None The Nature Conservancy in the Great Lakes Region Press Releases Search All Press Releases Chris Anderson Email: canderson@tnc.org Phone:(312) 759-8017 ext. 30 Cell: (312) 218-0186

Great Lakes Interagency Task Force created

Regional Cooperation to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes Ecosystem ordered by the President 

Chicago, IL – President Bush today established by executive order the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, chaired by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Mike Leavitt, which will coordinate 140 federal Great Lakes programs that fund and implement environmental restoration and management within the Great Lakes Basin. The order calls for collaboration of the Great Lakes States, tribal governments and local communities, and cooperation with Canada and its provinces in addressing Great Lakes natural resource issues. Mandated are outcome-based goals for the Great Lakes system including “cleaner water, sustainable fisheries and biodiversity.”

According to John Andersen, director of the Great Lakes Program of The Nature Conservancy, cooperation and sharing of information and resources are required at all levels of government, industry and academia, and from the public and the private sectors if we are to protect the Great Lakes. “We commend the President for his acknowledgment of the importance of this natural resource to the human population, to the environmental health of the region, and to the economic health of the Great Lakes States and Canada. We look for a wise investment at a commensurate level,” he said.

“This national treasure holds 20 percent of the world’s fresh water” Andersen continues, “there is a great need for a coordinated and decisive response to the threats to the Great Lakes including invasive species, altered hydrology, habitat destruction and pollution.”  For more than 50 years the Conservancy has worked with state and federal governments, local and Canadian partners, sharing scientific research and planning to protect and restore priority sites using innovative approaches. “We look forward to working with the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, sharing our experiences in working with partners within the Great Lakes Basin to protect this critical ecosystem for future generations,” he said.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, non-profit organization that preserves the plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit us on the Web at nature.org.