Baldwin, Bipartisan Group of Colleagues Introduce Bill to Protect Great Lakes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined a bipartisan group of her colleagues in introducing legislation to extend federal funding and protections for the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2025 would reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) through 2031 and increase the program’s annual funding. The GLRI is the most significant investment to restore and protect our Great Lakes.

“Wisconsin’s Great Lakes not only play a vital role in shaping our way of life, but they also drive economic activity in countless communities up and down the Fresh Coasts and help move our Made in Wisconsin economy forward,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am proud to once again work with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to continue protecting these natural resources for the next generation of Wisconsin families, businesses, and visitors.”

The GLRI combines federal and nonfederal efforts to stop the spread of carp and other invasive species, restore coastline and habitats connecting streams and rivers, clean up environmentally damaged Areas of Concern, and prevent future contamination. While providing vital support for these efforts, the GLRI also helps ensure we can address new and emerging threats to the Great Lakes. One independent economic study found that for every dollar the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative invests, it produces an additional $3.35 of economic activity

Since its inception, the GLRI has spurred tremendous progress throughout the Great Lakes region including nearly half of a million acres of habitat protected, restored, or enhanced, a five-fold increase in the successful cleanup and delisting of Areas of Concern (AOCs), a ten-fold increase in the remediation of environmental and public health impairments, and reducing the threat of harmful algal blooms. The GLRI’s efforts have also resulted in economic returns of more than 3 to 1 across the region. Senator Baldwin has been a strong supporter of the GLRI program, leading the introduction and passage of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019, and as a member of the Appropriations Committee, works to secure continued funding in the annual budget process.

Wisconsin is home to four existing AOCs, the St. Louis River on Lake Superior and the Fox River, Sheboygan River and Milwaukee Estuary on Lake Michigan. Because of previous investments to restore its waters through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Lower Menominee River on Lake Michigan was removed in 2020. Senator Baldwin supported a $1 billion investment into address AOC’s in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which the Environmental Protection Agency projects will remove 22 of 25 remaining Great Lakes “Areas of Concern” by 2030, including all remaining sites in Wisconsin.

This legislation is led by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Todd Young (R-IN), and co-sponsored by Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Jon Husted (R-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Fetterman (D-PA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).

The legislation also shares broad support among Great Lakes advocates, including the Council of Great Lakes Governors, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, American Great Lakes Ports Association, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, American Sportfishing Association, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, National Audubon Society - Great Lakes, Environmental Law & Policy Center, MI League of Conservation Voters, Save the Dunes, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Clean Wisconsin, Ohio Environmental Council, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, and Minnesota Environmental Partnership.

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