2023 Great Lakes Day Recap

Over 100 advocates met in D.C. in early March to lobby for the Great Lakes
Indiana advocates meet with Congressman Mrvan

Last week Save the Dunes staff and our team of volunteer advocates traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby for Great Lakes Day! We joined over 100 Great Lakes advocates from all 8 Great Lakes states, united in urging our members of Congress to continue their support for federal investments to protect the ecology, drinking water, public health, jobs, and quality of life for the millions of people in our region.

We met with Congressman Mrvan and Congressman Yakym, as well as the offices of Senator Braun and Senator Young. We are grateful for everyone’s time and for the good conversations we had.

Indiana team for Great Lakes Day in front of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

Our team promoted a policy agenda developed by the Healing our Waters Great Lakes Coalition that asked Congress to:

  • Fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $425 million to clean up toxic pollution, restore fish and wildlife habitat, reduce farm and city runoff pollution, and prevent and manage invasive species.
  • Fund the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund at $4.6 billion and $4.1 billion, respectively, to support community efforts to upgrade wastewater and drinking water infrastructure.
  • Support clean water protections by supporting the EPA’s Waters of the United States Rule, establishing limits on toxic PFAS in drinking water, and funding the Biden Administration’s campaign to protect families from lead poisoning.
  • Support a Farm Bill that maintains robust funding for conservation programs that pay farmers to take specific actions to protect soil and water quality, as well as promotes incentives for farmers to establish more sustainable practices that protect water quality.

Our sincerest thanks to the entire team of advocates, which included Harshini Ratnayaka of Save the Dunes, Katie Hobgood of Save the Dunes, Dylan Hollingsworth of Save the DunesNancy Moldenhauer of Save the Dunes, Tim Koenning of National Parks Conservation Association, and Kimmie Gordon of Brown Faces Green Spaces. We had a very successful couple of days lobbying with our Indiana Representatives, and we are looking forward to continuing to grow these relationships to advocate for bipartisan cooperation when it comes to the Great Lakes!