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About IAGLR

About IAGLR

The International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) is a scientific organization made up of researchers studying the Laurentian Great Lakes, other large lakes of the world, and their watersheds, as well as those with an interest in such research.


Our Vision

A peaceful world in which large lake ecosystems are valued and healthy; where these ecosystems inspire curiosity, awe, love and respect, and stewardship in all people.


Our Core Values

Collaboration
We value working together across disciplines, knowledge systems, and domains of expertise by sharing knowledge, building partnerships, and cooperating internationally. Just as ecological health depends on complex and interconnected relationships, our success depends on collaboration with others.

Diversity and Inclusion
We believe in co-creating a just, equitable, and inclusive culture that removes barriers to participation in our activities and embraces people from diverse identities, perspectives, and experiences.

Excellence
We value promoting excellence in large lake research by sharing contemporary findings that meet professional standards in our programs. Further, we aspire to create an environment where we elevate and inspire one another in the pursuit of excellence.

Learning
We embrace embracing learning to inform adaptive decision making regarding the world’s large lake ecosystems. We reflect this learning in our practices and programs. This learning encompasses basic and applied research, seeks to understand varied perspectives, and supports current and future scientists.

Stewardship
We believe in promoting stewardship of large lake ecosystems by sharing research findings and offering trusted evidence to support informed decisions in the pursuit of sustainable, healthy ecosystems. We seek to empower scientists and practitioners to carry on this work.

Our Beliefs

The world’s large lakes are vital resources that provide important ecosystem services, and we have a responsibility to understand and protect these environments for current and future generations.

We are uniquely positioned (through our history and past efforts) to be a trusted source of science-based knowledge about the Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lake ecosystems.

Through science we can better understand large lake ecosystems and provide the basis for more effective policy and management; a deeper understanding will lead to better decisions.

An interdisciplinary, collaborative approach is required to understand an ecosystem.

Multiple ways of knowing, including Traditional Ecological Knowledge, are vital for understanding an ecosystem and the role humans have in maintaining its sustainability.

Our Approach in Action

To support these objectives, we engage in the following activities every year:

We hold conferences

Since our founding in 1967, IAGLR has brought together scientists and other professionals to share quality science and network with one another. Our flagship event is the annual Conference on Great Lakes Research. We also host the State of Lake Conference series, and co-sponsor conferences with other organizations.

We publish a journal

Our Journal of Great Lakes Research is a top-quality, peer-reviewed, scientific journal published since 1975. We consider papers on a wide variety of topics relevant to large lakes of the world. A new issue of JGLR comes out about every two months, and additional special issue topics are often included.

We give out awards & scholarships

Each year we give out prestigious awards that recognize excellence in Great Lakes science and for scholarships to support students showing great promise in their research careers.

We share compelling stories

Through our Lakes Letter newsletter and special publications such as Great Lakes Revival, we share stories about scientists, research, and how they benefit society.

We partner for impact

IAGLR works with other organizations to advance science and connect it with policy, business, and community interests.