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MEDIA ADVISORY
Jeff Johnston, EGLE Public Information Officer, [email protected], 517-231-9304
Nov. 14 binational Lake St. Clair environmental conference open to media
EGLE and partners present one-day event to discuss issues of habitat, climate, economy, water quality, pollution, and more
Media are invited to attend and cover a one-day U.S.-Canadian environmental conference focused on Lake St. Clair, presented Nov. 14 on the shores of the lake in Harrison Township. It’s an opportunity that comes around only once every three years. The conference will highlight timely issues and celebrate a milestone 25 years of binational collaboration in lakewide management.
Phil Roos, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), is speaking and will be available for interviews.
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WHAT: 2024 Binational Lake St. Clair Conference.
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WHEN: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14.
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FOR WHOM: Federal, state, provincial, and local government staff and elected officials; First Nations and tribal government staff and members; business and industry leaders; community organizations; local residents; media representatives; and anyone interested in Lake St. Clair management. (Note: More than 140 attendees signed up before registration closed.)
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BY WHOM: Presented by a four-party managers committee of EGLE; the Province of Ontario, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Major sponsors include the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, Environmental Consulting and Technology, Ford House, GEI Consultants, the Macomb County Chamber of Commerce/Blue Economy Initiative, and Taplin Group.
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WHY: The conference will reflect on 25 years of joint environmental management by the U.S. and Canada; discuss major initiatives and specific monitoring, restoration, and protection activities; and chart a sustainable course for the lake’s future.
Registration for this conference has closed. Members of the media who wish to attend should stop at the on-site registration table.
In addition to Roos, the roster of speakers and discussion moderators includes Walpole Island First Nation Heritage Centre Supervisor Naomi Williams, EPA Great Lakes National Program Office Director Teresa Seidel, Canada Water Agency Executive Director Jennifer Vincent, and a keynote address by Steve Remias, chair of the Lake St. Clair Blue Economy Committee, on “Four Decades of Tourism, Growth, and Conservation.”
The conference brings together stakeholders from both nations to further their commitment to restoring and protecting Lake St. Clair. Participants will explore innovative strategies to enhance the watershed's environmental, economic, and cultural value through lakewide management.
Topics on this year’s agenda include:
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Lake St. Clair’s water-focused “blue economy.”
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Habitat, wildlife, and water quality monitoring, protection, and restoration.
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Fighting beach closures with native plants.
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Climate change impacts and adaptations.
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PFAS source identification and reduction at wastewater treatment plants and in land-applied biosolids.
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Coastal wetland conservation.
In addition to those mentioned above, agencies represented include the Clinton River Watershed Council, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Macomb County Health Department, the Michigan Boating Industries Association, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks, SEMCOG, the Six Rivers Land Conservancy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Windsor, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, and Wayne State University.
Hosting of the conference, held every three years, normally alternates between locations in Michigan and Ontario. The 2021 conference was held virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic. Michigan last hosted the conference in 2018.
Find a complete preliminary agenda here.
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