Western New York State lies in the heart of the lower Great Lakes Basin and includes the Niagara River Watershed. The Niagara River Watershed is notable for its important habitats, which supports lake sturgeon, muskellunge, lake trout, walleye, and northern pike, and has been internationally recognized as an important migratory route for birds.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to share the 2020-2025 Great Lakes Marine Debris Action Plan. This document is the result of a collaborative effort between the NOAA Marine Debris Program and partners in Ontario, Canada and eight U.S. states (IL, IN, MI, MN, NY, OH, PA, WI), and represents a partner-led effort to guide marine debris actions in the Great Lakes for the next five years.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program Great Lakes Region spans eight states from Minnesota to New York, covers the north coast, and forms a water boundary between the United States and our Canadian friends to the North.

Historically, the tribal community of St. Paul Island, Alaska, would walk the shorelines of our island to remove debris, such as driftwood and animal bones from the beaches, ensuring that the summer homes of laaqudan, or Northern Fur Seals, were clean and accessible.

Alaska is often thought of as the “last frontier.” For verification, one needs only look as far as the license plate.

The holidays have arrived and that means party decorations and celebrations! Last week, the Marine Debris Program highlighted how to “green” your travel plans, how to create zero waste gifts and gift wrapping, and how to host and decorate for holiday parties that celebrate the Earth too. As we wrap up 2019, we have one more piece of celebration advice: try a glitter-free New Year.

It is ironic and sad that balloons, meant to convey a message of compassion, love, and best wishes, become anything but when they are lost and become marine debris. Balloons may be ingested by marine animals, their ribbons can entangle marine life, and when they are deposited on the beach, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of miles from where they were first lost, they add to the marine debris burden on the beach ecology.

On a recent cool foggy morning near Surf City, North Carolina, Joe Huie stepped out of his skiff, trudged through the marsh, and up to a small hammock. Hoping he wouldn’t see what he knew would be there, he gazed out over the marsh dotted with small spider webs glistening with the morning fog and dew. Soon, Joe could pick out the telltale signs of the pieces of docks, polystyrene, and other hurricane debris that littered the beautiful marsh.