For more than five decades in public service, Senator Debbie Stabenow has helped shape the future of the Great Lakes region — not just through legislation, but through a deep belief that protecting these waters is a shared responsibility.
This year, the Alliance for the Great Lakes is proud to honor Senator Stabenow with our Lifetime Achievement Wavemaker Award at the 2026 Great Blue Benefit.
During a recent conversation reflecting on her career, Senator Stabenow spoke less about politics and more about stewardship. About growing up in Clare, Michigan, in a family that believed if you benefit from something, you have a responsibility to give back.
That belief would shape a career dedicated to protecting the waters that millions depend on every day.
“Michigan is very much in my bones,” she shared. “But the Great Lakes are also part of my DNA.”
Growing up in the “Great Lakes State” meant summers spent swimming, boating, fishing, and traveling with family to places like Traverse City and Lake Michigan. Water wasn’t something distant or abstract. It was woven into everyday life.
That personal connection later fueled some of the most significant Great Lakes protections in modern history. One of Senator Stabenow’s earliest efforts in the U.S. Senate was leading the push to ban oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes after proposals surfaced that could have put the region’s waters at risk.
She also helped create and secure funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which has delivered billions of dollars toward restoration projects, invasive species prevention, water quality improvements, and long-term environmental protection across the region.
But throughout the conversation, Senator Stabenow repeatedly returned to one central idea: the importance of taking the long view.
Environmental progress rarely happens overnight. Protecting the Great Lakes requires persistence, partnerships, and people willing to keep showing up year after year — even when the work takes decades.
That philosophy mirrors this year’s Great Blue Benefit theme: The Long View.
“We need to remember that challenges facing the lakes are significant,” she said, “and that it can take years, even decades, to go from identifying a problem to implementing a solution.”
That long-view leadership can also be seen in projects like the Soo Locks modernization effort, where Senator Stabenow spent years building support for critical infrastructure that protects jobs, manufacturing, shipping, and the broader regional economy.
And while much of her public legacy is tied to water protection, she also highlighted the connection between land conservation, agriculture, forests, and water quality through programs like the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
Perhaps most importantly, Senator Stabenow spoke about the responsibility Great Lakes residents have to continue telling this story.
“People who don’t live here don’t know it,” she said. “This is the ocean without the salt.”
That perspective — seeing the Great Lakes not just as geography, but as a globally significant freshwater system worth fighting for — has guided her work for decades.
As she steps away from elected office after 50 years of public service, Senator Stabenow hopes the next generation continues that work with urgency and care.
“If you are the only one, you may get attention for that,” she reflected while discussing her role as one of the first women in leadership positions throughout her career. “The only way you get power is if you turn around and lift the next person up.”
At the Great Blue Benefit this year, we recognize not only Senator Stabenow’s accomplishments, but the permanent impact of leadership rooted in service, collaboration, and a belief that protecting the Great Lakes is work worth committing a lifetime to.