Great Lakes Commission des Grands Lacs ADVISOR Fall 2006 Volume 20, No. 4 IN THIS ISSUE Director’s Update ... 2 Perspectives ... 8 Great Lakes Calendar ... 10 Commissioners’ Corner ... 12 Strategic planning a major focus of 2006 Annual Meeting Seeking a shared vision for the future As always, the 2006 Annual Meet- the Council of Great Lakes Governors, The meeting marked the official ing of the Great Lakes Commission took Great Lakes Legislative Caucus and resumption of the Commission’s stra- a look at significant Great Lakes issues Healing Our Waters Coalition if we are tegic planning process, which had been and challenges – including the future to succeed in achieving our goals for on hold during the process that culmi- direction of the Commission itself. the Great Lakes and the region. continued on page 5 The development of a new strate- gic plan, outlining where and how the Commission will direct its energies Lt. governors elected to leadership posts in the years to come, occupied a full morning of the 2006 Annual Meeting, In a historic held Oct. 3-5 in Duluth, Minn. With first, the Great the region facing the daunting task of Lakes Commis- implementing the Great Lakes Regional sion has elected a Collaboration Strategy and other major pair of sitting lieu- challenges, a key goal is determining tenant governors how the Commission can build on its to lead the organi- strengths and focus on the areas where zation as its chair it can be most effective. and vice chair. “One of the important areas the Michigan Lt. Commission must address is its niche Gov. John Cherry among Great Lakes organizations,” said is the new chair outgoing Chair Tom Huntley in his of the Great Lakes Lt. Gov. Cherry Lt. Gov. Quinn opening remarks. “Clearly, the issues in Commission and the Great Lakes region are too impor- Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn is vice chair. Cherry said. “The Commission is tant for us to be duplicating each other’s Both were elected by the unanimous uniquely poised to offer solutions to the efforts.” vote of their fellow Commissioners at challenges facing our tremendous natu- Huntley, who concluded a two- the close of the 2006 Annual Meeting ral resources, while ensuring the sus- year tenure as chair at the end of the of the Great Lakes Commission, Oct. tainability of the economies that rely on meeting (see story, this page), said the 3-5 in Duluth. them. I am thrilled to be in this position Commission must have a strong, coop- I am deeply honored to serve the with the Great Lakes Commission dur- erative relationship with such groups as Great Lakes Commission as Chair,” continued on page 5 Director’s Update Doing what we can, today Just less than a year ago, the Great Lakes region celebrated the signing of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) Strategy. Despite its awkward title, this 65-page document represents an historic step. For the first time, our region has a blueprint that addresses the major problems threatening the health of our most precious asset – our waters. “What can we Twelve months after signing the document, it is appropriate to ask “how are we do – with state, doing?” Now that we have the plan, is it being implemented? Even at the time of the signing, many of those involved were expressing disappointment that the White local and private House was not more willing to support the additional investments needed to achieve the goals of the strategy. There is an understandable sense of frustration that after all resources – to start of the effort that went into developing the plan, support from Washington still seems implementing our far off. We are faced with some choices: one is to wait until Washington does its part, top priorities?” which means waiting until the war is over, the nation’s budget deficit picture looks more favorable and the new Congress settles on priorities. The other is to start now; to take the GLRC strategy and ask: “What can we do – with state, local and private resources – to start implementing our top priorities?” Many states are not waiting. Michigan is demonstrating its resolve that the region must take control of our own destiny and tackle the problem of ballast water releases of invasive species. Its new ballast water discharge permit takes effect Jan. 1. In this issue of the Advisor you can read about Ohio’s Lake Erie Action List, spelling out what Ohio will do next year to implement the specific recommendations of the GLRC strat- egy in Ohio. Wisconsin’s Office of the Great Lakes has taken the GLRC’s recommen- dations from the eight strategy sections and asked what specific projects and activities the state should undertake to implement the plan in that state. Their strategy can be Great Lakes Day in reviewed at http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/greatlakes/wistrategy. Illinois Lt Gov. Pat Quinn, recently elected vice chair of the Great Lakes Washington! Commission, is another who believes we should not wait for funding from Washington. The annual Great Lakes Day His “Mud to Parks” initiative is taking an unwanted resource, Illinois River sediment, in Washington policy forum will and moving it to where it can be used on upland sites to grow prairie plants or trees. be Wednesday, March 7, 2007. Another of his initiatives supports local communities to create rain gardens and Join the Great Lakes Commission, other innovative solutions to prevent polluted stormwater runoff from fouling Lake the Northeast-Midwest Institute, Michigan beaches. members of Congress, congres- Clearly, uniform controls on ballast water are preferable to a state-by-state-by- sional staff and stakeholders as province approach to ballast water. We must continue to make the case that the federal we take a look at the needs of government must do its share to help protect and restore these freshwater jewels. In the Great Lakes region and op- the meantime, let’s get started. The Great Lakes are too great to wait. portunities for legislative action. More information will be posted at www.glc.org/greatlakesday as Tim Eder the date approaches. Executive Director 2 ADVISOR • Fall 2006 www.glc.org Congressional praise for basin program Local efforts to improve water dle rising levels quality in the Lake Erie watershed and of excess storm the rest of the Great Lakes basin re- water runoff cently received a bipartisan endorse- causing mil- ment from leading members of Ohio’s lions of dollars congressional delegation. of damage.” Sen. Mike DeWine (R) and Rep. Sen. DeW- Marcy Kaptur (D-9th) saluted work ine also had done under the Great Lakes Basin praise for the Program for Soil Erosion and Sedi- Basin Program, ment Control, which supports local singling out as efforts to improve water quality. The an example a program is managed by the Great project to help Lakes Commission. stabilize a se- Rep. Kaptur spoke at a special verely eroding event Oct. 18 highlighting the program stream bank Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) talks about Great Lakes Basin Program and unveiling one of this year’s funded along West water quality initiatives at a media event and project demonstration projects. The event, in Castalia, Ohio, Creek near in northern Ohio, joined by Tim Eder, executive director of the Great featured a demonstration of equip- Parma, Ohio, Lakes Commission. ment purchased by the Erie County in suburban Conservation District through a Ba- Cleveland. sediment and erosion control projects sin Program grant for use in reseeding “This is good news for Parma, funded this year in all eight states of the drainage ditches that have been dug northeast Ohio and Lake Erie,” Sen. Great Lakes basin. Funding for the pro- out for maintenance purposes. DeWine said. “Soil erosion and sedi- gram is provided through the U.S. De- “Lake Erie is our crown jewel and mentation severely degrade our water partment of Agriculture, Natural Re- this program to reduce erosion can help supply and pollute the Great Lakes. I sources Conservation Service. lower sedimentation levels and protect am proud to have helped secure feder- More information on the Great the lake for future generations,” Rep. al funds that will be used to fight these Lakes Basin Program, including de- Kaptur said. “Erie County has also been destructive forces so that we can pre- tails of all 2006 projects, are available the victim of recent flooding and efforts serve and protect our natural resources at http://glc.org/basin. Contact: Gary such as these take a step forward in the for future generations.” Overmier, [email protected]. hazard mitigation that is needed to han- The two projects are among 44 NOAA, Commission explore potential partnerships An assessment of how the NOAA help the Coastal Services Center plan tention to those that match priorities Coastal Services Center and the Great for an expanded presence in the Great identified through the Great Lakes Re- Lakes Commission can apply their re- Lakes region and assist the Great Lakes gional Collaboration. These are likely sources and expertise to benefit the Commission in setting its own priori- to include activities that build on the Great Lakes region has been released by ties, particularly in regard to the devel- strengths of both organizations, such the two agencies. opment of a new strategic plan. Devel- as enhancing regional communication Titled the Great Lakes Regional oped over the past year, the study also and coordination; coastal development Needs Assessment, the study focuses on identifies opportunities for potential and resource management issues; and three issue areas of emerging or grow- collaboration and cooperation between the development and delivery of data, ing importance to the region: ports and the two organizations.