On Friday (7/18), Ohio Sea Grant will host its 17th State Legislature and Congressional Day on the shores of Lake Erie, giving state and local elected officials a chance to learn more about the issues facing the Great Lakes and what OSU has done over the years to solve those issues.

Guest speakers at the Cedar Point luncheon will include Marcy Kaptur, U.S. House of Representatives; Chris Redfern, Ohio House of Representatives; Mark Wagoner, Ohio Senate; and Mary M. Glackin, Deputy Under Secretary of NOAA.

Afternoon activities, including lure making, snake tracking, seining, and trawling, will be held on Gibraltar Island, Ohio State University’s Island Campus in Put-in-Bay, followed by a picnic dinner.

"This event provides legislators a chance to see for themselves the importance Lake Erie holds to Ohio and the need for continuing research, protection, and sensible development," says Ohio Sea Grant Extension Agent Fred Snyder. "It puts them among the opportunities, the problems, and the needs of the Lake’s resources and the people whose lives are tied to Lake Erie."

Dinner speakers will include Sam Speck, U.S. Commissioner of the International Joint Commission for the U.S. State Department, and Charles E. Herdendorf, Director Emeritus of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab.

Ohio Sea Grant celebrates its 30-year anniversary as a NOAA program this summer.