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 Lake Superior
Binational Program
 Lake Superior is unique, a vast resource of fresh water that has not experienced the same
levels of development, urbanization and pollution as the other Great Lakes. Because of
this uniqueness, the International Joint Commission recommended that Lake Superior be
designated as a demonstration area where discharges and emissions of toxic substances that
are long-lived in the environment and build up in the bodies of humans and wildlife, would
not be permitted.
In response, Canada and the United States developed A Binational
Program to Restore and Protect the Lake Superior Basin. This program has focused on
the entire ecosystem of Lake Superior, its air, land, water and human and wildlife.
Government and tribal agencies and interested groups from Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario and
Wisconsin, along with both federal governments, have taken steps that will restore
degraded areas and protect this unique headwater lake through activities such as pollution
prevention, enhanced regulatory measures and cleanup programs. With citizen and
stakeholder partners, most notably the Lake Superior Binational Forum, objectives have
been identified and a vision established for the cleanup and protection of the lake. The
governments have funded pollution prevention activities, research to characterize the lake
ecosystem and identify the sources of pollutants and their effect on life, and projects to
clean up, restore and protect habitat.
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