Final notice for June 17-18 Lake St. Clair conference

[Wirick.Holiday@epamail.epa.gov]

----- Forwarded by Holiday Wirick/R5/USEPA/US on 06/12/03 08:50 AM -----
                                                                                                            
                      Matt Doss                                                                             
                      <mdoss@glc.org>                                                                       
                      Sent by:                  To:       enviro-mich@great-lakes.net,                      
                      owner-stclair@grea         mich-rap@great-lakes.net, stclair@great-lakes.net, Clinton 
                      t-lakes.net                River List <CRWC@Yahoogroups.com>                          
                                                cc:                                                         
                                                Subject:  Final notice for June 17-18 Lake St. Clair        
                      06/12/03 08:31 AM          conference                                                 
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            




Media Advisory -- Great Lakes Commission

Register by Friday, June 13!
Updated program and registration form available online at
www.glc.org/stclair/heart

"Heart of the Great Lakes" to get a checkup

Ann Arbor, Mich. ? It's often said that Lake St. Clair has been
overlooked when it comes to environmental restoration and protection.
But next week, it's going to get some attention.

A two-day conference,  Lake St. Clair: Restoring the Heart of the Great
Lakes, will focus on the state of the lake and efforts to restore and
protect it. Resource managers, policymakers and interested citizens from
both the U.S. and Canada will take part in the event, to be held June
17-18 at the Thomas Edison Inn in Port Huron, Mich.

Often referred to as the "Heart of the Great Lakes" for its distinctive
shape and location in the center of the Great Lakes system, Lake St.
Clair plays a central role in the lives of area residents and within the
larger Great Lakes system. With uses ranging from fishing to
recreational boating, drinking water to commercial navigation, Lake St.
Clair is the defining natural feature of southeastern Michigan and
southwestern Ontario.

The conference, co-sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), will generate information
and ideas for the development of a comprehensive management plan for
Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. The plan is being coordinated by
the Commission for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"Lake St. Clair is a vital part of the Great Lakes system and we are
pleased to convene this conference and highlight the many important
restoration efforts underway," said Dr. Michael J. Donahue,
president/CEO of the Great Lakes Commission. "The management plan will
provide a roadmap for organizing our efforts to restore and protect Lake
St. Clair. What's critical now is  that the communities around the lake
come together to ensure the plan is fully funded and implemented."

Conference sessions will assess the health of Lake St. Clair and review
management programs for the lake.  Speakers will address the status of
these programs and identify opportunities to increase their
effectiveness in protecting and restoring Lake St. Clair.  The final
session will review opportunities to better organize and coordinate
management efforts for the lake and its watershed.

"We recognize Lake St.  Clair's importance to Michigan residents and are
committed to supporting federal, state and local efforts to address
problems that have impacted the lake in recent years," said Gary
Gulezian, Director of the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.
"Our agency convened the first Lake St. Clair conference in 1999 and
we've continued to focus on the health of the lake since then."

In 2002 U.S. EPA, together with other federal, state and tribal
agencies, released a strategy to guide Great Lakes management efforts.
The strategy identified Lake St. Clair as a special focus area and
called for a locally-driven, binational program to coordinate management
of the lake.

Conference speakers will include Gulezian; Susan Humphrey, restorations
programs manager for Environment Canada; Lt. Col. Thomas Magness,
commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District; and Ken
DeBeaussaert, director of the Michigan's Office of the Great Lakes.
Video statements will be provided by three members of Congress, Sen.
Carl Levin, Rep. Sander Levin and Rep. Candice Miller.

The first annual Heart of the Great Lakes Award will be presented to
John C. Hertel, former chair of the Macomb County Board of
Commissioners, by the Macomb County Water Quality Board at a special
reception Tuesday evening, June 17.

The conference is open to all interested parties. Registration fees will
be waived for members of the media, who are encouraged to attend. For
others, the registration fee of $50 covers Tuesday's lunch and the
evening reception , and all conference materials. Interested individuals
must register by 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 13.

Additional information, including a registration form and updated
program, is available online at www.glc.org/stclair/heart

Contact: Matt Doss, Great Lakes Commission, 734-971-9135, mdoss@glc.org

                                  ###

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by Samuel W. Speck (Ohio), is a
nonpartisan, binational compact agency created by state and U.S. federal
law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and
high quality of life for the Great LakesSt. Lawrence region and its
residents.  The Commission consists of state legislators, agency
officials and governors' appointees from its eight member states.
Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the
signing of a "Declaration of Partnership."  The Commission maintains a
formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies,
tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests.
The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.







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