Plan updated to address threats to Great Lakes water quality

MADISON – Wisconsin’s roadmap for protecting and restoring its Great Lakes waters has been updated, and state officials hope it will put Wisconsin in the drivers seat for the $475 million President Barack Obama has proposed for 2010 for Great Lakes ecosystems.

“We’re pleased to see the president has put in substantial funding to restore the Great Lakes,” says Todd Ambs, who leads the Department of Natural Resources water-related programs. “His proposal recognizes the hard work of Governor Doyle and the other Great Lakes governors who helped shape an unprecedented collaboration that went into developing a blueprint for protecting and restoring these national water treasures.”

“By updating our own state strategy we hope to show how Wisconsin will meet those national goals. The state will then be in a strong position to get more federal dollars to addres water quality concerns impacting the Great Lakes.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is holding a public meeting in Milwaukee on July 21 on the $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the funding plan for recommendations for restoring the Great Lakes. The meeting runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel Milwaukee City Center, Wisconsin Room, 611 W. Wisconsin Ave.

The initiative would provide funding to carry out recommendations developed through the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration [glrc.us] (exit DNR), which brought together states, federal agencies, tribal nations, industry, conservation organizations and individuals to create a national blueprint for protecting and restoring the Great Lakes.

Wisconsin developed a parallel and complementary strategy with specific goals and recommendations for Wisconsin’s Great Lakes waters. The 2009 Wisconsin Great Lakes Strategy: Restoring and Protecting Our Great Lakes, outlines an ambitious plan calling for a collective effort to address the major threats to these valuable resources. It lays out key priorities to:

• Stop the introduction and spread of non-native aquatic invasive plants and animals.
• Enhance fish and wildlife populations by restoring and protecting wetlands, rivers, streams and associated uplands.
• Promote programs to protect human health against adverse effects of pollution in the Great Lakes ecosystem.
• Restore to environmental health the Areas of Concern (AOCs) identified by the
• International Joint Commission as needing remediation and other contaminated sediment sites in the Great Lakes Basin.
• Control pollution from diffuse sources into water, land, and air.
• Continue efforts to eliminate the introduction of toxins into the Great Lakes ecosystem that can build up and cause problems for decades to come.
• Adopt sustainable use practices that protect environmental resources and enhance the recreational and commercial values of our Great Lakes.
• Standardize and improve the methods by which information is collected, recorded, and shared within the region.