DEC Announces Partnership with University at Buffalo to Further Advance Great Lakes Research Priorities

University At Buffalo to Receive $5 Million Award for Programming to Advance Scientific Understanding of New York’s Great Lakes and Watersheds

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced the selection of the State University of New York University at Buffalo (UB) to serve as the new host of the Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC). A new $5 million grant to UB will support the collaborative GLRC mission that is improving the understanding of the Great Lakes ecosystem, including the physical, biological, and chemical processes that shape it, as well as the social and political forces that affect human impact on the lakes and their associated economic resources.

“The University at Buffalo’s strategic approach to re-establishing the Great Lakes Research Consortium will focus resources to help improve our understanding of the Great Lakes ecosystems and guide critical management decisions,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “DEC looks forward to working with UB to maximize our investments, leveraging existing institutional expertise, infrastructure, and partnerships across New York State and the broader Great Lakes Basin.”

Since its establishment in 1986, the GLRC served as the principal scientific support organization within New York’s Great Lakes region, through the coordinated efforts of member colleges and universities, including affiliate campuses in Ontario, Canada. Under UB’s leadership, a relaunched consortium known as GLRC Strengthening Research, Education, and Aquatic Ecosystem Management (GLRC STREAM) will have an expanded scope of activities and opportunities.

This $5 million state investment to UB will facilitate scientific research, scholarship, and education that advances New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda (GLAA), fosters the next generation of Great Lakes scientists, and strengthens New York’s leadership in scientific initiatives across the broader Great Lakes basin. The revitalized consortium will be administered by UB’s Research and Education in Energy, Environment and Water (RENEW) Institute.

The Consortium was originally established and hosted by State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry in collaboration with five other SUNY schools, including UB. GLRC STREAM will enter a new chapter under UB RENEW’s leadership, maintaining the consortium’s core program components while creating new opportunities for member university engagement, scientific research and scholarship, including integrated education programming, workforce development initiatives, expanded partnerships with binational partners, and basin-wide research endeavors.

UB RENEW’s Director and the Principal Investigator and Director of GLRC STREAM, Dr. Diana Aga, said, “The consortium’s mission aligns closely with RENEW’s focus on research and education that advances solutions for environmental sustainability, clean water, and resilient communities. I look forward to leveraging RENEW’s demonstrated administrative and institutional strengths to advance the GLAA and ensure a healthier environment for New Yorkers.”

DEC Great Lakes Program Director Shannon Dougherty said, “DEC’s Great Lakes Program is proud to partner with UB’s RENEW Institute to advance science-informed management and priority research needs of New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda. We look forward to working with UB and member institutions to continue the Consortium, build new partnerships, and catalyze innovative research to better understand, manage, and sustain New York’s Great Lakes ecosystems into the future.”

UB Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development Venu Govindaraju, PhD said, “As UB re-establishes leadership of the GLRC, we are aligning the strength of our research enterprise to deepen understanding of Great Lakes ecosystems. By integrating the consortium’s work with the interdisciplinary expertise of UB’s RENEW Institute, we will expand collaboration, inform critical decisions, and deliver solutions with impact across New York and throughout the Great Lakes Basin.”

The GLRC is supported by the New York Great Lakes Protection Fund and New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). In the recently enacted 2026-27 State Budget, Governor Hochul reaffirms New York’s commitment to environmental leadership by appropriating $425 million to the Environmental Protection Fund, using $25 million from the Sustainable Future Program to provide a record $450 million for important environmental programs. EPF funding is a critical resource for environmental programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, recreation access, water quality improvement, and environmental justice projects.