The Water Resources Development Act of 2000 authorized the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration Program (GLFER) and envisioned the active involvement of the signatories to A Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries in the implementation of GLFER. As such, the Council of Lake Committees (CLC), a group of senior fishery managers representing the eight Great Lakes states, the province of Ontario, and the U.S. tribes, formed the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration Program Project Review Committee (Project Review Committee). The Project Review Committee is responsible for helping the Corps of Engineers (COE) solicit GLFER proposals, reviewing GLFER proposals, evaluating GLFER proposals, and providing recommendations for GLFER proposals to the CLC and the COE. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) facilitates the review committee.
The GLFER Project Review Committee consists of 13 members. Members include representatives of all State Directors, a representative of the Chippewa-Ottawa Resource Authority, a representative of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, and a representative of either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the U.S. Geological Survey’s Biological Resources Division. In addition, the CLC appoints 2 representatives to serve on the committee from outside organizations such as (but not limited to): a Great Lakes university research institution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, a representative of a municipality, or a non-governmental organization eligible to cost-share a GLFER project. The GLFC, the COE, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources are provided the opportunity to be represented by observers.