Overview, Mission and Membership
The Lake Michigan Monitoring Coordination Council (LMMCC) was formed in 1999 to support monitoring efforts in the Lake Michigan basin as they relate to the needs of the Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP). The Council responds to the need for enhanced coordination, communication and data management among the many agencies and organizations that conduct or benefit from monitoring efforts in the Lake Michigan basin. The Council provides a forum to identify gaps and establish monitoring priorities; exchange information and form partnerships; and promote standardized methodologies for collecting and managing data to reduce costs and facilitate access to information across agency and jurisdictional boundaries.
Several states have formed water quality monitoring councils to promote collaborative efforts aimed at facilitating the effective collection, interpretation, and dissemination of environmental monitoring data in a given state. The LMMCC is the first such entity to be based on an ecosystem rather than political boundaries.
The mission of the Council is to provide a forum for coordinating and supporting monitoring activities in the Lake Michigan basin and to develop and make broadly available a shared resource of information, based on documented standards and protocols, that is useable across agency and jurisdictional boundaries.
Council membership was developed to include a wide range of Lake Michigan basin stakeholders. The Council has members representing federal, state, tribal and local governments, nonprofit organizations, academia, and the regulated community. The Council generally meets twice each year in locations throughout the Lake Michigan basin. These meetings and feedback from constituents shape the Council’s workplan and activities.