| The
concept of the Glossary of the Great Lakes grew out of confusion about
the multitude of local, state, federal and international regulations, initiatives,
and programs related to managing the Great Lakes natural environment. In the process
of trying to sort out the complex maze of Great Lakes environmental programs,
we found that nearly everyone with an interest in the Great Lakes, from private
citizens to industry representatives to public agency staff, shared our confusion
to some degree. It soon became apparent that a summary document could benefit
a large audience. From this the glossary was born. The purpose of the glossary
is to provide a quick and easy reference to environmental programs related to
the Great Lakes, including organizations, regulations, initiatives, terms, and
even acronyms. The glossary is a work in progress, and is not comprehensive. It
was developed primarily from the Minnesota perspective and, as of this printing,
does not include all programs from other Great Lakes states or provinces. We encourage
involvement from other states and provinces to expand and strengthen the glossary.
We also encourage feedback regarding
its contents and structure, to help make the glossary a more useful document.
In order to maintain its usefulness it will need to be updated regularly as programs
change. Clearly this exercise has helped us understand the complex of regulations,
initiatives, and programs that relate to the Great Lakes. Despite our better understanding
of Great Lakes programs, during the time that we were developing the glossary,
we often found ourselves turning to our draft version to look up some forgotten
detail needed for some other aspect of our work. We hope you find the glossary
equally useful in your endeavors to understand environmental programs that relate
to the Great Lakes. go to guidance for use |
