April 7, 2014 The Honourable Greg Selinger Premier of Manitoba The Honourable Gordon Mackintosh Manitoba Minister of Conservation

and Water Stewardship

Dear Premier Selinger and Minister Mackintosh, We were thrilled to learn last week that negotiations were finalized to transfer the Experimental Lakes Area research centre to Winnipegs International Institute for Sustainable Development. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Government of Manitoba for its support of the Experimental Lakes Area. We understand the Government of Manitoba will be providing close to $1 million over the next six years to the IISD to fund the ELA. We applaud this commitment, and thank you for making this wise investment to make Winnipeg the home base for a world-class freshwater science program that will help secure the future health of Canadas freshwater and fisheries. Manitobans are very fortunate to have within their province one of the worlds great lakes Lake Winnipeg. With this blessing comes a responsibility to be a good steward of freshwater. Your commitment to the ELA sends a strong message that the Government of Manitoba takes this responsibility seriously and is supporting the best freshwater science to guide its policy decisions. Yours sincerely, Jules Blais, William Donahue, Britt Hall, Carol Kelly, Karen Kidd, Peter Kirby, Diane Orihel, John Shearer, John Smol, Heidi Swanson, Jason Venkiteswaran, Coalition to Save ELA Coalition to Save ELA publicly thanks its supporters: http://saveela.org/thank-you/