User:Valereee/Great Lakes Island Alliance

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The Great Lakes Islands Alliance (GLIA) is an organization formed in 2017 to connect the year-round resident communities of islands in the Great Lakes areas of Canada and the United States.[1] The group was developed with the leadership of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the Center for Rural Communities at Northland College and modeled after a similar project in Maine, the Island Institute.[2][3]

It includes Lake Erie's

Drummond, Les Cheneaux, Mackinac, Manitoulin, Neebish, St. Joseph, and Sugar Islands, Lake Superior's Madeline Island, and Lake St. Clair's Harsens Island.[4]

The islands vary from primarily agricultural to major tourism destinations but face similar environmental and conservation issues, difficulties accessing health care, supplies, and the internet, and challenges in operating small schools and addressing aging populations.[2][5][3] Tourism is a major economic driver for many of the GLIA islands; the year-round population of Mackinac is under 500 but swells to as many as 20,000 during the summer months.[5] For islands with large seasonal populations or influxes of tourists, access to affordable housing for year-round residents is a common challenge.[2][5] Water quality is an issue that connects the islands, as the Great Lakes flow eastward, which means that water pollution tends to accumulate for the further eastern islands.[6]

The group holds an annual conference that rotates among the member islands.[7] The first conference was held in 2017 at Beaver Island, followed by Madeline Island (2018), and Mackinac (2019), an interlude due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and South Bass (2022).[6][3][8] The group also formed the Great Lakes Islands Basketball Tournament.[2]

References

  1. doi:10.7302/7113. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help
    )
  2. ^ a b c d Smith, Kristina (5 April 2023). "Great Lakes Islands Alliance aims to advocate for residents across the islands". The Helm. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  3. ^ a b c Shorthouse, Joe (9 August 2019). "Sudbury Accent: New alliance the 'eyes and ears' of the Great Lakes ecosystem". The Sudbury Star.
  4. ^ "Great Lakes Islands Alliance". Great Lakes Islands Alliance. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  5. ^ a b c Groening, Tom (21 November 2019). "Great Lakes islanders find common concerns - Island Institute". Island Institute. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  6. ^ a b Shorthouse, Joe (21 December 2019). "Accent: Sudbury's impact on Lake Huron (hint — it's major)". The Sudbury Star.
  7. ^ Smitek, Colleen (Fall 2022). "Great Lakes Islands Seek Answers Together". Lake Erie Living. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  8. ^ "Great Lakes Islands Alliance To Reconvene at Lake Erie for October Conference - Mackinac Island Town Crier". Mackinac Island Town Crier. 2022-09-08. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
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