Assuring Policy Decisions Are Based on Science and Shared Values

Foreign mussels are fueling toxic algae blooms in the Great Lakes region. ~Enlarge

The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes is an extraordinary piece of work.  As you all know, it represents the labor of 1600 people over a year on a voluntary basis that focuses our attention on the multiple stressors in the Great Lakes Basin utilizing science to guide our policies and programs. 

Our Basin is blessed with significant natural science scientific capacity. The State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC), sponsored by U.S. EPA and Environment Canada, brings scientists together to seek a common understanding of the current environmental status of the Great Lakes. This very valuable science-based process, using a broad suite of indicators, is available to track continual progress and influence policy priorities.

The International Association of Great Lakes Researchers (IAGLR), at their annual meeting this year alone, had 500 academic and government participants making nearly 600 presentations regarding Great Lakes science observations and policy or position statements. Indeed our Region is also blessed with a multitude of high caliber research organizations. The capacity to dig into the fundamentals of our interacting ecosystem components and inform the actions we take to restore and protect the Great Lakes is a major asset.

CGLI has been tracking with great interest the establishment of the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS).  For all the science capabilities we have in the Region, the one thing missing is a common place for that information to be packaged and distributed so that it can be fully utilized by the science community and others. GLOS has the potential to provide this centralized data and information portal that would tie together and display the valuable information produced by research in a way that will better serve our policy makers and citizens who oversee Great Lakes preservation and restoration.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in her memo to all EPA employees: "Science must be the compass guiding our environmental protection decisions. We cannot make the best decisions unless we have confidence in the integrity of the science on which we rely. Therefore, it is my promise that scientific integrity will be the backbone of my leadership of the Agency."

Science-based decisions are essential if we are to achieve our ecosystem goals.  However, note that comprehensive understanding of what the science is telling us requires thoughtful and thorough review of scientific information.  Rushing to judgment before the full scope of the scientific process has been allowed to play out is bad policy process and would make our Region a much less attractive place to invest - see Tuesday's entry.

Many Federal, Provincial and State programs now acknowledge the breadth of stressors, including aquatic invasive species, habitat, coastal health, sediment contamination, non-point source contamination of toxic substances, as well as toxic pollutants. Some of those stressors can and should be managed. Utilizing the scientific process will allow us to do so wisely and successfully.

And, we should not neglect the grand-daddy of them all, climate change, which no matter the cause, will have a profound impact on our ecosystem. Adaptation to the effects of climate change should be front and center on our collective agenda.

I appreciate the opportunity to offer my industry-oriented viewpoints via the Great Lakes Town Hall this week.  Thanks to the Town Hall organizers and all of you who took the time to read my comments and, in some cases, comment. We may not always agree but it is important to share to our perspectives.