U.S. Great Lakes Basin Update
Two Steps Forward For the Great Lakes
By Chris Grubb and Molly Flanagan, Great Lakes Natural Resource Center, National Wildlife Federation
Historic Great Lakes Restoration Plan Released –
First Benchmark is President’s Budget
Great Lakes
On December 12th, 2005, Great Lakes
elected officials, tribal leaders, state and
federal agencies, environmentalists,
industry representatives, and others
joined together in praise of a shared
product: the release of the Great Lakes
Regional Collaboration’s Strategy to
Restore and Protect the Great Lakes. The
release culminated a year-long process
to produce a blueprint for the lakes’
restoration that was initiated by an
Executive Order from President Bush.
According to Great Lakes scientists,
the plan comes just in time. Prior to
the release of the consensus-based restoration plan, over 70
scientists in the Great Lakes released a report, Prescription for
Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection and Restoration – Avoiding the
Tipping Point of Irreversible Changes, that warned of disturbing
signs of environmental decay and emphasized the urgency for
acting to restore the lakes.
The unprecedented restoration plan recognizes that we have
manageable solutions to the problems facing the Great Lakes.
It contains common sense recommendations like investing in
aging sewage infrastructure,restoring 550,000 acres of wetlands,
planting urban and agricultural buffer strips, and cleaning up
toxic hot spots. In total the plan calls for over $20 billion of
state and federal investments in the Great Lakes over a period of
five years.
While all the members of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration
stood in praise of the plan on December 12th, one notable
sticking point is how to fund it. The Healing Our WatersSM – Great
Lakes (HOW) Coalition, made up of over 85 groups dedicated to
restoring the Great Lakes, has developed a campaign to secure
investments from state and federal governments commensurate
with the job at hand. The HOW Coalition will be looking at the
President’s Budget released in February as the first real signal of
the federal government’s commitment to the Great Lakes.
Readers can stay apprised of progress to restore the Great Lakes
and get involved at http://www.restorethelakes.org.
Great Lakes Restoration Plan: http://www.glrc.us
Scientists’ Paper:
http://www.restorethelakes.org/PrescriptionforGreatLakes.pdf
Great Lakes Governors and Premiers Sign Precedent-Setting
Agreements to Protect Great Lakes Water
On December 13th, 2005 after nearly five years of negotiations, two
public comment periods, and tens of thousands of citizen comments,
Great Lakes governors and premiers endorsed the Great Lakes –
St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and its companion
bi-national agreement.The agreements provide the most fundamental
change to the region’s water laws in the last century.
The agreements protect the Great Lakes from harm by implementing a
strong and effective water management system, including protections
against water diversions out of the Basin and unwise water use within
the Basin. This means closing the door on diversions of water to faraway
places like the Middle East and the arid Southwest and also putting
our own house in order to ensure that we are using water wisely
here at home. The compact would allow the Great Lakes region to
maintain control over Great Lakes water in the face of growing demand
from across the nation and the world. The agreements guarantee the
long-term protection and sound management of Great Lakes water. If
implemented they would ensure that the water will be available for
the people and wildlife that depend on it and will remain protected for
generations to come.
While the endorsement of these agreements is a tremendous
victory for the region, it is only the beginning of a process that could
take several years to complete. In order for the compact to become
binding law in the United States,it must be ratified by each of the eight
Great Lakes states’ legislatures and also gain approval from Congress.
This is a tall order and will require the active participation and support
of Great Lakes citizens like you!
You can help make history by contacting your state legislators and
letting them know that you support protecting Great Lakes waters and
they should too.
For more information:
Molly Flanagan, Chris Grubb (GLAHNF Lake Advisor)
Great Lakes Natural Resource Center • National Wildlife Federation
213 W. Liberty, Suite 200 • Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1398
PH: 734-769-3351
Disclaimer:
The interpretations and conclusions presented in this newsletter represent the opinions of the individual authors. They in no way represent the views of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, the C.S. Mott Foundation, subscribers, donors, or any organization mentioned in this publication.
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