EGLE measures four decades of progress on issues affecting Great Lakes

Note: The following is adapted and updated from articles in the 2024 Michigan State of the Great Lakes Report by Emily Finnell, Great Lakes senior advisor and strategist in EGLE’s Office of the Great Lakes; and by EGLE Great Lakes Coordinators Andrew Bahrou, Bretton Joldersma, Matt Preisser, and Stephanie Swart.

Forty years ago, in 1985, then-Governor James Blanchard created the Office of the Great Lakes (OGL). Since then, Michigan has achieved huge successes through partnerships at all levels to protect, restore, and sustain the Great Lakes – the work of many partners throughout state government and beyond.

Michigan was the second state with an approved aquatic invasive species state management plan. We’re addressing legacy contamination and have so far restored three of Michigan’s 14 Areas of Concern. We’ve passed the Great Lakes Compact, Michigan water withdrawal legislation, and new state investments to improve and advance Michigan’s Water Use Program. We’re improving river and stream water quality, and we’re tackling emerging contaminants including the “forever chemicals” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Looking ahead, a greater focus on contaminated groundwater – including a 2024 OGL-funded Michigan State University study on long-term risks, a new groundwater section in the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), and progress toward a Groundwater Data Management System – will improve future management and decision-making around underground aquifers that many call the sixth Great Lake.

The OGL, within EGLE, will strengthen state leadership through regional forums and support for Governor Gretchen Whitmer as chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers (GSGP). This work helps advance shared goals centered on growing an environmentally focused blue economy and builds upon a long history of regional collaboration to tackle complex problems.

This year, EGLE will focus on plastic pollution and microplastics in the Great Lakes using new staff resources and $2 million budgeted for new research and recommendations.

Future challenges will require stronger relationships and collaborations with universities, colleges, freshwater centers, and research institutions in Michigan and beyond, such as the new Agricultural Climate Resiliency Program at Michigan State University.

The OGL will back science, research, tools, and tech through the Michigan Great Lakes Protection Fund to support policy development, strategic planning and stewardship. This includes working with partners and a University of Michigan team to develop the Michigan Maritime Strategy to have the cleanest and greenest ports, harbors, and vessels.

The office will address environmental justice and equity by scaling up initiatives like restoring and revitalizing Ox Creek in Benton Harbor – and replicating this model across other coastal communities – and cultivating water champions with initiatives like From Students to Stewards.

Coordinated Great Lakes research

In the meantime, states, provinces, tribes and First Nations, universities, regional organizations, the U.S. and Canadian governments and others identify lakewide needs as part of the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) under the binational Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The CSMI coordinates Great Lakes research and monitoring, providing resource managers with science to inform management decisions.

Through the CSMI, each lake rotates through five yearlong research cycles. In 2025, Lake Huron is in the priority-setting phase, Lake Superior is in project planning, Lake Michigan in field sampling, Lake Erie in data analysis, and Lake Ontario in results reporting. Here’s a lake-by-lake look at recent and current activities:

Lake Superior: The Lake Superior Partnership Working Group and CSMI researchers gathered last year to review field work and determine high-level priorities for project planning this year and field sampling in 2026. Potential field work areas include nutrients, algal blooms, rising temperatures, vulnerable species and habitats, and groundwater mapping. Planning is also underway by the multi-entity Buffalo Reef Task Force to remove millions of tons of century-old mining waste – called stamp sands – from miles of shoreline and a rocky spawning ground for whitefish and lake trout.

Lake Michigan: Work will address needs including learning how big environmental changes prevent small, young fish from maturing; trends in emerging chemical contaminants such as PFAS; lakewide salinity; impacts of wintertime processes such as ice cover on nearshore habitat and sediment transport; and how the lake takes in materials from tributaries. Within a few years, the data gleaned from field activities in 2025 will be summarized and help inform future management.

Lake Huron: The binational Lake Huron Partnership is building on new understandings to inform and support priority-setting for the lake’s next CSMI field year, 2027. Water quality data collected by the Saginaw Bay Monitoring Consortium (SBMC) is now easily accessible to the public through a StoryMap presentation titled “Tracking Water Quality in the Saginaw Bay Watershed” and a related dashboard. The SBMC is a collaborative and coordinated monitoring effort with support from federal, state, and tribal agencies; local universities; and nongovernmental organizations.

Lake Erie, including Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers: Last year’s project topics ranged from phosphorus in sediments and cyanobacteria to PFAS dynamics in the food web and a lake-wide quagga mussel assessment. Questions remain about how algae influence reservoirs of E. coli that can close beaches. To address the knowledge gap, EGLE partnered with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and local health departments in 2024 to monitor nine public beaches along the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River, and Lake Erie.