Contact: Erika Washburn, 715-399-4085, erika.washburn@wisc.edu

The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, working with the support of the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents, has finalized an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard to support their needs for a base of operations in times of emergency response.

The agreement finalized last week included the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Duluth, the administration of the University of Wisconsin-Superior, which owns the Reserve’s buildings and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, which administers the Lake Superior Reserve. The agreement stipulates that when needed in times of disaster response and to maintain operations around the clock, the Coast Guard will have priority access to the classroom meeting space inside the Lake Superior Estuarium.

“We are pleased to support the Coast Guard’s request and provide them with an additional, on the water location for their critical work during times of crises. They are important Federal partners supporting all of us with the work we do in research and education on Lake Superior,” stated the Lake Superior Reserve Director, Dr. Erika Washburn.

“The partnership that has been created between the U.S. Coast Guard and the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve is extremely important, and is one that will increase the Coast Guard’s ability to quickly re-constitute following a large scale disaster,” stated Marine Safety Unit Duluth’s Commanding Officer, CDR Frances Smith.

And for more information about the Lake Superior Reserve, check out our website or contact Erika Washburn at 715-399-4085 or erika.washburn@wisc.edu.