▶ 0:19:58>> good morning. It is nice to be here, busy day on capitol hill. We will have members coming in and out. Thank you for being here. We will discuss a priority of senator whose stead, the value of federal efforts to restore the great lakes. We have a lot of great lakes. The health of the great lakes is important to achieving our nation's environmental public health and economic goals. The five lakes make up the largest system of freshwater in the world and our critical habitat for species.
▶ 0:20:27They provide clean drinking water to millions of people in the united states. The region and country's economy significantly benefit from the use of the great legs, the reliable supply of water and goods, opportunities for tourism and recreational activities. These broad benefits are directly enhanced to restore the great lakes. Great lakes restoration efforts have been underway for decades.
▶ 0:20:57President bush established the great lakes task force by executive order in 2004. Restoration efforts are implemented through various state local private organizations as well as through collaborative efforts through canada. One of those key programs is the great lakes initiative.
▶ 0:21:18Congress has created this in 2015 as a nonregulatory program to carry out restoration progress that include ecosystem and habitat restoration, education and research, local capacity building.
▶ 0:21:35It seeks to achieve these outcomes by minimizing admitted gazing toxic substances, invasive species and nonpoint source pollution including habitat and species management and laying the foundation for future efforts.
▶ 0:21:52The environmental agency leads the program and shares the great lakes interagency task force which is made up of 16 federal agencies. The 16 federal glri agencies work closely with the great lakes states, tribes, local governments and universities and private partners to advance long-term restoration goals.
▶ 0:22:20The authorization is set to expire at the end of september. Senator whose dead and senator peters introduced s 528 of 2025 to reauthorize this program. As the committee considers this legislation this is an opportunity to hear from stakeholders about what has been working well, natural resources and public health as well as enabled economic development in the region.
▶ 0:22:52Today's witnesses could provide insight on opportunities to prove the initiative to ensure federal resources are utilized for the most meaningful purposes. I look forward to learning about how the federal governor part -- government partners to best understand how to prioritize the needs and their own backyard. I will recognize senator whitehouse for his statement.
▶ 0:23:15Sen. Whitehouse: I appreciate today's hearing, I am sympathetic to the desire for funding to protect great lakes coastal ecosystems. All of our coastal areas, some fresh, some salty are in dire need of added resources and protection. I highlight this issue when agencies come before us. The U.S. army corps, fish and wildlife, others.
▶ 0:23:44Sen. Whitehouse: Every coastal member of the senate knows all too well that the federal government severely underfunded is our coasts. Coastal counties contribute so much to our economy, $10 trillion annually and have 40% of the U.S. population. They face worse challenges from storms, sea level rise, excess heat, as certification.
▶ 0:24:11Sen. Whitehouse: Upland and inland ecosystems get far more attention and money. The land and water conservation fund which I call the inland and upland conservation fund receives $900 million annually. But funded ironically by offshore energy leases. When the outdoors act was passed making the 900 million dollars mandatory I was promised that coastal funding would get its day. That day never comes.
▶ 0:24:44Sen. Whitehouse: The land and water conservation fund does great work including in my home state of rhode island and shortchange his oceans and coasts. Instead of trying to get them a larger slice of the pie, taking it from inland and upland, I tried to make the whole conservation pie bigger. I created the national coast resilience fund specifically on coasts.
▶ 0:25:15Sen. Whitehouse: The wetlands, dunes, systems, coastal reefs, floodplains and barrier islands, resources that protect fisheries from storms, sea level rise, other dangers. Several of it has gone through the great lakes region. They could tell us more including how many projects they have to turn away because it is so underfunded.
▶ 0:25:47Sen. Whitehouse: One smart solution would be to fund the oceans fund through offshore wind leases just like how the land and water conservation fund is funded with offshore drilling leases. I would welcome members to join me. I also flagged the bipartisan oceans caucus which we founded in 2011 to draw attention to our coastal resources and the jobs they support.
▶ 0:26:19Sen. Whitehouse: Senator baldwin serving as my democratic co-chair. Even jim inhofe helped on our coastal work. It is a fine program. In improving our coastal performance we should take aspiration from the old adage and lift all boats. Thank you. >> appreciate that and I will now turn it over to senator whose dead who has joined us for opening remarks and to introduce our witnesses.
▶ 0:26:49Sen. Coons: -- Sen. husted: it is great to be here. I appreciate you holding the hearing on the great lakes. It means a lot to the residence of the great lakes states and certainly ohio and me personally. Thank you to the witnesses for being here.
▶ 0:27:14Sen. Coons: I look forward to discussions about how congress could continue to protect the great lakes and talk about how the successful public partnership with the great lakes restoration initiative could be undertaken. As a member of the great lakes task force as well as this committee, I take representing the region very seriously. Promoting good policy and programs are a good part of that.
▶ 0:27:45Sen. Coons: When I was lieutenant governor I worked with governor dewine. To protect lake erie. We even participated in the fish ohio day together which I think I won a couple of years, just saying. I want to thank director mertz for being here and her leadership.
▶ 0:28:15Sen. Coons: Director mertz previously chaired the division. A body that coordinated restoration policy making her an expert on the great lakes and what restoration implementation actually means. I would like to thank Dr. winslow for testifying today. Dr. winslow directs the ohio sea grant at the ohio state university which has been studying the lake for 150 years.
▶ 0:28:42Sen. Coons: I also know the rocky areas around it are good places to go smallmouth bass fishing. Those are some personal reflections. His research, it has a direct connection to glri. I know Dr.
▶ 0:29:06Sen. Coons: Winslow will be able to speak about what is successful and affective about the great lakes restoration initiative and he will end the work we could continue to do to improve the great lakes. They are in environmental and economic asset. The lakes fuel a $6 trillion regional economy. They hauled 90% of the U.S.
▶ 0:29:36Sen. Coons: Supply of surface freshwater. They provide drinking water to more than 40 million people. More than 1.5 million U.S. jobs are connected to the great lakes. They generate $62 billion in wages annually. It is no secret lake erie is one of my favorite places to fish and spend time. Ohio has some of the best walleye fishing in the world.
▶ 0:30:11Sen. Coons: I also led the great lakes fishery reauthorization act signed into law by president trump in december of last year. Thank you all of the members for supporting that. Healthy fisheries need health ecosystems. Health ecosystems need healthy economies.
▶ 0:30:38Sen. Coons: The great lakes fishing industry supports tens of thousands of jobs and contributes billions of dollars to the regional economy. We must stay vigilant against invasive species. We must stay vigilant against invasive species which pose a constant and serious threat to the great lakes ecosystem. We have had those threats report -- before. We must remain ever vigilant.
▶ 0:31:06Sen. Coons: Harmful algae blooms are a threat to drinking water and toryism in the local economies that rely on a healthy great lakes. So many communities depend on it. The invasive species threat, the drinking water threat, two things we could do something about is why the great lakes restoration initiative is important and it's why it should
▶ 0:31:37Sen. Coons: Be -- I will continue to fight for the reauthorization. The communities, the states, our quality of life. Thank you for being here today. I want to introduce to witnesses.
▶ 0:31:58Sen. Coons: First of all, mary mertz, the director of the department of natural resources in the state of ohio. Mary is -- was the first assistant attorney general. The legal and administrative operations, she has extensive legal experience in private and public sectors.
▶ 0:32:27Sen. Coons: At the attorney general's office, director mertz practice law at a large multinational law firm. They serve as chief of staff to mike dewine when he was lieutenant governor. As a legislative director for congressman bob mcewan in the legislative affairs office.
▶ 0:32:48Sen. Coons: Worked with the ohio department of natural resources while working under then governor george boy which -- director mertz is an active sailor and outdoors person. Has great knowledge of the topic we are here to discuss today. Thank you.
▶ 0:33:11Sen. Coons: I will also while I have a moment I will introduce christopher winslow, phd director of the phd program. He coordinates the great lakes research rate initiative with agencies and universities as well as assists in research curriculum at the ohio state university stone laboratory.
▶ 0:33:38Sen. Coons: He earned his doctorate at the bowling green state university focusing on interaction. Both of which, one I enjoy catching, the other I enjoy getting rid of when they take my baby when they should not do that. One is invasive, one is a trophy. Thank you for both being here today.
▶ 0:34:02Chair Capito: Thank you for your passion on great lakes. We will start with Dr. mertz, thank you, you are welcome.
▶ 0:34:15Dr. Mertz: Thank you so much. I'm really pleased to join you today. I served currently as director of the ohio department of natural resources and as a commissioner of and head of the ohio delegation to the great lakes commission where I served as chairman from 2023-2025. The great lakes are one of america's greatest egypt assets.
▶ 0:34:45Dr. Mertz: The lakes hold 20% of the earth's surface freshwater. That is an incredible asset. I will repeat some of the statistics that were just offered because they are worth repeating. Drinking water to 40 million people. A $6 trillion regional economy. Lake erie is one of our most valuable natural resources.
▶ 0:35:12Dr. Mertz: Tourism, recreation contribute tens of billions of dollars in economic value for our state. We believe it is vital that we take care of lake erie and the rest of the great lakes so generations beyond our own could benefit as we have. We are extraordinarily grateful congress created the great lakes restoration initiative to protect this really important resource.
▶ 0:35:41Dr. Mertz: It is a powerful tool cut to combat the threats laid out in law to fight toxic substances. Invasive species that threaten our fisheries, nonpoint source pollution that introduces new pollutants to our waters. Degradation that damages our wildlife populations and recreation.
▶ 0:36:03Dr. Mertz: Today I want to share three quick examples of how we use federal glri dollars in ohio and how they are making a difference on the ground. First, one of the biggest challenges facing lake erie are harmful algae blooms. They are fed by phosphorus. This doesn't just make ugly green water. It is toxic and harmful to humans.
▶ 0:36:31Dr. Mertz: The problem is so important to us in ohio that we are investing significant state dollars through our program created by then lieutenant governor and governor dewine. We don't just expect the federal government to solve our problems.
▶ 0:36:47Dr. Mertz: Using federal glri dollars and state dollars we worked with the lucas county port authority to essentially rebuild two islands, one of the greatest contributors of phosphorus just miles from the shore of lake erie. I think there is a picture to show of the horseshoe islands. The two small islands, they invested $13 million.
▶ 0:37:17Dr. Mertz: 5.5 million of glri, $8 million of state dollars. We can go to the after picture. This is an effort to reduce the flow of phosphorus into lake erie. They will rebuild with the divergent mechanisms and wetlands that will filter the phosphorus. It is designed to slow down the water.
▶ 0:37:47Dr. Mertz: As a side benefit offers incredible wildlife habitat. This has been a win-win all the way around. Working together to solve problems, invest money in something that is working. The second example involves keeping the basic carp out of the great lakes. We know they tried to decimate the abundant fisheries. Together with the U.S.
▶ 0:38:10Dr. Mertz: Army corps of engineers we identify waterway connections in ohio where we thought carpet could overflow the shores. We identified four of these connection points. Two were medium risk and we use dollars to sever those potential connections.
▶ 0:38:30Dr. Mertz: We would build up berms with dirt and install screens all in an effort to keep the dangerous part out of lake erie and protect our fisheries. They are already in the great lakes. We have implemented targeted fish removals using a combination of electro fishing in these efforts so far have rejected our valuable fisheries. We see the investment making a difference.
▶ 0:39:02Dr. Mertz: My third and final example uses glri funds to help the next generation frankly fall in love with our great lakes and precious water resources. We have a program called students take action focusing on middle school and high school kids getting them on the water, teaching them why it is important. 14,000 students have been involved in these events, hands-on activity, we want them to care as well.
▶ 0:39:31Dr. Mertz: In conclusion, thank you, I hope the senate will reauthorize the program. We see its value every single day. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
▶ 0:39:42Chair Capito: Now I would ask Dr. winslow for his opening statement. You are recognized.
▶ 0:39:49Dr. Winslow: Thank you. Thank you for this opportunity both written and oral testimony. I wear two hats, I'm the director of the ohio sea grant program, a funded supported program and they also direct the stone laboratory which falls under the college of environmental sciences.
▶ 0:40:16Dr. Winslow: In these roles I spent most of my time between applied research , community needs and the implementation both of remediation and restoration projects. I have seen firsthand and how it translates into real outcomes. I want to begin my remarks with something we always see is you cannot have long-term economic growth in the great lakes without a healthy ecosystem.
▶ 0:40:46Dr. Winslow: Great lakes provide drinking water for millions of individuals. It's sustains industry communities and ecosystems that define the great lakes region. Glri is working. We are seeing it on the ground. It focuses on five things, areas of concern, addressing species, tackling him pollution, building habitat that supports fish, a $5 million fishing industry.
▶ 0:41:16Dr. Winslow: It also monitors the system to track progress and identify future threats. I want to come back to the areas of concern. This is one of the clear examples. An effort to revitalize 26 of the most degraded areas of the U.S. to great lakes. Eight are listed now. There are 16 more to go. Each of these d listings and actions being deployed represent years and years of coordination and collaboration.
▶ 0:41:48Dr. Winslow: Federal agencies, state agencies, researchers, communities on the ground. When they are delisted, there are real outcomes. Shorelines see increased recreation because the beaches are open longer and waterfronts are accessible. We see the communities that live along these areas. We see reduce costs in doing business.
▶ 0:42:14Dr. Winslow: Water treatment plans now have less treatment because it is cleaner than it was historically. We see in when the communities moving to these areas. These are not symbolic winds. These are places the people could use. They are fishable, swimmable, drinkable. Glri is working but there is more to be done. I want to highlight why it works. It is not just about funding projects.
▶ 0:42:44Dr. Winslow: It's about supporting a systems approach. Community members engage, there is collaborative planning and implementation. There's monitoring to adapt these systems and also identify and evaluate. I see this in lake erie and it has been touched on. Federal agencies, farmers, land grant extension educators are engaged in a systems approach.
▶ 0:43:11Dr. Winslow: We now are putting agricultural practices on the field. They didn't know about these practices, they are also being subsidized to do these they are being tracked to stop nutrient runoff. We are seeing which agricultural practices are the biggest bang for your buck. They help produce nutrients by 80%.
▶ 0:43:37Dr. Winslow: Glr I works because it combines expertise toward solutions. It is a federal program but the success is fundamentally local. Glri is a multiagency coordination. It is intentionally cross agency . That is deliberate. One talk about it protecting communities. We had drinking water in toledo.
▶ 0:44:04Dr. Winslow: 500 thousand people without access to drinking water for 72 hours. Our resource managers are now able to respond earlier to these threats. It is not just restoring ecosystems or protecting people. We have done -- been incredibly efficient to address the challenges of the past. Things like legacy pollution and impaired waterways. This work needs to continue.
▶ 0:44:33Dr. Winslow: We need to have the opportunity to build on what is working. The research so we could better anticipate and respond to future challenges. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Glri works because it provides federal funding through strong partnerships and clear outcomes. Glri demonstrate something very important. Environmental sustainability and economic growth are not competing priorities. They are fundamentally connected.
▶ 0:45:04Dr. Winslow: This program works and it is worth continuing. I'm happy to answer your questions when appropriate.
▶ 0:45:10Chair Capito: Finally we will hear from Dr. manford, chief conservation officer for the national fish and wildlife. Dr. bamford has with our organization for the last decade and has experience with the oceanic and add merit -- atmospheric association. The working group coordinates glri. We look forward to your testimony.
▶ 0:45:45Dr. Bamford: Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Since our establishment by congress in 1984, they have created a conservation impact of more than 12 billion dollars reconnecting thousands of miles of streams and restoring acres of habitat. It is proud to be in implementing partner for three of the geographic programs, the great lakes, long island sound.
▶ 0:46:15Dr. Bamford: These partnerships turn federal conservation objectives into tangible outcomes by combining federal funds with philanthropic and private sector resources. Complementing our work under the epa program is the wildlife program that implements and partner with the fish and wildlife service. I want to thank you for your steadfast support of that program benefiting hunters, anglers, communities.
▶ 0:46:43Dr. Bamford: Across all the geographic programs, there is a competitive process that is outcome driven, leverages public investment and directs resources to partners and projects best position to deliver durable results. They have put this model to work delivering cost-effective voluntary conservation.
▶ 0:47:09Dr. Bamford: Over the past 20 years it is across five hundred 30 projects to national organizations like trout unlimited and local champions like the conservancy in ohio. The results are significant. More than 2600 miles of streams have been reconnected. That is longer than the mississippi river.
▶ 0:47:39Dr. Bamford: I want to highlight two examples of this program. They awarded for grants over a decade to restore the march on the shores of lake erie. It is polluted by salt mines turning a vibrant ecosystem into a wall of invasive needs. They help bring the marsh back from the brink. Frogs are singing, otters are swimming, the marsh has become a hotspot for birds.
▶ 0:48:11Dr. Bamford: They awarded $300,000 to ducks unlimited to restore 825 acres of coastal wetland. The project increase the population of waterfall which has supported hunting opportunities in the local outdoor economy.
▶ 0:48:31Dr. Bamford: These projects are great examples of how models could generate real-time conservation wins while providing long-term funding to keep the momentum going when it counts. Funding stability allows partners to plan restoration efforts across jurisdictions, tackle conservation challenges at the watershed scale. It is how sustained federal leadership could deliver measurable results.
▶ 0:49:01Dr. Bamford: While progress is clear, the need remains urgent in the great lakes. Nationwide as well. The national coastal resilience fund created in 2018 received more than 3.8 billion, that is 3.8 billion dollars in funding requests from coastal communities across the country. We fund less than 20% of that demand due to funding availability. The gap between our communities need and what is available is substantial and growing.
▶ 0:49:31Dr. Bamford: It reflects a national demand for the kind of nature-based solutions, programs like glri make possible. We work closely with partners and other federal agencies to measure the resilience fund by providing funding for infrastructure to reduce funding and protect communities. I want to thank you for creating a program and trusting us with this administration.
▶ 0:49:58Dr. Bamford: Restoration is fundamental for providing habitat and protecting communities. Through glri, its partnership with epa, we have a proven model. Invest in natural systems at work. Leverage federal dollars and hold ourselves accountable for measurable results. The need is urgent and the community cannot afford this commitment to weaken.
▶ 0:50:28Dr. Bamford: We urge this community to strengthen the glri. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:50:38Chair Capito: I will kick us off for questions with a question for director mertz. All three of you have talked about the coordinated collaborative efforts. This is not just a federal effort. You all mentioned nonprofits too.
▶ 0:50:59Chair Capito: Based on your role as the ohio department of natural resources how has partnering with these various federal agencies that are part of the interagency task force contributed to tangible restoration? My question is more are there competing interests within that or does the state take the lead and the federal comes in as a funder but also an overseer?
▶ 0:51:32Chair Capito: Dr. bamford mentioned a myriad of federal agencies that women here. How do you see that? We need your microphone. Can't be shy around here.
▶ 0:51:42Dr. Bamford: I would say foundational he it is a great relationship. We have a lot of trust in our partners. We have worked well that oversees the great lakes and houses the great lakes national office.
▶ 0:52:09Dr. Bamford: Very in tune to what is happening and does a fantastic job working with us as best as she can. There are federal agencies involved. That is the truth. Sometimes we think it would be helpful to have more transparency in how the funds are allocated amongst the federal agencies and understand their planning processes.
▶ 0:52:37Dr. Bamford: I highlighted for you a project where the federal money and state money came together. There are a lot of federal agencies involved. Any time you have more than a dozen people, you will have communication.
▶ 0:52:53Chair Capito: Let's go through what those federal agencies could be. Corps of engineers, epa, fish and wildlife. Several different divisions in usda. We mentioned noah. Trying to think. That might cover it.
▶ 0:53:17Dr. Bamford: Dr. bamford: there is originally a basket of money distributed to federal agencies and half of that money is spent by the federal agencies. It is always introducing -- interesting to us. We are confident they spend it in the region. Sometimes knowing more about it.
▶ 0:53:44Chair Capito: Are you diffusing the effectiveness and are they coordinating? I know they are doing good work. If one is working here and one is working there which your most effective to be to work here together to make a bigger impact? Dr. winslow, obviously you have a role at the ohio state is what I'm supposed to call it.
▶ 0:54:12Chair Capito: I think the role universities and research institutions play across the board certainly in this case are extremely important. What other things could you tell me about unique roles dozen the ohio state invest in or become a partner in some of the restoration efforts or serve as technical advisors or do you have students there doing internships? How does that work with the coordinated fashion.
▶ 0:54:45Chair Capito: Thank you for the question.
▶ 0:54:47Dr. Winslow: What I will stresses the work that happens in the great lakes is very much applied research. I am academic so I like science for science sake. The work we are doing allows us to do resource that -- work that informs action on the ground.
▶ 0:55:09Dr. Winslow: You don't have projects funded matched by state and other sources that don't have undergrads involved, that don't have master and phd students doing the work. Those ecosystems will need to be managed into the future. They are not the only ecosystems that need to be restored. Those individuals walking through the process are learning from lessons in the previous section.
▶ 0:55:36Dr. Winslow: The great lakes restoration initiative is actually created a synergy and relationship that has never happened before. We are in a new space where those individuals are working more collaboratively now than ever before.
▶ 0:55:51Chair Capito: Last question, very quick. There is eight states and canada involved with the great lakes. I guess this is kind of an obnoxious question. Is there ever an uncomfortable competition between states or are you able to overcome that? Some states border this.
▶ 0:56:25Dr. Mertz: It is the same water everywhere. We jok about is it a canadian fish or an ohio fish? It is the same fish swimming around in the same lake. I think it is far more collaborative.
▶ 0:56:49Sen. Whitehouse: Thanks to the witnesses for being here. There has been some discussion about the algal blooms. I went to ohio in the wake of the 2014 algal bloom that shut down the water system for toledo for several days. It was clearly caused or provoked by climate change, conditions.
▶ 0:57:19Sen. Whitehouse: It was even called a bacterial bloom. Algal was a nicer way to say what was going on in the waters. I remember going out on the lake with a fishing captain. We never forget the conversation we had, he is a grizzled old guy. When I take people out now I feel like I'm cheating them.
▶ 0:57:51Sen. Whitehouse: All of the knowledge that I have gleaned in years of fishing on this lake is lost because of what climate change is doing to the lake. The warming and changing, I just take people out for a boat ride. I used to be able to put them on fish and feel I was an expert of where they could be found. That has all been scrambled.
▶ 0:58:20Sen. Whitehouse: As we are talking about lake erie, I wanted to call attention to those climate driven difficulties the lake has faced. Ohio state has quite a good climate change curriculum that teaches climate change across multiple disciplines and has a specific aquatic ecology lab that focuses on the fisheries and what they are doing to disrupt them. They don't do well in the middle of a bacterial bloom.
▶ 0:58:54Sen. Whitehouse: They then rot and contribute to the challenging atmosphere. I will mention one other thing. When I went to visit by lake erie, I also stopped by ohio state, the ohio state. The bird research laboratory. Named after the polar explorer, b-y-r-d.
▶ 0:59:24Sen. Whitehouse: There's a couple there, lonnie and ellen thompson that have been for decades traveling the world and drilling core samples out of glaciers. You could go into their enormous freezer and see these enormous tubes. I remember lonnie pulled one out and showed me kind of a dark line in the middle of it. You could call like that to a dust storm that was reported.
▶ 0:59:55Sen. Whitehouse: Could find the description of the dust storm. Here is the dust now captured in that long column. Because of what climate change is doing, many of those glaciers have disappeared. Much of the ice that is stored is actually, it is left over. You can't find that anymore.
▶ 1:00:24Sen. Whitehouse: If you go back to the same glaciers in south america, europe, wherever, it is gone. What ohio state has preserved in those samples is a really important. Of course professor thompson, they were pretty remarkable people to talk to. Thinking about ohio makes me think about all of that.
▶ 1:00:52Sen. Whitehouse: The coastal resilience fund, how has the interest been? How has the applications been compared to the resources you have to give out?
▶ 1:01:04Dr. Bamford: It has been significant. The national resilience fund is one of our most over prescribed programs we have. We have over 40 programs.
▶ 1:01:19Sen. Whitehouse: Provides funding not just to saltwater projects but also freshwater. People that have the freshwater have an interest as adequate funds.
▶ 1:01:30Dr. Bamford: It augments a lot of the work we do there to protect these coastal communities.
▶ 1:01:40Sen. Whitehouse: I say this all the time. If you look at the army corps of engineers it has a massive bias for upland and inland freshwater projects. What it does in salt water is negligible compared to main work. I referred to it as the bureaucratic tributary of the mississippi river. Almost everything goes to upland the end projects.
▶ 1:02:16Sen. Whitehouse: The coastal ecosystems. There remains this enormous gap between what inland and upland resources by way of resources and attention. The coastal state, they will continue to be a bore on that subject until we get better results from those agencies.
▶ 1:02:46Chair Capito: I will turn the clock off years since this is your area and I will let you do your questioning.
▶ 1:03:00Sen. Husted: When you think about the great lakes and the great lakes restoration initiative and all the efforts that have been undertaken over the years with invasive species, water quality, fishery, habitat.
▶ 1:03:26Sen. Husted: You alluded to the migration of birds and wetlands that have come as a result of this is really rather astonishing. For me, being born in 1967, if you are an ohio and you think about the river. That was probably the low point.
▶ 1:04:00Sen. Husted: Recognizing that we really messed up as a society and we need to fix it as it related to our great lakes, our environment and so forth. I know we could get down about problems that we have, we have the capacity to fix these things. We have done it in many ways.
▶ 1:04:30Sen. Husted: I want to give you a little bit of an opportunity to talk about the great lakes restoration initiative, the partnerships that you have seen and the hope of what you see for the future so let me just talk about successes, where the money has been applied, what has been achieved and what you would hope
▶ 1:05:00Sen. Husted: To achieve going forward.
▶ 1:05:04Dr. Mertz: Thank you. That is a great question. So many victories to celebrate. Wildlife alone, we have seen the comeback of the bald eagle. Amazing numbers. We have a place where we have achieved success in ohio with 1000 nesting pair along lake erie. We have seen the comeback of the trumpeter swan.
▶ 1:05:37Dr. Mertz: So many species. We are in a good place and we are taking care of it. There are a number of birds of concern but what we see is intentional focus on these areas could achieve success. That gives me hope for the future. If you put your money, time, you will see success.
▶ 1:06:02Dr. Mertz: We see this whole list on the return of wildlife and very important species. Those are great success stories that we are very proud of and we need to see more of that. The return of the water fell is because of the attention we have paid to wetlands. A water quality benefit and the wildlife benefit.
▶ 1:06:27Sen. Husted: Let's talk about wetlands. With the ohio program we invested in the wetlands. For the purpose of absorbing phosphorus and other nutrients. They contributed to the algae blooms.
▶ 1:06:54Sen. Husted: How many acres of wetlands have been created in coordination with all of this.
▶ 1:07:05Dr. Mertz: Through the age to ohio program we have created, restored, enhanced 20,000 acres of wetlands.
▶ 1:07:16Sen. Husted: We know how much phosphorus that absorbs?
▶ 1:07:21Dr. Mertz: We believe it is somewhere in the 60,000 pounds per year. The beauty of a wetland that is that is not a fee you have to pay every year for it to be successful. You make the investment and it will continue for a long time. The wetland investment for water quality purposes and then the collateral wildlife and recreation benefits are priceless.
▶ 1:07:52Dr. Mertz: We know we are making progress. We know we are reducing phosphorus because I have my friend Dr. winslow here to keep me honest. Experts in water quality around the state, they come in and they evaluate almost everything they do. That is ok.
▶ 1:08:16Dr. Mertz: If I discover we constructed something in a way that does not give us the benefits we expect, his folks and incredible experts , talk about applied science. You could reduce by this but you only have this.
▶ 1:08:45Dr. Mertz: That phosphorus, we wish we were seeing this. That is a step in the right direction. What we have is the science and data to show this infrastructure, plus the things we are doing in ohio working with farmers.
▶ 1:09:05Sen. Husted: They both save them money and reduce the phosphorus runoff.
▶ 1:09:10Dr. Mertz: Glri exactly -- exactly, glri is in this as well. Glri is supporting what the department of agriculture is doing in this area in some cases. They support what odnr does and the research to show it is working.
▶ 1:09:37Dr. Mertz: On the subject of applied research it goes beyond evaluating what we do. It is the relationship where I might call Dr. winslow. Explain to me how that helps change our behavior. This is exactly what I need to know. I am a believer in the applied research. It is a very close relationship.
▶ 1:10:09Sen. Husted: To inform your investments.
▶ 1:10:12Dr. Mertz: I have to have that are alive I have to prove it to our state legislator.
▶ 1:10:21Sen. Husted: As you look forward , this is what you have been able to accomplish. If we continue to support the program, what is next, what are the benefits to people, environment, so forth.
▶ 1:10:43Dr. Mertz: With invasive species, there is some sense that we have appropriate management of the problem. We need to continue to monitor and stay on top of it and not let something bad happen. I foresee progress on the algal bloom. Continuing research, technology, investment. That is what I said. The state has to step up too.
▶ 1:11:16Dr. Mertz: We need both working together. The threats to the great lakes evolve some. Some things that have been put away, the new understanding of what micro plastics might mean. Other emerging toxics.
▶ 1:11:40Dr. Mertz: I think glri will continue to play a role as we continue to manage the system.
▶ 1:11:56Sen. Husted: Largely working with canada on the lake erie, that is an ohio responsibility. Invasive species, the combination between the salmon, we have literally over time introduce new species because they have decimated other species. It is a constant learning process.
▶ 1:12:23Dr. Mertz: You mentioned the sea lamprey. Most of the scientists would say we have it managed. It is not great, it is not gone, it is not eradicated. That is what we will have to do with these invasive species going forward.
▶ 1:12:44Sen. Husted: Let me give Dr. winslow the chance to talk about successes you have seen as evidence that this works and what do you aspire to see going forward, what is next?
▶ 1:13:02Dr. Winslow: One of the biggest successes is that systems approach. We are engaging the community's first. We need that local voice. We have shown that what you see in the lake didn't start in the lake. It manifested from things going in the water.
▶ 1:13:33Dr. Winslow: Solutions and lake erie happen in the water. That engagement with the community using educators, our academics are learning how to talk to their users. They are talking about their science at a level people could understand. The successes, you see it on the ground. You see a different connection between the people and that resource. People that live on the land.
▶ 1:14:04Dr. Winslow: The other thing I am seeing is what we are seeing now between state and federal agencies. I do not run a proposal for research projects unless it's driven by what the agency wants. Those proposals, it is the relationships between universities and land users. It is an amazing collaborative process. We can talk about new birds and population and things like that.
▶ 1:14:35Dr. Winslow: We now have a system to deploy projects that work. We target the biggest threats. We are not funding good projects. We are also at a space, we are actually monitoring and tracking.
▶ 1:14:56Dr. Winslow: Applaud her efforts to deploy these to monitor, to know this wetland only released phosphorus -- reduce phosphorus by this amount, but this plant could do this amount, so every wetland in the future will be better. Every bay shoreline in the future will be better. That is what I am excited about, is if we can continue to make progress. But we are getting bigger bang for the buck than what we had at the start of this process.
▶ 1:15:32Dr. Bamford: Let me note that when we have conversations like this, we think about these things in isolation. This is the lake. This is what happens. All the tributaries contribute. The interaction with agriculture in the great lakes basin is a huge issue. We want food. We want the agate industry. -- ag industry.
▶ 1:16:06Dr. Bamford: We want affordable food. In the name of protecting the environment, we cannot drive up the cost of doing this so high that we cannot put an industry out of business when you drive up the cost of food. It is figuring out how it all works together. And it seemingly is not perfect. Always can be better. It seems to be working.
▶ 1:16:31Dr. Bamford: That is why that agency coordination between agriculture -- it is at the federal level as well.
▶ 1:16:45Dr. Winslow: That is one of those big ones, right? We know this money goes to U.S. epa. They have the relationships with the farmers. You need multiple agencies, both state and federal, because you cannot just go there and do work if you don't have a relationship with the folks. I get to give talks to people who live on the land. Can tell the struggles that ag is going through.
▶ 1:17:14Dr. Winslow: We are also seeing that farmers want to do different things on their landscape to slow nutrient runoff. The problem is the research we are providing them is not easy to deploy. It is hard to understand. It is hard to do it right. It is also expensive. Many of these farmers that are not causing runoff by malicious intent -- it is the end result of doing ag on the landscape. They want to be there for solutions, but some of those solutions cost them money without revenue. That is why usda is critical.
▶ 1:17:48Sen. Husted: We have not even mentioned the fact that you have wastewater and stormwater issues that also contribute. Water quality issues and nutrient contribution to the watershed. Do you want to remark on that?
▶ 1:18:06Dr. Winslow: I am using it through the lens of harmful algal blooms. Most of that is not through malicious intent. So most of those investments. But we do know that 8% to 9% of the phosphorus. Had we work with that constituency to better treat the water before it leaves?
▶ 1:18:35Dr. Winslow: There are ways we work with municipalities. The drinking water treatment facility, we have done research that helps them remove toxins from the water if they are drawing and in from a lake that has algal blooms. We are working with those municipalities. This helps out departments of health. This helps municipalities. We can tell private beaches how to test their water for the presence of toxins.
▶ 1:19:00Dr. Winslow: We have databases and websites which show which beaches have toxins, not only which ones are safe for recreation. We are in all aspects of the ag space and municipality space. What recommendations do you have for how we can continue?
▶ 1:19:19Dr. Winslow: I would say stay the course. The way the investments have gone into the five focus areas has been great. I would say to continue increasing transparency across the agencies, and keep leaning on the relationships that exist with the landowners through your land grant extension. And academics are starting to understand the importance.
▶ 1:19:43Dr. Winslow: Tap into that resource and applied research at your academic institutions.
▶ 1:19:54Sen. Husted: Problem solution -- problem identification is easy. The applied research aspect is so important because you can tell what is a viable, applicable solution. I have seen that firsthand, how the program works. Dr. bamford, you have listened to the conversation.
▶ 1:20:18Sen. Husted: I'm going to give you the chance to weigh in on successes and recommendations.
▶ 1:20:27Dr. Bamford: I think we had such great things from chris and mary. To add into that, the ecosystem is extremely dynamic. We are managing invasive's. We are doing good right now, but things are always changing. We are always learning, and we have to apply that. Challenges we did not even know existed, we are going to be facing.
▶ 1:20:49Dr. Bamford: I think this provides the resources to tackle those issues, look forward, look toward new technology, but also provide the resources, the different buckets -- federal, state, and nonprofits. The national fish and wildlife foundation, we are excited about continuing to implement this place-based funding because we want to focus on the working lands. This is a landscape of working lamps.
▶ 1:21:17Dr. Bamford: We have to do voluntary conservation to implement the right technical assistance, to provide the resources for those farmers to be able to implement those, to sustain it while still being able to pencil out in the black. That is extremely important, to making -- to make sure the working lands continue to work but they know how to implement those conservation practices. Supper who stood thank you -- Sen.
▶ 1:21:42Dr. Bamford: Houston thanksgiving -- the threat that that poses to the entire great lakes system, I think the question was earlier do all the great lakes systems get along?
▶ 1:22:11Dr. Bamford: There is water that comes out of lake michigan, lake superior, flows down through lake erie to ontario. They are all connected. If we don't manage it correctly, it is a threat to everyone. If you have any comments on looking ahead with that threat and what should be done.
▶ 1:22:38Chair Capito: This -- dir.
▶ 1:22:42Mertz: Specifically on the carpet issue? On the state side, this is the focus very much of the great lakes commission. When the state side, there was little dispute about where that was headed. Of course, there is the significant, high-profile connection, and we all hope that moves forward and is successful. We all waited a long, long time for that.
▶ 1:23:12Mertz: I will say I think in the carp endangered species area is one where at the technical level there is probably the most coordination than on any other project. Senator, you will appreciate we have a lot of fish guys. What they will tell me is we have been meeting with all the people in all the states. We have a plan. Don't let anybody mess with it because we all agree.
▶ 1:23:41Mertz: We looked at all the connections we are worried about. We, the states, put them in priority order, and we are hitting them off like this, and we are all agreed. Here in ohio, we agree. This thing in minnesota needs to happen first. Or this thing in ohio needs to happen first. They have sort of this huge group of technical people and they agree on how to split up the money each year. That is one where I see the states are all in agreement.
▶ 1:24:12Sen. Husted: Thank you. Anything that any of you want to add?
▶ 1:24:19Dr. Winslow: On the invasive species, we have academics talking about where the eggs are going, where the adults are going. That is research. But director mertz hit the nail on the head. We are all in lockstep.
▶ 1:24:41Dr. Bamford: I want to say thank you for this hearing in this opportunity to testify. This is extremely important to conservation in the upper lakes affect all of us.
▶ 1:24:51Sen. Husted: Thank you for holding the hearing today. A very important issue for all of the great lakes state. It is very important. Thank you for indulging us.
▶ 1:25:05Chair Capito: Thank you for your leadership. I want to thank everyone for being here. I explained earlier there is a lot going on in terms of committee hearings. I would not take this as a lack of interest in the issue. It is more a prioritization. Maybe that is what you are the only one that is here representing the great lakes. No further questions. I would like to thank the witnesses and all of my colleagues for participation in today's hearing.
▶ 1:25:33Chair Capito: Senators who wish to submit written questions for the record have until 5:00 p.m. On wednesday, april 29 to do so. I would ask that witness responses to these questions would be due back no later than 5:00 p.m. On wednesday, and they will be submitted for the record. With that, this hearing is adjourned. Thank you very much.