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The Lake Superior Stewardship
Initiative (LSSI) is part of a larger statewide initiative,
The Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI), which seeks
to expand K-12 classrooms and improve communities across
Michigan through community-based learning. The GLSI was
established and funded in November 2007 by the Great Lakes
Fishery Trust with the support of the Wege Foundation.
The Great Lakes Stewardship
Initiative (GLSI) awards grants to regional hubs. Rather
than creating new organizations to serve as hubs, the Great
Lakes Fishery Trust (GLFT) prefers to fund organizations
already working in environmental education and stewardship.
"The mission of the Great Lakes
Fishery Trust (GLFT) is to provide funding to nonprofit
organizations, education institutions, and government
agencies to enhance, protect, and rehabilitate the Great
Lakes fishery. The Trust will manage its resources to
compensate for the lost use and enjoyment of the Lake
Michigan fishery resulting from the operation of the
Ludington Pumped Storage Plant" (Great Lakes Fisheries
Trust. "About
GLFT." 2008. Lansing, MI. June 2, 2009.
"The GLFT is an innovative funding
source created in April 1996 as part of the settlement with
Consumers Energy and the Detroit Edison Company for fish
losses caused by the operation of the Ludington Pumped
Storage Plant. The utilities provide annual compensation to
the GLFT for fish losses caused by the plant. The GLFT
provides funding to educational institutions, nonprofit
organizations, and government agencies for projects related
to Great Lakes fisheries to provide mitigation for the
losses. GLFT funds are used for
-
public education relating
to the Great Lakes fishery;
-
research on the Great
Lakes fishery, with special emphasis on rehabilitation
of lake sturgeon and lake trout;
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fishery habitat protection
and restoration, with special emphasis on the Muskegon
River Watershed; and
-
increased fishing access,
including land acquisition and site enhancement, to the
Great Lakes fishery for shore-based angling and tribal
fishing.
Since 1998, the GLFT has awarded over
$40 million in grants to enhance the Great Lakes fishery.
Each year the GLFT provides funding
for creating, enhancing, or improving shore-based fishing
access. Nonprofit organizations and government agencies may
submit applications at any time. (Great Lakes Fisheries
Trust. About GLFT. 2008. Lansing, MI. June 2, 2009.)
"Make sure your giving is from
the heart- not to make an impression."
Peter Wege,
December 9, 2004
"The Wege Foundation celebrated the
40th anniversary of its founding on July 13, 2007, in Grand
Rapids Michigan. But for our new web friends to learn how it
began and who we are is to meet the man behind it. To
understand the Wege Foundation is to understand the vision
and the passion of its founder, Peter Melvin Wege. And Peter
will be the first to tell you that he had the resources to
start the family foundation thanks to the genius of his
father, Peter Martin Wege.
Peter Melvin Wege was born in Grand
Rapids on February 19, 1920, to Sophia Louise and Peter
Martin Wege. In 1912, eight years before their only child
was born, the senior Peter M. Wege had raised $75,000 to
found Metal Office Furniture. That investment evolved into
Steelcase, Inc., now the largest office-furniture
manufacturer in the world.
Peter Wege started the Wege
Foundation in 1967 out of his love for the Earth and all its
people. In the book he wrote in 1998, Economicology: The
Eleventh Commandment, Peter coined the word "Economicology"
to sum up his environmental philosophy. A prosperous economy
depends on a healthy ecology. Economy + Ecology =
Economicology.
While the environment was Peter's
earliest cause - and remains his best known—the Wege
Foundation has four other major missions besides the
ENVIRONMENT. EDUCATION. HEALTH. THE ARTS. COMMUNITY SERVICE.
For Peter, the primary thread running through all the
Foundation's missions is education.
He believes strongly that in order to
address the problems of the future, we must raise the level
of education in order to have an intelligent, caring
stewardship of our natural resources. As Peter puts it,
"if we aren't here on Earth to solve problems, what are
we here for?"
Peter Wege is not only a visionary and an
author, but he is also a poet. Perhaps reading this poem he
recently wrote will give you even more insight into the man
behind the Wege Foundation.
Another Day
My steps are limited,
but my
causes great.
It may take a little longer,
but the
vision grows stronger.
The walks are lighter,
but the
paths are brighter.
The Almighty is watching
for all
mankind to
finally arrive at a
common ground and
saying, under His breath,,
what we hope He will say:
"The Planet is safe for another day."
- Peter Melvin
Wege
(Wege, Peter. "Who
We Are." 2004. Grand Rapids, MI. June 2, 2009.)
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