David Lodge, Ludmilla F. and Stephen J. Galla Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame and a world-renowned expert on invasive species, was invited to attend a White House Community Leaders Briefing on the Great Lakes Region that took place today (Feb. 29) in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The event was a gathering of environmental, recreation, business and academic leaders from the Great Lakes region and included a discussion of Obama administration initiatives and priorities in the region with senior White House and administration officials. It was co-hosted by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Public Engagement.
“The Administration made unprecedented investments in restoring the Great Lakes and made it a priority to work with state, city, environmental, academic and business leaders toward lasting solutions,” said Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “Today’s gathering at the White House is another important step in advancing the partnership between Federal agencies and community leaders that has fostered success for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and its goal of a healthy environment and a thriving economy for all Americans.”
Lodge serves as director of Notre Dame’s Environmental Change Initiative (ND-ECI). He has extensive research experience on a wide variety of invasive species, including rusty crayfish, zebra mussels, quagga mussels and Asian Carp. His research focuses on ecological forecasting to better inform environmental risk assessment, policy development and natural resources management.
He has testified before the U.S. Congress on numerous occasions about invasive species and has served as an expert witness in federal court. He served as first chair of the U.S. government’s national Invasive Species Advisory Committee, led research on freshwater biodiversity as part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment sponsored by the United Nations and led an expert team providing advice to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on reducing invasions from the ballast water of ships.
Contact: David Lodge, 574-631-6094, dlodge@nd.edu