Congressman Oberstar speaks to the Great Lakes Restoration Conference

Over 200 activists from the Great Lakes region gathered recently in Duluth, MN for the 5th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference. The Conference is held each year by the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition to develop strategies for Great Lakes restoration.

The conference began with a welcome from Duluth Mayor, Don Ness; Superior Mayor, Dave Ross and Karen Diver, Chair of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Senator Amy Klobuchar and US Representative Jim Oberstar both addressed the conference stressing the importance of protecting and restoring the Great Lakes. There was much to celebrate with the eminent funding of President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. However, participants quickly moved from celebration to planning how to ensure the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is implemented quickly and effectively.

Cameron Davis, Great Lakes Czar and Keynote Speaker, urged attendees to do everything possible to show Washington that investing in Great Lakes restoration will get results. “It is incumbent upon all of us to make the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) a success,” Davis told the coalition.

Numerous sessions were available for attendees ranging from activism planning and training for Federal legislation, messaging and media strategies for Great Lakes stories, scientific studies for targeting restoration work and economic analyses on the impact from Great Lakes restoration.

Conference attendees also had the opportunity to take tours of local restoration projects, government labs and the local wastewater treatment plant. For many, the highlight was a Friday night dinner cruise out on Lake Superior and up the St. Louis River.

“The annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference is an opportunity for activists from across the Great Lakes region to come together to learn, network and plan,” said Darrell Gerber, Clean Water Action Program Coordinator. “We were honored to have the conference in Minnesota this year and highlight the work being done to protect and restore Lake Superior.”

The 2010 Great Lakes Restoration Conference will be held in Buffalo, NY.