During its “Virtual” Annual Meeting, the binational, nonpartisan Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus elected Senator Carrie Ruud to represent Minnesota on the GLLC Executive Committee in 2021-22. Senator Ruud has been a member of the Caucus since 2013. All eight states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin are represented on the Executive Committee.

Senator Ruud replaces Representative Jennifer Schultz, who was elected to the position of Vice-Chair. Senator Ruud and the other GLLC leaders will direct the Caucus’s activities over the next two years. The policy agenda adopted by the Caucus in 2018 focuses the organization’s work on water consumption, aquatic invasive species, toxic substances, nutrient pollution, and coastal communities. Some of the specific objectives include assuring the availability of safe, clean, affordable drinking water; encouraging infrastructure improvements to reduce nutrient runoff, including the installation of green infrastructure; and supporting the sustainable economic development of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence coastal communities, including the restoration and preservation of habitat.

The Caucus’s ongoing work includes advocacy with other Great Lakes organizations on policies and appropriations that will benefit the lakes, as well as the people, businesses, and industry that depend upon them. The Caucus also continues its efforts to expand recognition of the annual Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Appreciation Day in every state and province in the region.

In 2020, the GLLC’s two task forces, both born of the Patricia Birkholz Institute for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Policy focused on reducing exposure to lead in drinking water and the ongoing problem of nutrient pollution. In 2021, the Institute’s focus will be helping communities become climate resilient; the 2021 Birkholz Institute will take place in the fall.

Through its mix of programming, advocacy, and other activities, the Caucus provides a forum for the regional exchange of ideas and information on key issues that impact the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Membership in the nonpartisan Caucus is open to all state and provincial legislators in the eight states and two provinces that share the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin.