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Jon Hortness

Mr. Jon Hortness is the Acting Regional Director for the Midcontinent Region (DOI Regions 3 and 5) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Mr. Hortness provides leadership for the activities being conducted at six USGS Water Resources Mission Area science centers and five Ecosystems Mission Area science centers across eleven states, spanning from the northern Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes and south to Kansas.

As the Great Lakes Science Coordinator for the Midcontinent Region, he also served as the USGS Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Program Coordinator.

Jon currently manages and coordinates all USGS activities funded under the GLRI. In that role, he also serves as the USGS Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Program Coordinator. Jon currently manages and coordinates all USGS activities funded under the GLRI.  Jon works closely with USGS Science Center and Mission Area staff and other Federal Agencies to plan and implement GLRI projects and to identify areas where USGS can support restoration activities by providing relevant scientific information.  He also helps to coordinate other USGS efforts in the Great Lakes basin with regional and national USGS programs, State Agencies, and Tribes.  In addition, Jon represents USGS on several committees, workgroups, and teams that support the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) with Canada. 

Jon began his career with the USGS,  as a student in what is now the Dakota Water Science Center in Rapid City, SD.  He worked for 8 years as a Hydraulic Engineer in the Idaho Water Science Center in Boise, ID.  After a brief stint in private consulting, he rejoined the USGS as the Chief of the Northern Illinois Field Office of the Illinois Water Science Center in 2007.  Since 2014, Jon has supported the Midcontinent Region with Great Lakes and GLRI efforts and he has been the Great Lakes Science Coordinator since 2017. 

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