(February 23, 2026) The Nice Lakes type the biggest recent floor water system on Earth, offering habitat for thousands and thousands of birds and consuming water for 40 million folks. Congress continued its bipartisan dedication to defending this globally important ecosystem by passing a bundle of spending payments that may fund components of the federal government by means of September 30. This bundle consists of $369 million for the Nice Lakes Restoration Initiative—a $1 million enhance for this system that’s the largest supply of federal funding to guard the Nice Lakes.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is an indispensable supply of funding for Audubon and our companions for restoring and conserving greater than 10,000 acres of wetland habitat for susceptible marsh birds, just like the Least Bittern and Pied-billed Grebe. Over the previous three many years, Nice Lakes populations of breeding marsh birds have declined considerably, however restoration of the habitats they want throughout the Nice Lakes area helps to convey them again.
One shining instance is our historic wetlands restoration challenge at Powderhorn Lake Forest Protect on Chicago’s Southeast Facet. With greater than $1 million in GLRI assist, Audubon Nice Lakes, the Forest Protect District of Cook dinner County, Nice Lakes Fee, and Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reconnected two lakes to revive marsh habitat, scale back flooding in close by communities, and enhance water high quality. The multi-year effort demonstrates how ecological restoration and neighborhood resilience go hand-in-hand.
Throughout the area, GLRI is funding our work with companions and native communities at locations together with:
- Hatcher Park and Marshalltown Marsh within the Calumet area of Indiana
- Allouez Bay within the St. Louis River Estuary area of Wisconsin
- Cat Island within the Inexperienced Bay Area of Wisconsin
- Lakeview Wildlife Administration Space in Japanese Lake Ontario, New York
- Wigwam Bay State Wildlife Space in Saginaw Bay, Michigan
These are simply the tasks that Audubon is immediately concerned in. Since its creation, the GLRI has directed billions of {dollars} to Nice Lakes restoration, supporting greater than 7,000 restoration tasks that enhance water high quality, restore wetlands, strengthen coastal resilience and shield chook and wildlife habitat. Continued and elevated funding will be certain that this progress stays robust, leading to cleaner water, more healthy ecosystems, and extra resilient Nice Lakes communities.
We’re grateful to Congress for working collectively to discover a path ahead to safe funding this yr, however our work is way from over. The GLRI program is about to run out on the finish of 2026. We urge Congress to proceed working collectively to reauthorize and develop funding for this vital program by passing the GLRI Reauthorization Act. Doing so will assist to safeguard many years of progress and make sure the Nice Lakes proceed to thrive for each the birds and the those that rely on them.
