Great Lakes Protection “Critically Important” for IJC

A recent poll showed more than 85% of US and Canadian survey respondents consider Great Lakes water quality to be of critical importance.

According to one of the largest surveys ever conducted on public perception of the world’s largest freshwater system, 85 percent of respondents believe protecting the Great Lakes is a critically important priority for the International Joint Commission (IJC), the international authority established in 1909 to prevent and resolve disputes between the governments of the United States and Canada over the use of the waters they share.

Full results of the survey, which was completed by the IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board in late 2015, was released last week. The survey polled nearly 4,000 respondents in the eight Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) and in the Canadian Province of Ontario. “This survey is one of the largest ever conducted, and provides a valuable picture of how the public perceives the Great Lakes, including key environmental issues and threats, as well as opportunities,” said David Ullrich, US co-chair of the IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board.

Key survey responses include:

• A majority of residents believe the Great Lakes should be protected for the benefit of fish and wildlife (76 percent); for their economic significance (76 percent); for their importance to human health (73 percent); and as a valuable natural resource (53 percent).

• 86 percent of respondents feel it is important to protect the lakes for recreational purposes. More than 40 percent of those who had used the lakes for recreational purposes had enjoyed boating, swimming, fishing or another recreational activity in the lakes in the six months prior to the poll being conducted.

• 85 percent feel it is essential to protect the Great Lakes from threats, including pollution and aquatic invasive species.

“This survey provides a valuable tool to the International Joint Commission as we further our mission to help both countries develop collaborative strategies to protect the Great Lakes, to address environmental concerns, and to provide for the health of this resource for future generations,” said Rob de Loë, Canadian co-chair of the IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board.

The IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board will host a panel discussion on the poll’s findings on Monday, April 18 at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 815 14th Street NW, Washington, DC. The public event will be broadcast via Periscope. Check the IJC’s Twitter feed @IJCSharedWaters on Monday afternoon for the link.