GLIN==> Coalition Urges Congress to Restore Funding for Great Lakes

Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition
 
Coalition Urges Congress to Restore Funding for Great Lakes 
 
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (Feb. 3, 2010)—The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes
Coalition today urged Congress to restore funding for Great Lakes
restoration, following the release of President Obama’s budget on
Monday. The president’s budget includes $300 million for his Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative, a 36% reduction from the $475 million he
requested in his inaugural budget.
 
“Although President Obama's budget makes Great Lakes restoration a
priority, the proposed funding will make it difficult to keep pace with
the urgent threats facing the Lakes,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign
director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “We're going
to work with Congress and the White House to restore funding to Great
Lakes programs before the problems get worse and the solutions get more
costly.”
 
President Obama proposed in his inaugural budget a new,
precedent-setting $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that
helped jump-start long-stalled federal action to restore the Lakes, the
largest freshwater resource in the world.
 
“The Administration started strong; it needs to stay strong,” said Andy
Buchsbaum, co-chair of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and
regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great
Lakes Regional Center. “After years of federal inaction, there is a huge
need to fund solutions that advance Great Lakes restoration and economic
recovery. We look forward to working with the Obama Administration and
the U.S. Congress to make that happen.”
 
In January, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition—in
collaboration with regional organizations representing state, industry,
business, conservation and tribal leaders—sent a letter urging the Obama
Administration to maintain funding for the Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative at $475 million.
 
The initiative invests in solutions to stop aquatic invasive species
that cost the region at least $200 million annually in damage and
control costs; clean up contaminated sediments that pose a threat to the
health of people and wildlife; and restore wetlands and other habitat
that protect water quality, prevent flooding and serve as the foundation
of the region’s outdoor economy.
 
“The need for increased Great Lakes restoration funding is higher than
ever,” said Gildo Tori, director of public policy at the Great Lakes and
Atlantic Regional Office of Ducks Unlimited. “Our goal is for Congress
to fully fund solutions that restore the Great Lakes, which are the
foundation of our economy and way of life.”
 
The Brookings Institution found that the eight-state Great Lakes region
of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and Wisconsin stands to gain at least $2 in economic benefit for every
$1 invested in Great Lakes restoration.
 
“Fully funding Great Lakes restoration will benefit people, businesses
and communities,” said Skelding. “We have the solutions to these urgent
problems. It is time to use them.”
 
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition consists of more than 100
environmental, conservation, outdoor recreation organizations, zoos,
aquariums and museums representing millions of people, whose common goal
is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. 
For more information, visit: http://www.healthylakes.org/ 
 
For Immediate Release:
February 3, 2010
 
Contact:
Jordan Lubetkin, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, (734)
887-7109, lubetkin at nwf.org 
 
 
Jordan Lubetkin - Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation
Great Lakes Regional Center
213 W. Liberty St., Suite 200
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1398
www.nwf.org/greatlakes 
www.healthylakes.org ( http://www.healthylakes.org/ )

Phone: (734) 887-7109 
Cell: (734) 904-1589

Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
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