By Rick Olivo, Ashland Daily Press

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has received a great measure of bipartisan support since it was initiated in fiscal year 2010.

From an initial funding of $475 million, the program has received an annual appropriation of $300 million in every year except fiscal year 2013, when many federal programs were hit by across the board cuts from federal budget sequestration. In that year, the appropriation for the act fell to $285 million, but went back up to the usual $300 million through fiscal year 2016.

However, in the budget proposed by outgoing President Barak Obama, the GLRI budget would fall to $250 million.

Reversing that cut is one of the subjects of a dozen policy recommendations made earlier this month at the Northland College Water Summit’s panel of water experts from a mix of industry, nonprofits, tribal government, federal agencies and academia. To read full story.