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Category: Illinois

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Image of Capitol Hill with a bright blue cloudless sky and blooming cherry blossom tree in the right corner
Academia to Government

Sea Grant Announces the 2024 Class of the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2024 class of the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program. The 85 early-career professionals selected will be placed in federal government offices throughout Washington, D.C., and join the over 1,600 individuals who have participated in the program since its inception in 1979.

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September 15, 2023
Great Lakes

Great Lakes Resurgence

Revitalization breaks through in this photo essay from National Geographic photographer Peter Essick, in collaboration with the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, demonstrating the renewed majesty of the Great Lakes.

 Take a visual tour of the restoration and resurgence of Great Lakes tributaries that were designated as Areas of Concern under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. These tributaries were pinpointed due to significant pollution and habitat problems, but with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Areas of Concern are getting cleaned up and habitat is being restored.

An ecological investment is bringing life back to the aquatic environment. Tourism, recreation, and development are returning to the basin’s rivers, harbors, and lakes.

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September 9, 2019
Great Lakes

Sea Grant, EPA, others partner to clean up Great Lakes

Sea Grant programs in the Great Lakes and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are teaming up to raise awareness about cost-sharing programs available through the Great Lakes Legacy Act for sediment cleanup efforts. A new video and social media campaign explain. 

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September 24, 2018
Great Lakes

Plastic fibers emerge as Lake Michigan pollutant

Microbeads have drawn a lot of public and political attention since 2012, when researchers from New York and Wisconsin discovered millions of the tiny particles in several Great Lakes. But this new study suggests microfibers may be an even larger concern in at least a few areas.

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January 14, 2015
Tipping Points and Indicators
Great Lakes

Tipping Points and Indicators

Tipping Points and Indicators, a research and extension program for Great Lakes coastal communities, helps local decision makers identify impacts of land-based activities that threaten the sustainability of ecosystems in their watershed. This program includes a web-based decision support syst​em (tippingpointplanner.org) and facilitated forum to explore policy and management interventions necessary to keep coastal ecosystems from reaching critical tipping points and moving to unstable conditions. 

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January 10, 2015
Climate Change Planning
Climate

Climate Change Planning

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has a climatologist on staff who conducts workshops and interacts with local resource managers along southern Lake Michigan to help the region become more resilient. We have produced or participated in the creation of number tools to help communities.

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December 5, 2014
Water Supply Planning Tools
Great Lakes

Water Supply Planning Tools

Lake Michigan provides a reliable supply of drinking water for a large population in the greater Chicago area of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, but is being tapped to its legal limit. Water supply planning can increase preparedness for droughts and climate change, reduce regional conflicts, and promote conservation. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has tools to help communities with sustainable water pricing, outdoor conservation, sample ordinances, etc.

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December 5, 2014
Real Time Lake Monitoring
Great Lakes

Real Time Lake Monitoring

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant maintains a buoy off the coast of Lake Michigan in Indiana and will soon be installing a second buoy in waters on the Illinois side. The buoys are equipped with sensitive scientific instruments that help scientists, managers, and local community members understand how the lake works, how things look today, and how things will look in the future.

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December 5, 2014
The Great Lakes Legacy Act
Education

The Great Lakes Legacy Act

This congressional act provides matching funds to communities to speed up the pace of cleanup of contaminated sediments within Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant conducts workshops, provides local community support, and has developed numerous products including curricula, economic development strategies, and fact sheets.

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December 5, 2014
Lawn to Lake
Education

Lawn to Lake

Lawn and garden chemicals applied in the Lake Michigan basin can wind up in the water, polluting the lakes with pesticides and excess fertilizer. The program promotes healthy landscape practices, offering communities, landscapers, residents, and others, tips for maintaining healthy lawns and landscapes without over-relying on chemicals. 

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November 17, 2014

River Restoration Workshop Series

Since 2001, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has hosted workshops pertaining to various aspects of river and stream restoration, including dam removal. The River Restoration: Practices and Concepts workshops provide the opportunity to hear about the latest restoration projects from experts nationally as well as from the region, and communicate with other professionals with similar interests.

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November 17, 2014
Great Lakes

New Tool Helps Planners Steer Clear of Tipping Points

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is leading the effort to develop an online tool that allows community planners to make informed decisions regarding land use by identifying how watershed ecosystems will look in the future if current land use practices continue or are ramped up.

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November 12, 2013
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