Publications

IJC publications contain both board and corporate documents, including reports, fact sheets, infographics, and presentations. Contractor reports are created on behalf of or in coordination with the IJC or its boards by a separate entity, including individuals, companies, and governments. Government reports are documents developed by US or Canadian local/provincial/state/federal government that are of interest to the IJC or board.

IJC Content

Displaying 1 - 50 of 73.

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2023 Consultant Report and Summary Letter In 2021, the IJC’s Water Quality Board launched the Manure Nutrient Management Collaborative (Collaborative) with representatives from agriculture, conservation, business, environmental science and government leaders, working toward protection of water...
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Following up on its 2019 report “ Use of Modeling Approaches to Affect Nutrient Management Through Adaptative Management”, this IJC Great Lakes Science Advisory Board-Research Coordination Committee report focuses on progress to date in implementing the Lake Erie Nutrient Adaptive Management...
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This white paper presents the results of a collaboration between the International Joint Commission’s Health Professionals Advisory Board and the Great Lakes Beach Association to assess the binational extent, experience and effects of Great Lakes Beach Sanitary Surveys in the United States and...
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The Great Lakes Science Strategy for the Next Decade (the Science Strategy) summarizes the science gaps and related resource needs identified by hundreds of knowledge-holders convened by the International Joint Commission (IJC). This Summary Report provides an overview of the project and integrates...
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In 2021 the WQB produced a report (updated August 2023) on the topic of decommissioning nuclear power plants in the Great Lakes basin, which identified potential opportunities in the decommissioning process to reduce threats to the Great Lakes environment. The WQB recommends binational alignment of...
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This is a short summary of the key findings of the report, " Flood water storage using active and passive approaches - Assessing flood control attributes of wetlands and riparian agricultural land in the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River watershed"
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A report to the International Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Study Board on "Flood Water Storage using Active and Passive Approaches: Assessing Flood Control Attributes of Wetlands and Riparian Agricultural Land in the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Watershed".
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Reports The Great Lakes Water Quality Board completed its third Great Lakes Regional Poll in 2021. The 2021 Great Lakes Regional Poll results provide a snapshot of Great Lakes residents' views on topics including: the importance to protect the Great Lakes environmental health and water quality, and...
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The connecting waters are vital links in the economic and ecological network of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system, but they are threatened by multiple stressors. Present monitoring activities are insufficient to adequately inform the management of these connecting waters. The Great Lakes...
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The Health Professionals Advisory Board conducted a proof-of-concept pilot study to assess whether it is feasible to collect comparable, binational water quality and population health data for locations around the Great Lakes, and whether such data could be used to generate conclusions and examine...
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In keeping with its role to monitor the health of the St. Croix river aquatic ecosystem, the International St. Croix River Watershed Board has released a study exploring opportunities and constraints for improved fish passage for the lower stretches of the St. Croix River.
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In 1913, a ground-breaking IJC monitoring study linked untreated sewage pollution to widespread disease in the Great Lakes. One hundred years later, the question remains whether nearshore fecal bacterial/microbial water quality is getting better or worse. While technology to prevent and track this...
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An environmental stressor is any factor whose presence adversely affects individuals, populations, or ecosystems. Often but not necessarily the result of human activities, examples include many different pollutants, excess nutrients, habitat loss and invasive species. Recognizing that interactions...
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The Health Professionals Advisory Board (HPAB) has undertaken a human health review of selenium at the request of the International Joint Commission (IJC) and developed this technical report with the assistance of contractor Michael Kosnett. Selenium is an essential nutritional element that supports...
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2020 Report In June 2020, the International Joint Commission’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) completed a report entitled Understanding Declining Productivity in the Offshore Regions of the Great Lakes. The report includes a number of findings and a recommendation aimed at improving coordination...
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The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (the Agreement) charges the International Joint Commission (IJC), supported by its Great Lakes advisory boards, with several responsibilities including identification of emerging issues facing the Great Lakes. To help fulfil this responsibility the IJC’s Great...
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Annex 10 (Science) of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement assigns the International Joint Commission (IJC) and its Science Advisory Board (SAB) a role in providing input to the Parties on priority science issues on a three year basis. The Parties’ initial Draft Priorities for Science and Action...
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The purpose of this document is to compile unbiased background information about nuclear energy production, the nuclear regulators, the decommissioning process, radioactive waste management, and status of the nuclear power facilities in the Great Lakes basin. The background report is also...
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This report presents the findings and recommendations of the project, Use of Modeling Approaches to Affect Nutrient Management through Adaptive Management, led by the International Joint Commission's (IJC) Great Lakes Science Advisory Board - Research Coordination Committee (SAB-RCC). The objective...
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The International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board (IRLWWB) is charged with monitoring and reporting on the ecological health of the Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake boundary waters aquatic ecosystem, including water quality; coordinating the management of water levels and flows on Rainy and...
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The International Joint Commission’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) Science Priority Committee undertook a synthesis of the science related to observed and potential impacts of crude oil on Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem condition and identified additional research, monitoring and information...
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A report by the Great Lakes Water Quality Board that presents the key findings of a poll conducted in 2018 of U.S. and Canadian citizens in the Great Lakes basin related to Great Lakes Water Quality. The poll was the second conducted by the WQB and follows the first poll which was completed in 2015.
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The purpose of this project was to assess the flow of information to decision makers in the Great Lakes, identify barriers to the flow of this information, and provide recommendations to the IJC and the Parties to address these barriers.
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This report presents the recommendations of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board on the topic of how watershed management plans should be used to manage nutrient pollution in Lake Erie. The implementation of effective watershed management plans is an important tool in a holistic approach to reducing...
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Final Work Plan of the International Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Study Board The record setting floods of 2011 in the Lake Champlain Vermont/New York basin in the United States. (US) and the Richelieu River in the province of Quebec, Canada, prompted the U.S. and Canadian governments to work...
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This report provides the recommendations of the Water Quality Board to address the challenges in seeking alternatives to the use of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as flame retardants, and avoiding the release of PBDEs during product use, recycling and disposal through the implementation of...
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Cyanotoxins are an unfortunate consequences of harmful algal blooms in fresh water systems in both Canada and the United States. This report is a literature review of the state of ecological and epidemiological science of cyanobacterial toxins with an emphasis on its relevance to conditions in the...
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The SAB-RCC, through contractors, thoroughly assessed Great Lakes indicators’ data availability and accessibility and identified potential improvement for indicators used to report progress in meeting the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement objectives.
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