New York Great Lakes Initiative for Science and Education

The Origins of the Great Lakes Research Consortium
Unfortunately for us, only a few New York scientists were able to contribute to this success. New York did not then have a major environmental research center dedicated to Great Lakes science such as existed in Michigan and Wisconsin. As a result, despite the fact that the water crisis was most acutely felt in New York, almost all the federal dollars went to institutions on the upper lakes and it is there that the scientific infrastructure was built and supported. It was for this reason that sixteen years ago SUNY created and the state legislature supported the establishment of the Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC).

The GLRC became a novel decentralized, collaborative institution, starting with five SUNY colleges and universities in 1986 and expanding to sixteen by 2002, including several private universities. Several multi-talented, multicampus research teams were formed within the Consortium and these have made major contributions to understanding many facets of the lakes. But despite these successes, New York still receives considerably less than its fair share of Great Lakes programs and investments.

The Need to Support Science
in New York
Today, we have many more academic scientists involved in Great Lakes research in New York than we did in the 1960s and 70s, but we still do not have a major, well funded research institute, while our members’ field stations and small research vessels go severely underfunded. At the same time, lulled bypast successes, the federal and state surveillance and monitoring infrastructure has been allowed to gradually decline. Staff has been cut, field work neglected. Without adequate ongoing, long-term surveillance and monitoring, there is a serious lack of up-to-date information on which to base scientific analysis or to make informed policy decisions. ..New York Has Not Received Its Fair Share of Federal Great Lakes Funding

The Growing Great Lakes Crisis

The Crisis of the Late 1960s and 70s

The Scientific Response

The Origins of the Great Lakes Research Consortium

The Need to Support Science in New York

New York Has Not Received Its Fair Share of Federal Great Lakes Funding

1. Great Lakes Center at Buffalo
2. Great Lakes Center at Brockport
3. Environmental Research Center at Oswego
4. GLRC Headquarters
5. Cornell Biological Field Station
6. SUNY ESF Thousand Islands Biological Field station
7. Great Rivers Institute
8. Lake Champlain Research Institute

To learn more about the facilities of the GLRC network, their current research projects, research specialties, facilities, and needed upgrades, click on any location above