Alliance for the Great Lakes The intervening years saw some contraction, until the appointment of Glenda Daniel as executive director in 1986. During her tenure, the Lake Michigan Federation opened offices in Muskegon, Milwaukee and Green Bay, with its original headquarters remaining in Chicago. With the U.S. and Canada signing a major amendment to the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1987, which among other things allowed for the designation of toxic hotspot "Areas of Concern," the Federation made a significant push to empower local communities in these "AOCs" to seek support for the implementation of cleanups. After Daniel's resignation in 1992, again, the
Great Lakes Areas of Concern Great Lakes Areas of Concern Great Lakes Areas of Concern are designated geographic areas within the Great Lakes Basin that show severe environmental degradation. There are a total of 43 areas of concern within the Great Lakes, 26 being in the United States, 17 in Canada, with five shared by the two countries. The Great Lakes, the largest system of fresh water lakes in the world, are shared by the United States and Canada. They make up 95% of the surface freshwater in the contiguous United States and have 10,000 miles of coastline (including connecting channels, mainland and islands)—more than