"I Will Defend"

The seal of Michigan (above) has the state motto in Latin that translates:

"If you seek a pleasant peninsula, 

look about you."

The word "Tuebor" translates:

  "I will defend."

I walked 1000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline this year. There are many areas that remain wild and protected, but there are stretches that need to be defended, cleaned up, and restored.

Water from the upper Great Lakes flows through the St. Clair River, into Lake St. Clair (upper right of photo), through the Detroit River (narrow waterway) to merge with Lake Erie (at bottom of photo).

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has resulted in measurable improvement in the health of our Great Lakes. 

From an article on Model D (a web-mag about Detroit):

The Brookings Institution has estimated that every $1 invested in Great Lakes restoration results in $1.50 to $2.50 in short-term economic benefits. In the long term, the economic benefits of Great Lakes restoration efforts will almost double the initial investment. Benefits include increased property values, improvements to quality of life, and lower municipal water treatment costs. In this era in which metropolitan areas are feeling the effects of climate change more acutely and unsustainable development is occurring in water-poor areas like Phoenix and Atlanta, now is the time for Metro Detroit to protect its freshwater assets to ensure future economic growth and ecological health.

Read the entire article.

And in the New Year ahead, let us all seek ways to better defend these most vital fresh waters.

A Win-Win-Win-Win Situation for the Great Lakes

I have blogged about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) several times. This is the largest investment into our Great Lakes in two decades and is a five-year plan to fund programs to improve the health of our lakes. The funding targets five specific areas:

1. Cleaning up toxics and areas of concern
2. Combating invasive species
3. Promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from polluted run-off
4. Restoring wetlands and other habitats
5. Working with partners on outreach

With the stalled economy, this ambitious program has been scaled back in the budget each of the years it has been included thus far. Still, it is doing a lot of good on many levels in the Great Lakes Region.

On August 23, the EPA announced that the GLRI is setting aside $6 million for federal agencies to sign up unemployed workers to complete projects "in federally-protected areas, on tribal lands and in Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin."

"These projects will help to restore the Great Lakes and put Americans back to work," said EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager and Regional Administrator Susan hedman. "In a sense, we will be using these funds to create a small-scale 21st century Civilian Conservation Corps."

This complex approach to a complex set of problems will benefit the Great Lakes Region on many levels. As I've mentioned before, the Brookings Institution (a nonpartisan group) estimated that for every $1 invested in the GLRI will give back $2 to the region.

This benefit must actually increase if the GLRI is used to employ the unemployed in the region. Those wages will be taxed in the region supporting schools, roads, and other community services. Those wages will be spent in the region supporting local businesses.

Win-win-win-win.

Contact your represenatives in support of the GLRI, and learn more about the program and the projects it funds HERE.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is now in its second (of five) year of funding. Initially planned as a $2.1 billion plan over five years, the funding has been scaled back to only $350 million dollars this year and will probably be scaled back to $300 million next year.


Some people may question the wisdom of funding this program at a time when the country has an economic slump. Well, consider this:

A 2007 Brookings Institution report predicts $50 billion in long-term economic benefits from rehabilitating
the Great Lakes.

I firmly believe that our Great Lakes should be restored and protected even if there is no economic benefit.

We are the caretakers of our environment. The Great Lakes are a natural treasure that should be enjoyed and respected and protected so that future generations can walk these beaches and dunes and enjoy these vast inland seas.

A recent article on the GLRI can be found in the Christian Science Monitor HERE.

Budget Cuts Effect the GLRI

I've blogged several times about the
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).

This is the ten-year, $5 billion program to improve the health of the Great Lakes. With Congress cutting away at the budget, the GLRI is on the chopping block.


These are tough economic times, but the GLRI is an investment not only into the lakes but into the economy they support.

It is estimated that 15% of the jobs in Michigan
are related to the Great Lakes.

Jim Diana, Director of the Michigan Sea Grant, points out research done by The Brookings Institute:


"The Brookings Institute estimated that $18 billion to $31 billion in economic benefits would result from Great Lakes restoration, at a ratio of about 2 to1, benefit to cost. The investment for restoration is a one-time cost, while the benefits increase with time."

How many other budget line items promise
to give BACK to the country?

Let your representatives know that you support the GLRI and that it is a good investment in the economy of the Great Lakes.

Editorial

Here is an editorial in the NYTimes about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The EPA is holding public meetings all around the Great Lakes basin to solicit input and feedback about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GRLI). This is a bold plan to target five issues that need to be addressed to make the Great Lakes healthier. They are: addressing toxic substance, combating current invasive species and preventing further introduction of new species, nearshore health and nonpoint source pollution, habitat and wildlife protection and restoration, and, finally, accountability (including monitoring, evaluation, communication, partnerships).

President Obama pledged $5 billion over the course of ten years to restore the Great Lakes. The first installment, over $400 million, should be approved by Congress for the fiscal year 2010.

The meeting I attended yesterday was in Lansing and had over 250 attendees representing such diverse organizations as Ducks Unlimited, The Alliance for the Great Lakes, Kalamazoo Watershed Council, and the Saginaw Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau. There were also government officials including the Mayor of Grand Rapids (Mayor Hartwell), and representatives from some of Michigan's Congress members. There were also a handful of concerned citizens who love the lakes. That's why I was there.

The GRLI comes with a well-developed plan on how to turn the funding into action and results which target the areas that need the most improvement. It was encouraging to hear Cameron Davis from the EPA talking about swimming in Lake Michigan with his family this summer before he talked about policy and funding. And it was fantastic to know that this money comes with a plan so that actions can result in positive, measurable change for the lakes.

Learn more about the GRLI at: http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/glri/index.html

The EPA will take feedback on the plan until August 19 through their site.

Segment 8 Day 2 Fox Park->Kleinke Park camping 13 miles

High of 81 degrees. July 15

After breaking camp this morning (that's my hammock/tent in the trees), I continued south along Green Bay. Since I walked through some tall weeds, I made sure I wore my tan colored pants so that I could get rid of any ticks that tried to catch a ride.

The day was hot and my pack heavy, so I took my time along route 35 to the next campground.

Kleinke Park is really set up for those house-size campers that people park for the summer at campgrounds. It was comical to string up my hammock tent in between these structures, and I got a lot of questions from fellow campers about my adventure and choice of shelter.

My nearest neighbors, Doug and Julie (along with Doug's parents, Ron and Sue) invited me to join them for a grilled dinner complete with steak, roasted potatoes, stuffed squash, and salad. These Wisconsinites were very kind. They had been coming to Kleinke Park for years and told me how they used to catch their limit of perch just offshore in the bay, but now the perch were mostly gone. The invasive species, the round goby, had replaced them.

The bay and the lake are under many pressures: pollution, invasive species, habitat destruction, wetland destruction, building on the shoreline (among many others). It looks like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will probably pass both houses of Congress and next year over $400 million dollars will be put toward making the lakes healthier, their ecosystems more balanced.

Fantastic News for the Great Lakes

Below is a press release about an important piece of legislation making its way through Congress. I encourage you to contact your representative in support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

-Loreen.

U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee Funds Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (June 10, 2009)—The U.S. House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee today approved full funding for the new $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which addresses some of the most urgent threats to the Great Lakes, including invasive species, toxic pollution and habitat restoration.

The subcommittee also approved $2.3 billion nationally to help cities modernize wastewater infrastructure through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund – an increase of $1.6 billion over last year. Almost 40 percent of these funds will go to Great Lakes states for improving water quality in the region.

Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:

“The U.S. House took a major step forward in the effort to restore the Great Lakes, safeguard public health, create jobs and uphold our quality of life.

“We applaud Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) for his support and oversight and thank full committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) and other Great Lakes committee members like Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) and the Great Lakes congressional delegation for standing up for the Great Lakes and the millions of people who depend on them for their jobs and way of life.

“The action by the appropriation’s subcommittee charts a path for congressional action to restore the Great Lakes and revive the economy. This is Congress’ first step and we look forward to the full U.S. House supporting this funding later this month. The U.S. Senate must also follow suit so that region can roll up our sleeves and get to work restoring this great national resource.

“Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery depend on collaboration on implementing our Great Lakes restoration plan among government, business, and citizen groups so that we can restore the largest surface fresh water resource in the world before the problems get worse and more costly.”