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INTRODUCTION
This is the sixth Biennial Progress Report to theInternational Joint Commission (IJC), Congress,and the citizens of the Great Lakes Basin onactions taken by the United States (U.S.) toprotect and restore the Great Lakes ecosystem.This report reviews some principal challengesfacing the ecosystem; outlines approaches takenby Basin stakeholders to address thesechallenges; highlights some historic and recentactions by Federal, State, and Tribal agencies,as well as their non-governmental partners, toimplement these approaches; and outlines futureactivities on behalf of the Great Lakes.Formed by the melting and retreat of mile-thickglaciers 10 to 12 thousand years ago, the GreatLakes system is, byarea, the world’slargest body of sur-face freshwater.The deep network of 5 lakes containnearly 20 percent of the world’s freshwa-ter, representing 95percent of the sur-face freshwater of the U.S. If the GreatLakes’
6 quadrilliongallons of water 
waspoured over theland-mass of thecontinental U.S., theentire landmass of the lower 48 Stateswould be covered toa depth of almost 10 feet.
The Great Lakes Program
Innovative partnerships, projects, and researchare the norms in the Great Lakes. We are workingsmarter and more efficiently to deliver on thepromises made under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Agreement) via the LakewideManagement Plan (LaMP), remedial action plan(RAP), and other Agreement programs. Newchallenges and opportunities will continue topresent themselves as the U.S. Great LakesProgram continues to make steady progresstoward improving the Great Lakes ecosystem for all of its inhabitants. Environmental protection andnatural resource agencies are working together in pursuit of the common goals of reducing thelevels of toxic contaminants in the environment,protecting and restoring vital habitats, andprotecting the health of the ecosystem’s livingresources. These goals drive the majority of actions highlighted in this report.
Integrating the Ecosystem Management  Approach Across the Basin
The Great Lakes Program is a nested structure of activities, managed and implemented by analliance of Federal, State, Tribal, and nongovern-mental agencies.This nested struc-ture is meant toparallel the naturalboundaries found inthe Great Lakesecosystem: fromlocal landscapes tosubwatersheds toindividual lake ba-sins to the entireGreat Lakes Basinand beyond. Placesare stressed over programs, with en-vironmental andnatural resourceprograms appliedalong naturally-occurring bordersinstead of jurisdictional boundaries. And becausethe inter-actions between ecosystem levels arevery complex, the structure of the program isintended to be flexible in order to respond to theevolving needs of the ecosystem.The goal of these various programs and efforts isto achieve significant environmentalimprovements through the implementation of amultimedia, ecosystem-based approach in theGreat Lakes. This management structure must
Figure 1. The Great Lakes region encompasses parts of eight statesand the Province of Ontario.
N
MinnesotaWisconsinPennsylvaniaOhioIndianaIllinoisNew YorkMichiganMichigan
The Great Lakes Region
Ontario
 
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Figure 2. There are 42 AOCs; 26 in the U.S., 11 in Canada,and 5 located binationally.
foster cross-program and cross-agencyintegration at a variety of scales: from the locallevel to issues of lakewide and basinwideconcern.
 A Strong Foundation: Local Planningand Implementation
 Any structure must have a strong foundation. Thefoundation for the Great Lakes Program resideswith the many sub-lake basin, geographicallyfocused efforts, including RAPs, throughout thebasin, and special geographic initiatives inChicago, Northwest Indiana, Southeast Michigan,Northeast Ohio, and the Niagara River frontier.RAPs are developed and implemented throughan ecosystem-based, multimedia approach for assessing and remediating impaired uses. RAPsprovide a process for individuals, organizations,and local governments to become activelyinvolved in restoring their part of the Great Lakesecosystems. States approach RAPs in differentways. Some have a “hands-on” style of involvement in the process, while others delegatemuch of the decision-making to local groups or agencies within the area of concern (AOC).These approaches are complemented by Federaland State technical and financial support andwhere necessary, the application of Federal and Statestatutes and authorities. It is important to note thatsolutions for problems in AOCs and other local,geographically-focused efforts do not fall into the “onesize fits all” category. Each of these areas have a uniqueblend of circumstances and solutions based upon thecomplexities of the issues that are being addressed.
Managing Activities on a Lakewide Scale
While the RAPs and other sub-basin processes arecrucial for restoring the ecosystems in the AOCs andother localized areas, the beneficial effects of theseefforts extend well beyond their boundaries. Remedyingproblems at these levels provide lakewide benefits byreducing pollutant loadings and protecting vital habitats.Integrating the activities of all the sub-basin projects ona given lake, where necessary, falls under the LaMPprograms, comprised of representatives of Federal,State, Provincial, Tribal, and non-governmentalorganizations, including public forums. A LaMP, and indeed the entire LaMP process, is a multi-faceted undertaking that requires close integration of all parties involved to make the best use of resourcesand to deliver environmental protection, restoration, andremediation programs most effectively. They representa marked increase in scale and complexity for implementing ecosystem management. The goal of aLaMP is to restore and protect beneficial uses in theopen waters of a given Great Lake fromboth existing and potential impairments.They serve as the platforms for addressing a variety of ecosystemstressors, such as critical pollutants,habitat loss, nutrient loadings, andinvasive species, which are impacting,or have the potential to impact, beneficialuses. In addition to the work being doneon four of the Great Lakes, there is nowa Lake Huron Initiative. There is a strongeffort being led by the MichiganDepartment of Environmental Quality(DEQ) in conjunction with the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)and a variety of other partners to ensurethat the Lake Huron Basin is fullyprotected. A management plan has beendeveloped and a suite of actionsformulated for Lake Huron.
 
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Status of Areas of Concern (AOCs)
Table 1. Status of 31 U.S. and Binational AOCs as of June 1999.Please note: The state of Michigan no longer uses a staged approach to AOCs. In addition, the Fox River RAP wasaccepted by the IJC as both a Stage 1 and a partial Stage 2 when it was submitted.
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