Geoscience Databases

Facts & Data as well as overviews of major issues affecting the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative accelerates efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world – the Great Lakes. Built upon the foundation of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy, GLRI answered a challenge of the governors of the Great Lakes states.

GLRI helps NRCS accelerate conservation efforts on private lands located in targeted watersheds throughout the region. Through GLRI, NRCS works with farmers and landowners to combat invasive species, protect watersheds and shorelines from non-point source pollution and restore wetlands and other habitat areas.

USGS scientists work in the Great Lakes region and other parts of the country to meet the nation’s need for scientific information used by resource managers to restore, enhance, manage, and protect the living resources and habitats in the Great Lakes basin.

Weather for around the Great Lakes.

NOAA GLERL and its partners conduct innovative research on the dynamic environments and ecosystems of the Great Lakes and coastal regions to provide information for resource use and management decisions that lead to safe and sustainable ecosystems, ecosystem services, and human communities.

Canada and the United States created the International Joint Commission because they recognized that each country is affected by the other's actions in lake and river systems along the border. The two countries cooperate to manage these waters and to protect them for the benefit of today's citizens and future generations.

The Office of the Great Lakes works to protect and restore the state’s waters. The team works with partners to support sustainable communities, restore degraded waters, manage water quality and quantity, and prevent aquatic invasive species.

To ensure Minnesota continues to fulfill its commitment, the DNR submits to the Great Lakes Water Resources Council a Water Conservation and Efficiency Report annually and a Water Management Program Report every five years.

New York's Great Lakes lands and waters are a part of the Great Lakes ecosystem in the US and Canada which holds 21% of the world's freshwater resources, contains 250 different species of fish, and is recognized as a national treasure.

The Great Lakes Program facilitates monitoring of Lake Erie and its tributaries, and coordinates with other state, county, and local government entities, as well as non-governmental organizations, to develop policies and programs that reduce pollutants and support public health.

As part of the Great Lakes Compact, Wisconsin registers water withdrawals, receives and analyzes water use reports, requires water use permits, implements a conservation program and manages Great Lakes diversions.

The DNR's Office of Great Waters is charged with implementing a comprehensive program to protect the lakes, identify problems and solutions, and serve as a contact point for the Great Lakes community in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Sea Grant promotes the sustainable use of Great Lake resources through research, education, and outreach.

A nonprofit focused on protecting the Great Lakes.

A look into what Indigenous communities in the upper Midwest are doing to conserve & protect water. It is Wisconsin Sea Grant and Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission collaboration.

The binational, interstate compact agency established in 1955 to advance the economic and environmental health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region.

A grassroots effort to establish the Great Lakes as a thriving, living commons—shared and sacred waters that we all protect in perpetuity.

Established in 1955 by the Canadian/US Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries, it coordinates fisheries research, controls the invasive sea lamprey, and facilitates cooperative fishery management among the state, provincial, tribal, and federal agencies.

Awards grants with the goal of improving the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Illinois and Wisconsin chapters have pages about the Great Lakes.