Blue Accounting has released the most comprehensive database of coastal wetlands protection, restoration and enhancement projects in the Great Lakes basin. For the first time, decision-makers and stakeholders can view state, federal, provincial and private investments side-by-side and track progress toward acreage goals identified for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
A successful collaboration
Through Blue Accounting, key experts and stakeholders come together to identify shared goals, track progress toward those goals, and deliver that information to Great Lakes decision-makers, helping them improve how the lakes are managed. Blue Accounting worked with the Coastal Assembly to launch the Coastal Wetlands issue. The Coastal Assembly is a regional partnership of government agencies, non-governmental organizations and academic researchers dedicated to working together to conserve and restore lands and waters in the critically important coastal zones of the Great Lakes.
Assembly members at the 2019 spring meeting in Marquette, MI
There is a great community of coastal wetlands practitioners and experts around the basin. These ecosystems not only provide critical habitat, but also buffer our shorelines during storms, filter runoff, and attract tourism. We’re excited to work with Blue Accounting to raise the profile of these important systems and have an accessible, transparent way to track our progress toward protecting, restoring and enhancing them.
What's happening near you?
The information hub now has interactive mapsdisplaying dollars spent on wetlands protection, restoration and enhancement and progress toward acreage goals set by GLRI. These maps allow users to filter results by attributes like state and congressional district and generate custom exportable tables and graphs.
The interface also supports networking by allowing users to dive into individual project details and contact information. Looking for who’s doing wetland work near you? Now you can quickly search your region for peers and potential collaborators. Looking for your organization’s project and not seeing it? You can submit your project here.
Onward
Going forward, Blue Accounting and the Coastal Assembly will continue to grow the hub’s data sources, with the goal of delivering data from all states, provinces, federal agencies and private organizations working on coastal wetlands. We will also be expanding the suite of goals and metrics we are tracking to include additional environmental goals and metrics, as well as social and economic ones.