The goal of this project was to develop a framework for a mutual aid agreement between states and provinces that would streamline the response to an outbreak of new aquatic invasive species (AIS) by enabling the sharing of staff, expertise and resources. The governors and premiers resolved to create this mutual aid agreement at the 2013 Council of Great Lakes Governors Leadership Summit.

The Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG) teamed with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission with additional expertise provided by state and provincial staff and the CGLG Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force.

To establish the structure of the mutual aid agreement, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission researched existing accords and agreements, AIS management plans, and rapid response planning documents. Interviews were held with emergency managers and the AIS Task Force member for each Great Lakes state and province to better understand AIS control and response plans, assess mutual aid experience to date and identify issues or concerns.

This seven month grant successfully resulted in a mutual aid agreement that was signed by the governors of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota and the premier of Ontario on April 26, 2014.

A link to the mutual aid agreement document can be found below in the project links.