Great Lakes Protection Fund

The Great Lakes Protection Fund was created as a private nonprofit corporation in 1989 after increasingly cooperative efforts to address the ecological problems of the world's largest single source of surface freshwater. The governors of the Great Lakes states pledged $97 million to create the Fund to help protect and restore their shared resources. It s the first private, permanent endowment ever created to benefit a specific ecosystem. Over the past three decades, Fund-supported teams have: - Created the world s first series of ballast water filtration and disinfection systems on working vessels - Restored more natural flows in over 1,500 miles of basin rivers through collaborative re-operation of more than 100 hydroelectric facilities - Designed and deployed a water quality trading system that became the basis for the national strategy - Developed modeling frameworks and measurement tools that track and predict how changing water uses leads to improved hydrological and biological conditions - Created and sustained the forum for the design and development of what became the Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and associated Regional Agreement, providing over $1 million for expert advice, travel support, and staff time - Much more