on and adjacent to national forests in the Great Lakes Basin, while SPTF works with our partners to do the same on private lands, and NRS conducts research that helps ensure restoration efforts in the basin are as efficient and effective as possible.”

Erin Barton coordinates the State, Private and Tribal Forestry part of the program. This portion of the program is focused on an annual competitive grant program aimed at state agencies, tribal communities, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and local governments. The grants Barton administers manage non-federal forested lands in the Great Lakes Basin, with focuses on tree planting, invasive species and disease mitigation, habitat restoration, and land acquisition.

“The GLRI program adds value to communities across the basin by helping to restore important Great Lakes ecosystems and addressing community needs,” Barton said. For example, planting trees in urban areas can help improve stormwater management and reduce erosion and flooding, as well as help improve public access to natural resources and engage residents and volunteers in tree care and maintenance activities. Tree planting and pest treatments can also mitigate the negative impacts of invasive insects—such as the emerald ash borer or hemlock wooly adelgid—on urban and rural forest resources.

Within national forests, initiative funds are supporting the removal of barriers to aquatic organism passage, reducing sedimentation in steams, improving habitat for regional forester sensitive and other species, creating pollinator habitat, preventing the spread of invasive species through boat washing stations and more. Tracy Grazia, the National Forest System regional wildlife biologist for the Eastern Region and initiative habitats and species focus area lead explains, “The GLRI program accelerates the scope and scale of terrestrial and aquatic restoration efforts across the national forests and adjacent lands in the Great Lakes Basin and increases the quality habitat for robust populations of fish and wildlife on these lands. Additionally, national forests leverage these GLRI investments through partnerships with nongovernmental organizations, tribes and state and local government to restore healthy and resilient ecosystems while providing recreation opportunities and forest products that benefit the local economies and communities.”

Northern Research Station scientists are leading efforts to find and breed trees with genetic resistance to invasive pests, informing the best ways to mitigate stormwater runoff through tree planting, identifying nutrient pollution hotspots and key trout and salmon habitats for restoration, informing best management practices for forest openings to support pollinator populations, and more.

The Forest Service will continue to make strides toward healthier Great Lakes in the coming years. With 2023 initiative funding, the Forest Service and our partners will control 4,000 acres of invasive species, prevent over 10 million gallons of stormwater runoff from entering waterways, restore or improve over 5,000 acres of habitat, permanently protect 300 more acres, and restore 60 miles of connectivity for aquatic species.