ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The International Joint Commission Saturday renewed its commitment to help the United States and Canada update the 1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Commissioners spent two days in Ann Arbor listening to speakers and attending workshops on the many challenges facing the Great Lakes.
Among the topics covered were climate changes, urbanization, alien invasive species, habitat restoration and mercury impacts on the lakes, the IJC said in a news release.
As the final order of business, the commissioners resolved their top priority in the next two years will be assisting the U.S. and Canadian governments in updating the 30-year-old water pact.
The IJC also awarded its first Biennium Award for Great Lakes Science to Dr. Jan Ciborowski, a University of Windsor professor affiliated with the Great Lakes Institute.
In a statement, the IMF said Ciborowski's research and his Lake Erie Millennium Network made a "significant contribution to our understanding and management of of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem."
