Image: Great Lakes Today
By Elizabeth Miller
This story originally appeared on Great Lakes Today and is republished here with permission.
There are so many plans and programs in place to clean up the Great Lakes, it’s hard to keep track. In mid-October, environmentalists from across the region will meet to discuss their biggest challenges.
Restoring wetlands, fish success stories, and the relationship between wildlife and microplastics will all be discussed at the conference hosted by the National Wildlife Federation’s Healing our Waters Coalition.
The coalition consists of more than 145 groups. And more than 200 people involved in Great Lakes work are expected to gather in Buffalo for the three-day conference. A hot topic sure to be a part of the discussion is the algae bloom in western Lake Erie.
The National Wildlife Federation’s Gail Hesse says more can be done to reduce phosphorus, which triggers algae blooms.
“We have the targets for Lake Erie, and we have the individual tributary targets, such as for the mouth of the Maumee,” says Hesse. “We will be looking for how those targets could be incorporated into state water quality standards, which essentially govern how clean we manage our waters.”
The conference will also tackle some important issues within the Green movement — like attracting more minorities.
You can find more information about the conference here.