GLIN==> Congress urged to enact Great Lakes priorities

["List Manager" <adminpst@great-lakes.net>]

Contact: Jon MacDonagh-Dumler, jonmacd@glc.org, 734-971-9135

See www.glc.org/restore
Great Lakes Commission urges Congress to enact near-term Great Lakes 
priorities

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Speaking as part of a unified regional voice, the Great 
Lakes Commission today released its annual list of federal legislation 
needed to address the challenges facing the world's greatest freshwater 
resource, the Great Lakes.

Taking as its cue the recommendations of the Great Lakes Regional 
Collaboration, the list echoes the near-term priorities for implementing the 
most immediate needs of the Collaboration's Great Lakes Strategy. The most 
urgent near-term priorities, set forth by the Council of Great Lakes 
Governors and the mayors of the Great Lakes Cities Initiative, have been 
endorsed by the Great Lakes Commission and many other regional partners.

"The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration's strategy represents the shared 
consensus of our region, as developed over the past year by more than 1,500 
people representing the broad spectrum of Great Lakes interests and 
expertise," said Tom Huntley, chair of the Great Lakes Commission. "It is 
only fitting that the legislative priorities we send to Congress reflect the 
shared thinking of our region."

On behalf of its member states, the Commission produces an annual list of 
federal legislative and appropriations priorities for each session of 
Congress. This year's list emphasizes more than a dozen specific pieces of 
legislation addressing the most critical needs of those identified by the 
Regional Collaboration, including measures to address invasive species, 
Areas of Concern, toxic pollution, coastal wetlands and habitat, nonpoint 
source pollution and more.

The list also includes a lesser number of additional priority actions 
reflecting ongoing concerns of the Commission's member states.

The full document is available online at www.glc.org/restore or by 
contacting the Great Lakes Commission. Contact: Jon MacDonagh-Dumler, 
jonmacd@glc.org

###

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by the Hon. Thomas E. Huntley 
(Minnesota), is a nonpartisan, binational compact agency established under 
state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, 
healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes­St. 
Lawrence region and its residents.  The Commission consists of state 
legislators, agency officials and governors' appointees from its eight 
member states.  Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established 
through the signing of a "Declaration of Partnership."  The Commission 
maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal 
agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional 
interests.  The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.


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