LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Great
Lakes Center at the State University of New York at Buffalo on April 15,
2016

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that the continuing
welfare of the citizens of the State of New York is greatly enriched and
reliably served by the purposeful endeavors of organizations that are
committed to the preservation of our natural environment and the
enhancement of the appreciation of the distinctive features of our
surroundings, and to the economic well-being of the areas in which they
exist; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 50th Anniversary of the Great Lakes Center at the State
University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo to be celebrated at a party on
Friday, April 15, 2016; and
WHEREAS, The Great Lakes Center (GLC) is an institute of researchers
and educators at SUNY Buffalo dedicated to investigating the ecology of
the Great Lakes and their tributaries; many of its outstanding staff
members are full time research scientists or technicians, and two are
Professors with the Biology department; and
WHEREAS, In addition to lab facilities on the main campus, the GLC has
a field station on the waterfront and a fleet of boats to conduct its
field studies; this invaluable center offers Master of Arts and Master
of Science degrees in Great Lakes Ecosystem Science; and
WHEREAS, For the last 50 years, the GLC has strived to improve the
quality of the environment by providing the best possible science to
decision-makers concerned with the health and sustainability of
resources, with a primary focus within the Great Lakes and their
watersheds; this is accomplished through high quality research, informed
and current graduate and undergraduate education, and dissemination of
information to the public through outreach; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, the GLC is committed to improving human-environ-
ment interactions in the Great Lakes ecosystem guided, in part, by an
understanding of the evolutionary and ecological processes and patterns
acting on the system; and
WHEREAS, Although the main focus of the research in the Great Lakes
Center concentrates on the Great Lakes basin, national and international
projects are also considered of high priority as they expose scientists
to the cutting edge of modern science, facilitate collaboration, and
greatly increase visibility to the center's activity in the scientific
community; and
WHEREAS, The Great Lakes are the largest system of accessible freshwa-
ter on Earth: these inland seas are bounded by eight states and one
province and contain about 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh
water; over 30 million people live within the watershed, including more
than one-tenth of the United States population and one-quarter of the
Canadian population; and
WHEREAS, Millions of Americans and Canadians depend on the Great Lakes
for drinking water, agriculture, transportation, industry, power gener-
ation, and fisheries, as well as recreation; and
WHEREAS, Though incredibly vast, the Great Lakes are threatened by
decades of use; Lake Erie is densely populated, heavily industrialized
and cultivated for agriculture; toxic chemicals and nutrients accumu-
lated over time from direct disposal, runoff, and atmospheric deposition
are still within the basins of these lakes; and

WHEREAS, Other stressors to the Great Lakes are aquatic invasive
species and habitat degradation; continued urbanization reduces habitat
refuges for native species, while increased international shipping can
increase the risk of the invasion of non-native species; and
WHEREAS, Buffalo, New York, is one of 17 large city regions on the
Great Lakes; the Great Lakes Center at Buffalo State is in a unique
position to provide high-quality research and education opportunities to
people who are living on and being impacted by Lake Erie and Lake Ontar-
io; and
WHEREAS, The center has a research facility located on the waterfront,
a fleet of boats, and field equipment that can be used to help answer
questions about the ecological processes and patterns acting on the
system; and
WHEREAS, Understanding a complex system like the Great Lakes requires
specialized knowledge from many different disciplines; the Great Lakes
Center actively conducts collaborative research with other institutions
and agencies throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe; and
WHEREAS, This vital organization's research focuses primarily on Lakes
Erie and Ontario and their tributaries, although national and interna-
tional projects are also a priority; research topics include: aquatic
ecology, aquatic invasive species, biodiversity and conservation of
freshwater mollusks, botulism outbreaks, endocrine disruptor effects in
fish populations, fisheries, food web dynamics, freshwater benthic
communities, limnology, long-term monitoring projects, nutrient stoi-
chiometry and lake budgets, population ecology, predator/prey behavioral
ecology, sediment dynamics, stream ecology, toxicology, trophic inter-
actions, water quality, and wetland chemistry and hydrology, as well as
zooplankton ecology; and
WHEREAS, Today, under the luminous leadership of Director Alexander
Karayatev, the GLC boasts 13 full-time employees including scientists,
faculty members, research technicians, field station personnel, and
support staff; and
WHEREAS, The GLC also employs students from Buffalo State and the
University at Buffalo; in addition, the Western New York Partnership for
Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), a sponsored program funded
by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC)
through the Research Foundation, is also administered by the center; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the years, the GLC has become widely recognized
for its invaluable work throughout the world; the organization has
collaborated with more than 80 scientists and grant funding has
increased tenfold since 2007-2008; and
.SO DOC S R4016 RESO TEXT 2015
WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon all citizens to recognize and applaud
the efforts of organizations such as the Great Lakes Center which work
tirelessly on behalf of protecting our natural surroundings for the
benefit of present and future generations of New Yorkers; now, there-
fore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Great Lakes Center at the State
University of New York at Buffalo on April 15, 2016; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Alexander Karayatev, Director, the Great Lakes Center.