news

ANN ARBOR, MI - Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) toured the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens to showcase the success of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funds over the years and how the additional $1 billion included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the GLRI will help projects across the Great Lakes Basin for the long-term economic and environmental health of the region.

“Today’s tour was an example of how federal funding for the preservation of natural resources and the Great Lakes is critical to our communities and environment. As someone who grew up on the St. Clair River and with many 12th District residents located along the Detroit River, protecting the Great Lakes and its diverse species is personal to me and to so many who call Michigan home,” said Dingell. “The Great Lakes are a way of life – providing fresh water, fish and wildlife habitat, and countless opportunities for recreation, while supporting our state’s economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs. We’ve seen what happens when we all work together to protect our Great Lakes, and I am grateful to partners like the University of Michigan, Ducks Unlimited, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and Healing Our Waters, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who are so committed to this issue. I’m proud have secured important infrastructure investments to conserve fish and wildlife, combat the threat of invasive species, and protect the Great Lakes for generations to come.”

In 2020, Ducks Unlimited and U.S. Fish and Wildlife collaborate to help the University of Michigan remove invasive species located in their wetlands area through funding from the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act – the GLRI helps to provide supplemental funding for this program. Today’s tour included a walk to the wetlands to see firsthand how these teams used critical federal funds to treat the area for invasive species. The bipartisan infrastructure legislation includes significant investments in key Great Lakes priorities, including $1 billion in funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, $55 billion for drinking water and wastewater projects, $10 billion for action on emerging contaminants such as PFAS, $2.25 billion for port infrastructure development grants, and $1.9 billion for Army Corps of Engineers aquatic restoration projects. Dingell is committed to ensuring projects in Michigan’s 12th District receive GLRI funding from the infrastructure law.

“This partnership has been critically important in helping us to restore a prairie fen, a globally rare wetland that provides habitat for hundreds of wetland plants and animals,” said Michael Kost, Associate Curator, University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. “We are so grateful to Congresswoman Dingell for her leadership in sponsoring legislation to support ecological restoration throughout the Great Lakes Region.”

“Ducks Unlimited applauds Representative Debbie Dingell for being a true conservation champion for our Great Lakes. Wetlands benefit fish, wildlife and residents by reducing flooding risk, improving water quality and boosting the economy. Federal funding and legislature support is crucial for public and private partnerships to restore these habitats,” said Kali Rush, Michigan Regional Biologist, Ducks Unlimited.

“The Great Lakes support a fishery worth $7 billion annually to the people of the region, though the true value of the lakes cannot be quantified,” said Dr. Marc Gaden, Legislative Liaison for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a binational organization established by treaty with Canada. “The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been tremendously beneficial by focusing attention on pollution cleanup, habitat improvements, invasive species prevention, and other measures necessary to sustain these valuable resources. The additional investment through the infrastructure legislation will provide the funds needed to expand and accelerate our collective efforts to achieve the GLRI’s objectives. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell has demonstrated exceptional leadership as co-chair of the bi-partisan Congressional Great Lakes Task Force. The lakes are better because of all she and her colleagues have done to support and advance the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.”

“We thank Rep. Dingell for her long-term support for restoring and protecting the Great Lakes,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “Federal investments to restore the Great Lakes are producing results in Michigan and across the region. But serious threats remain. We look forward to working with Rep. Dingell and the Great Lakes congressional delegation to ensure that the federal investments in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the recent bipartisan infrastructure bill support projects that protect our Great Lakes, our drinking water, our public health, and our quality of life.”

Dingell has long been an advocate for the Great Lakes, introducing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act for another 5 years and consistently leading efforts to increase funding for GLRI as a co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force.

###