Study shows economic benefits of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (Via Cleveland.com)
A new study has found that every federal dollar spent on Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects nets $3.35 in additional economic activity through 2036.
The GLRI was launched in 2010 to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Congress appropriated $2.5 billion from that first year through 2017 to fund more than 3,6000 projects that researchers say have “dramatically improved environmental conditions around the region.”
The University of Michigan’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics led the study, which was reviewed by a panel of economists and other experts from outside the Great Lakes region.
The study found that every GLRI project dollar spent will generate $1.62 in additional economic activity through the tourism industry and produce quality of life improvements worth an additional $1.08 to residents of coastal communities...read more.