Great Lakes Patrol assigned to operate against criminals who were ravaging the logging industry. These so called timber pirates conducted illegal cutting of timber on federal land and then smuggled the valuable commodity out of the area in order to sell it. The areas most affected were in the western Great Lakes region, along the coasts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. Much of these forested areas controlled by the government were reserved for the building of new warships. The illegal timber trade centered on Chicago and Milwaukee. It was nearly as violent as the alcohol trade, which was carried out over the
Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries The Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC) (in French CEPGL - "Communauté Économique des Pays des Grand Lacs") is a sub-regional organization with multiple purposes created by the signing of the Agreement of Gisenyi in Rwanda on September 20, 1976, aiming at ensuring the safety of member states, favoring the creation and development of activities of public interest, promoting the trades and traffic of persons and possessions, and establishing close cooperation among all domains of political, economic, and social life. It has three members: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo