Freshwater Society

The Freshwater Society is a nonprofit organization that promotes the protection, conservation and restoration of freshwater resources. By partnering with local organizations and working with many volunteer groups, the Freshwater Society displays the network mode of governance. The Society, first established in 1968, has been a very important public nonprofit organization dealing with all freshwater resources. The organization devotes its resources and experiences to activities that help with the understanding, enhancement, protection, and restoration of all freshwater resources. There were three members that built the Society: Dick Gray, Dr. Richard Caldecott, and Hib Hill. Dr. Richard Caldecott is still a member of the Freshwater board today.

There are multiple types of memberships you can be apart of in the Freshwater Society, ranging from individual to corporate. They accept any type of donations, just like other nonprofit organizations do so. Overall, the Society works with many other nonprofit organizations, volunteer groups, and has multiple partnerships so they can protect and preserve our lakes and rivers.

An example of a partnership with the Freshwater Society is the Healthy Lakes and Rivers Partnership. The HLRP transports resources to organizations through encouragement and training to make a community-based management proposal for their river or lake. The program gives training lessons for skill improvement in development of a River Management Plan, nonprofit leadership, and a presentation with many natural resource agency representatives. Collaborating with the Initiative Foundation, the Freshwater Society was given funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund from the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources to continue the program in Otter Tail County.

Another role the Freshwater Society plays is in community clean ups for water quality. The Society has created a DVD that breaks down how to implement and organize a clean up, along with a community toolkit. The object of the clean up is to decrease the amount of nutrients and soil that goes into the lakes and rivers; this can be done by removing yard debris and leaves from city streets by raking and baking leaves and debris. These community clean ups for water quality have been funded for quite some time by Friends of the Minnesota Valley. The Freshwater Society has been working to take the volunteer effort to organizations all around the state since 2010.

The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the Freshwater Society have created a highly effective new program to help with the protection of water quality in the state of Minnesota. The program is called The Master Water Stewards, and is supporting community managers to create pollution prevention developments that decrease pollutants from urban runoff, help educate community associates, and permit more water to sink in the ground before running into the storm sewer systems. The volunteer community managers take part in a 50-hour program of projects and courses.

Overall, the Freshwater Society plays a large role in the protection, conservation and restoration of our freshwater resources. By partnering with other nonprofit organizations, guiding volunteer organizations, and supporting its members, the Freshwater Society works hard to continue to be a leading public nonprofit organization when it comes to our freshwater resources and their surrounding watersheds.

Sources:
http://freshwater.org/about-the-society/

National Wildlife Federation

 

The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, non-profit organization that works to promote conservation of wildlife and natural resources. The NWF strives to unite multiple actors including individuals, businesses, governments and organizations. Its efforts exemplify the network mode of governance, as it brings in actors who interact by collaborative methods as opposed to traditional hierarchical means. There are 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations, and nearly six million members of NWF across the country.

        

The National Wildlife Federation plays an important role in restoration of the Great Lakes. The NWF serves as the co-chair of Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition. The coalition is comprised of over 125 organizations. Serving as the co-chair, the NWF is aiming to fund and implement a plan that looks to remove toxic sediments, reduce polluted runoff, and stop contamination from sewage in the Great Lakes. In addition, they look to protect and restore habitat and wetlands.

The NWF also looks to prevent oil spills in the Great Lakes. As we move toward the future, aging pipelines become an increasing concern. The National Wildlife Federation monitors these pipeline networks as a preventative measure in protecting the Great Lakes.

The NWF is an active player in protecting the Great Lakes from the implementation of environmentally harmful projects. For example, they are working to get multiple actors involved to prevent sulfide mining in the vicinity of Lake Superior.

The National Wildlife Federation is also concerned with education about the environment as it pertains to the Great Lakes. The NWF looks to restore the connection between our youth and nature by the means of a wildlife and kids community called Wildlife Nation. This social community encourages adults to educate their children about the environment to enhance the next generation of conservation.

The NWF's efforts go far beyond addressing just pollution in the Great Lakes. They are mainly concerned with problems relating to the well being of wildlife populations. These issues are important as they reap the effects of pollution. Beyond protecting the Great Lakes, there are many other issues that the NWF is concerned with. They work with the previously mentioned 48 state and regional organizations to address issues in different areas of the country. Other wild places of concern are Bristol Bay, Mississippi River Delta, Puget Sound and many more.

This organization differs from a traditional form of governance. Input is provided from all different sectors in this network mode of governance. The National Wildlife Federation essentially acts as a facilitator in environmental issues. Some of the NWF's accomplishments include: holding BP accountable for Gulf Restoration, establishment of Rio Grande del Norte as a national monument, and many more.  I personally think that the network mode of governance that the National Wildlife Federation creates can have more of an impact than traditional top-down forms of government. A private, non-profit organization such as NWF has the ability to incorporate the opinions of multiple actors. It prevents the controlling bias that may be produced by one lone actor, resulting in an even distribution of power.

References:

https://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Protect-Habitat/Waters/Great-Lakes.aspx

http://www.learningtogive.org/resources/national-wildlife-federation

Image Sources:

http://blog.nwf.org/2009/10/be-out-there-five-great-online-tools-for-parents-to-increase-their-kids-outdoor-time/

https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/PhotoZone/Archives/2015/Water-Photo-Gallery-2015.aspx

Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative

The Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI) is a Michigan-based project that utilizes network principles in an attempt to stimulate environmental governance. The project attempts to garnish a collaborative effort between a multitude of actors, concentrating specifically on those that deal with educational initiatives and local environmental organizations (About).

GLSI utilizes “. . .grants and technical assistance. . .” as a medium to collaborate with “. . . students, teachers and community organizations” (About). One of the initiatives main tenet revolves around the belief that citizens are genuinely concerned with the well-being of the Great Lakes, however, they often lack the knowledge and means to enact meaningful change. Educational initiatives, as suggested by the GLSI, are tailored in a manner that works in conjunction with community organizations (Our Accomplishments).

Some of these organizations include the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, which specializes in educating middle and high school students about the relationship between humans and ecosystems (“LinkClick” #1), as well as West Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, which specializes in hands-on student workshops for fish habitats and storm water runoff (“LinkClick” #2).

GLSI does not focus on environmental objectives that necessarily deal with concrete, tangible or otherwise “measurable” results (i.e. trash collection, river clean up), unless of course, that initiative has an explicit educational and/or curriculum element. It serves as a catalyst for community appreciation via educating the public, mainly K-12 students, about major issues within the Great Lakes. The only “measurable” elements within the organization dealt with the number of students touched by their outreach effort, results of GLSI-funded university studies, as well as numerical information regarding grants (Overview).

GLSI receives funding primarily through their collaboration with the Great Lakes Stewardship Trust (GLST) and the Wege foundation (About). The GLSI, in return, then rewards associated organizations by according grants and technical assistance (About). However, it is unclear what eligibility criteria is used to determine how associated organizations receive funding, as no explicit information was provided within their website. This may imply flexibility, rather than rigidity, within the scope of initiatives they advance.
GLSI exemplifies network-based modes of governance, as the organization and it’s associated groups, are privately run and outside the realm of hierarchical and traditional governmental constructs. The only relationship GLSI has with governmental entities is confined to the role of donations to public schools for the purpose of environmental education.

The initiative has no evident market-based incentives or initiatives. Rather, it appears that the goal of the organization is strictly for the purpose of community outreach and educational action, rather than production/operation efficiency, favorable public image, and/or profiteering. The only incentive GLSI provides deals with grants to nonprofits and public schools, which again, it appears unclear as to how and why certain entities are deemed worthy of receiving grants. While the organization may exhibit a hierarchical characteristic (in the form of funding), it in no way has the rigid parameters that are evident within governmental regulation, as a list of the initiatives funded are rather broad, imply flexibility, and cover a multitude of disciplines and objectives (Our Grants).

These efforts are fundamental, as it provides crucial knowledge to younger generations regarding water quality, the role of watersheds, the fundamental importance of the Great Lakes and other water resources, as well as recreational significance (Our Grants). As state funding for public education continues to not only stagnate (MichiganRadio), but can only be used within the parameters outlined by the state, GLSI has proven to be invaluable. One might argue that GLSI functions to combat the shortcomings associated with state government, which of course, has become increasingly hostile to the public realm.

Sources:

http://www.glstewardship.org/OurAccomplishments/CommunityProjects.aspx

http://www.glstewardship.org/About.aspx

http://www.glstewardship.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=-uhMmKbc6Is%3d&tabid=73

http://www.glstewardship.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=KC_dFHkybEc%3d&tabid=73

http://www.glstewardship.org/OurGrants/FundedGrants.aspx

http://michiganradio.org/post/has-public-education-funding-gone-or-down-under-gov-snyders-watch#stream/0

http://www.glstewardship.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=9lSM7T2EpgA%3d&tabid=63

Images:

http://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/114274093.jpg

Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

 

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is an international agreement between Canada and the United States. The agreement addresses water quality issues in the Great Lakes and the international section of the St. Lawrence River. It’s overall goal is to uphold and re-establish the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem through interventions that are appointed at the areas of concern.

First signed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and President Richard Nixon in 1972, the agreement has been updated several times; in 1978, 1987, and 2012.  The original 1972 agreement primarily focused on reducing algae, and both countries believed that limiting phosphorus inputs was the answer to the control of the excessive algal growth.  The 1978 revision focused on toxic substances in the Great Lakes, so both countries have taken action in decreasing the release of toxic chemicals in the environment. In the 1987 revision, the United States and Canada agreed to find the specific damages, like fish and wildlife consumption limitations, beach closings, or unfavorable algae. This revision also concentrated on re-establishing the ecosystem within these areas. The most recent revision in 2012 came into power February 12, 2013. This revision allowed the International Joint Commission substantial responsibilities to inform the public and measure its progress. Also, the 2012 GLWQA now involves measures to avoid environmental risks before they result in ecological destruction, while also continuing to support the work on current pressures to the quality of the waters of the Great Lakes. Overall, one of the most important changes in the 2012 GLWQA is the position both the United States and Canada have placed on providing the widest variety of organizations, governments and also involving the public in work to protect and restore the water quality of the Great Lakes.

The GLWQA contains the regulations and committee that has the power to choose whether a specific area should be labeled an area of concern. Since each individual waterway has its own characteristics that effect its ecological damage, a Remedial Action Plan has been created to help recognize the causes of those damages. This, in turn, will then be used to help local actions restore the individual waterways.

A group that is greatly involved in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is the International Joint Commission. The IJC’s position under the GLWQA is to report on development towards meeting the agreement’s intentions, evaluate the efficiency of programs in the United States and Canada, and lastly to examine the material given by the governments. When the GLWQA was first created, a Water Quality Board was developed to advise the IJC. There is also a regional office in the Great Lakes basin, managed by the IJC, to help the IJC with its obligations under the agreement.

The IJC adopted four important priority areas in 2012 to be worked on from 2012-2015. Each priority was given a desired goal that should result from its work by 2015, along with a staff administration team to work with its Great Lakes boards and many other professionals. The four main priorities consist of: The reduction of phosphorus loads and algal blooms in Lake Erie, the evaluation of growth towards the re-establishment of the Great Lakes, strengthening the volume to distribute Great Lakes Science and Information, and lastly public involvement and education.

Sources:

http://www.ijc.org/en_/Great_Lakes_Quality

https://www.ec.gc.ca/grandslacs-greatlakes/default.asp?lang=En&n=647DC488-1

http://binational.net/glwqa-aqegl/