MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING between the Great Lakes Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey PARTICIPATING ENTITIES This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is between the Great Lakes Commission (hereafter GLC), a 501(c)(1) non-profit compact agency created by state and U.S. Federal law, and the U.S. Geological Survey (hereafter the USGS) and together constituting the Parties. The GLC is an established interstate compact agency, founded in state and Federal legislation, and dedicated to coordinating and fostering a regional approach to Great Lakes management. In addition to its eight Member States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), the provinces of Ontario and Québec participate in the GLC as Associate Members. AUTHORITIES A. The programmatic authority of the GLC is provided under the Great Lakes Basin Compact, created through the collective legislative action of its member states and granted congressional consent through Public Law 90-419. B. The programmatic authority for the USGS to engage in a MOU with the GLC is 43 U.S.C. 36c, which authorizes the USGS to pursue projects in cooperation with other agencies, Federal, state, or private, and is also embedded in its Science Strategy. PURPOSE AND SCOPE This MOU establishes an institutional mechanism to support ongoing collaboration between the USGS and the GLC to advance mutual goals and objectives related to Great Lakes conservation, protection, sustainable use and development. This includes activities related to invasive species prevention and control as well as coastal ecosystem protection and restoration efforts connected to infrastructure, resiliency, habitat, and community revitalization. These mutual goals are supported by the USGS mission to pursue and manage scientific research and information that can be used to restore, enhance, manage and protect the living resources and habitats of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. The purpose of this MOU is also consistent with the Great Lakes Commission mission promote the orderly, integrated and comprehensive “to development, use and conservation of the water and related natural resources of the Great Lakes basin and St. Lawrence River.”
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING between the Great Lakes Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey PARTICIPATING ENTITIES This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is between the Great Lakes Commission (hereafter GLC), a 501(c)(1) non-profit compact agency created by state and U.S. Federal law, and the U.S. Geological Survey (hereafter the USGS) and together constituting the Parties. The GLC is an established interstate compact agency, founded in state and Federal legislation, and dedicated to coordinating and fostering a regional approach to Great Lakes management. In addition to its eight Member States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), the provinces of Ontario and Québec participate in the GLC as Associate Members. AUTHORITIES A. The programmatic authority of the GLC is provided under the Great Lakes Basin Compact, created through the collective legislative action of its member states and granted congressional consent through Public Law 90-419. B. The programmatic authority for the USGS to engage in a MOU with the GLC is 43 U.S.C. 36c, which authorizes the USGS to pursue projects in cooperation with other agencies, Federal, state, or private, and is also embedded in its Science Strategy. PURPOSE AND SCOPE This MOU establishes an institutional mechanism to support ongoing collaboration between the USGS and the GLC to advance mutual goals and objectives related to Great Lakes conservation, protection, sustainable use and development. This includes activities related to invasive species prevention and control as well as coastal ecosystem protection and restoration efforts connected to infrastructure, resiliency, habitat, and community revitalization. These mutual goals are supported by the USGS mission to pursue and manage scientific research and information that can be used to restore, enhance, manage and protect the living resources and habitats of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. The purpose of this MOU is also consistent with the Great Lakes Commission mission “to promote the orderly, integrated and comprehensive development, use and conservation of the water and related natural resources of the Great Lakes basin and St. Lawrence River.”
mou-usgs-glc.docx