GLIN==> Regional organizations urge support for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding

The Great Lakes Commission and 14 other regional agencies and organizations
are urging the Senate Great Lakes Delegation to support full funding for the
$475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, as proposed in President
Obama's FY 2010 budget.  The letter voices strong support for the Initiative
as well as a commitment to work collaboratively within the region and with
the Administration and Congress to ensure a successful outcome from the
proposed investment in Great Lakes restoration.  The letter urges Great
Lakes Senators to contact the members of the Senate Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee and request that they support full funding for the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative.

The complete letter is attached and the text is pasted in below.

This letter and related updates on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
are available at http://www.glc.org/advocacy. Questions can be addressed to
Matt Doss, policy director at the Great Lakes Commission, 734-971-9135,
mdoss at glc.org. 

---------------------

June 9, 2009
 
Dear Member of the Senate Great Lakes Delegation:

President Obama's Fiscal Year 2010 federal budget proposes $475 million for
the "Great Lakes Restoration Initiative," an unprecedented opportunity to
address some of the Great Lakes basin's most pressing needs. The President's
proposal accelerates implementation of a comprehensive, science-based Great
Lakes restoration plan that we and hundreds of others in the region helped
produce. The Initiative will make the federal government a partner with the
states, cities and others in restoring the Great Lakes, and will
significantly strengthen the national investment in revitalizing our
regional economy.

The undersigned organizations strongly support the President's proposal and
ask that you contact the Chair and Ranking Member of the Interior
Appropriations Subcommittee (Senators Dianne Feinstein and Lamar Alexander,
respectively) to request that the Initiative be appropriated in full.

We are committed to working with the federal government to ensure that Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative funds are used to support the detailed
restoration plan endorsed by the eight-state region's mayors, governors,
tribes, industry and environmental leaders. We also commit to working
collaboratively with each other, the Administration, and Congress to ensure
a successful outcome from this investment in Great Lakes restoration.

The Great Lakes are a vital component of our regional and national economy;
restoring them and maximizing their benefits must be a key policy goal for
the federal government. Now, more than ever, we face an urgent need to
create jobs, stimulate economic development and invest in freshwater
resources that will be central to our future.

Thank you for all you do to protect and restore the Great Lakes. 

Sincerely,

Joel Brammeier, Acting President and CEO 
Alliance for the Great Lakes

George H. Kuper, President
Council of Great Lakes Industries

Tim Eder, Executive Director
Great Lakes Commission

Derek R. Stack, Executive Director 
Great Lakes United

Andy Buchsbaum, Director, Great Lakes Regional 
Center, National Wildlife Federation

Jane A. TenEyck, Executive Director
Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority

Roger Knight, Chair
Council of Lake Committees

Michael Hansen, Chair
Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Jeff Skelding, Campaign Director
Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition

Henry L. Henderson, Director, Midwest Regional 
Office, Natural Resources Defense Council

Eric Boysen, Chair 
Council of Great Lakes Fishery Agencies

Robert D. Hoffman, Director 
Ducks Unlimited Great Lakes/Atlantic Region

Ed Wolking, Jr.
Great Lakes Metropolitan Chambers Coalition

Lynn McClure, Midwest Regional Director 
National Parks Conservation Association

Helen Taylor, State Director, Michigan
The Nature Conservancy


 
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