U.S. government steps up Great Lakes restoration effort

Greater efforts will be made in the next five years to improve water quality and restore native wildlife habitats on the Great Lakes.    The federal government on Wednesday said it will take even bigger steps in the next five years to improve water quality, control invasive species and restore native wildlife habitats on the Great Lakes.
   The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan will be directed by a half-dozen agencies through the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force. Gina McCarthy, Environmental Protection Agency administrator, will serve as the task force’s chair.
   “We’re currently engaged in the largest conservation initiative in American history,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement.
   The Great Lakes is the world’s largest freshwater body. However, it has been plagued by an influx of invasive species and farm runoff-induced algae blooms.
   The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was first launched in 2010.
   The GLRI Action Plan for fiscal years 2015-2019 will focus on cleaning up Great Lakes “areas of concern,” preventing and controlling invasive species, reducing nutrient runoff, and restoring habitats of native species, EPA said.