The public is invited to a free meeting to find out how Lake Michigan issues are being addressed, and to express concern about Lake Michigan issues. The meeting is scheduled for 6:45-9 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in downtown Muskegon.
The free public meeting is part of the State of the Lake '99 conference convened by GVSU's Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute. It's a comprehensive look at numerous environmental issues related to the lake. The public meeting is sponsored in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Lake Michigan Forum.
Monday's meeting will include a multi-media presentation about Lake Michigan from 6:45-7:30 p.m. Representatives of the EPA will explain planning for Lake Michigan at 7:30. Scientists and policy makers will address various issues in a panel discussion from 7:50 to 8:30 p.m., followed by an open question and answer session.
Those interested in more information should contact the Water Resources Institute's Muskegon field station at 231-728-3285.
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The Full Story . . .
GVSU Water Resources Institute Convenes Conference
On Lake Michigan Environmental Policy November 8-9
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Low water levels in the Great Lakes, exotic species such as the gobi fish and the zebra mussel, tumors in zooplankton, and erosion will be among the more than 25 topics of discussion November 8-9 at the State of the Lake '99 conference in Muskegon, Michigan. The conference will be at the Muskegon Holiday Inn, 939 Third Street.
The Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University is convening the first major conference on Lake Michigan that will bring together scientists, public policy makers and the general public. Conference attendees and presenters will include representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, and scientists from universities and local agencies in shoreline communities around Lake Michigan.
State of the Lake '99 follows the September meetings of the International Joint Commission in Milwaukee. The conference in Muskegon will focus on Lake Michigan in particular, including recent studies on water quality, exotic species, economic considerations, and upcoming policy issues affecting the second largest Great Lake and the sixth largest lake in the world.
The conference comes at a time when the United States Environmental Protection Agency is completing the Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) for Lake Michigan, explains Janet Vail, senior program manager at the Water Resources Institute and organizer of the State of the Lake '99 conference.
[A conference brochure is available by calling GVSU News & Information Services at 616-895-2221.]
The conference is also the culmination of the Making Lake Michigan Great Tour of Lake Michigan this past summer and fall by the W. G. Jackson, the Water Resource Institute's 65-foot research vessel. The vessel visited 11 Lake Michigan port cities to provide information about Lake Michigan planning and to give lakeshore residents educational cruises.
The Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute is in the process of moving from GVSU's Allendale campus to the shore of Muskegon Lake. University officials plan for a Lake Michigan Center that will become nationally known for fresh water research.
