One of the participants on the 2011 CTIC Conservation In Action Tour in northwest Ohio last week was the chairman of the International Joint Commission (IJC), Lana Pollack.

The IJC was established by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty to monitor the rivers and lakes along the border of Canada and the United States and aid the governments of the two countries in finding solutions to problems in these waters. “The commission was established to avoid and resolve disputes with water,” Lana told me. “Everywhere we share waters with Canada is an area that we the commission are interested in helping to protect – for agriculture, hydropower, navigation, and environmental purposes.” The six member commission has three members from each country, appointed by the highest level of government.

Lana’s interest in attending the CTIC tour was seeing what is being done to deal with environmental issues on Lake Erie. “The issue before us is one of water quality and why is Lake Erie so stressed again that we’re seeing algal blooms that are impacting recreation and probably health as well,” she said. Lana was pleased to see the tour included agricultural producers who are implementing best practices to protect water quality.

Listen to my interview with Lana here: IJC Chairman Lana Pollack on CTIC Tour

CTIC 2011 Conservation in Action Tour Photos