Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus 2025 Annual Meeting
South Bend, IN
by Dave Maturen, MLSA President
The Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus (GLLC) is comprised of legislators representing the eight states and two Canadian Provinces that border the largest freshwater body in the world. It is the only entity concerning the Great Lakes environment that has legislative power in each of its 10 territories. The ideas and issues presented to the Caucus can and have resulted in laws and regulations in their representative states and provinces.
I was a member and on the Executive Committee of the GLLC when I was in the Michigan House of Representatives. The location of the September 15 and 16 annual meeting in South Bend (less than a two-hour drive) was too good to pass up. Even though the “Great Lakes and St. Lawrence” are not the inland lakes and streams which are germane to MLSA’s mission, what happens on and to those larger riparian bodies many times has an impact on our inland waterways – think invasives as a glaring example.
Michigan legislators concerned with Great Lakes issues attending the meeting were Senators Rosemary Bayer and Sue Shink, and Representatives Morgan Foreman and Veronica Paiz.
Topics include reports on emerging contaminants, invasive species, indigenous engagement, water use, conservation district best practices, data centers, bi-national waterfront trail, Federal priorities, Brandon Road Interbasin briefing (Asian carp prevention), etc. Resolutions were also passed regarding PFAS and microplastic contaminants.
I was able to talk with representatives of several states and provinces regarding a non-Great Lakes issue – wake boats. Hopefully, those discussions and reference to the compendium of data on that topic on the MLSA website will bring that issue to greater prominence in their states and provinces.