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Organized around the guiding principle of assuring that the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River continue to provide a plentiful source of clean, affordable water to the region’s residents, businesses, and industries.

The GLLC’s mission is to strengthen the role of state and provincial legislators in the regional, national, and binational policymaking process by providing a forum to exchange good practices, ideas, and opportunities, and by advancing legislation to promote the restoration, protection, economy, and sustainable use of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River for current residents and future generations.


Organized and staffed by The Council of State Governments Midwestern Office (CSG Midwest), the GLLC was founded in 2003 at the urging of a core group of state legislators led by the late Michigan Sen. Patricia (Patty) Birkholz. The Caucus has grown from an ad hoc group of like-minded legislators to an active, member-driven organization of state and provincial legislators from all 10 jurisdictions that share the Great Lakes basin.

The evolution of the GLLC would not have been possible without the generosity of foundations that have supported CSG Midwest’s work, with much gratitude especially to The Joyce Foundation. We also thank the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation for funding general operations and the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation for funding the GLLC’s work on nutrient management.


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