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Congress Poised to Pass Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2006

For More Information Contact:
Melissa Malott, Clean Wisconsin Water Policy Director, (608) 251-7020, ext. 13
George Meyer, Executive Director, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, (608) 516-5545
Emily Green, Midwest Sierra Club, (608) 257-4994

MADISON, WISCONSIN (September 29) – Congress today is expected to pass a bill to restore fish and wildlife habitat in the Great Lakes, enacting an important component of a comprehensive strategy to restore this globally crucial ecosystem. “This bill is good for our Great Lakes, and the millions of Wisconsinites who rely on them for their fishing, recreation, and livelihood” said George Meyer, Executive Director of Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. “The bill provides funding that insures practical solutions to the urgent problems facing our lakes.”

The act authorizes $16 million per year for five years—a two-fold increase over the previous authorization of $8 million. It awards grants for on-the-ground restoration projects to restore fish and wildlife such as habitat and wetlands restoration. It also provides funding to prevent impacts from non-native species such as the zebra mussels – and its even more destructive cousin the Quagga mussel - that have invaded Lake Michigan in recent years.

“The Great Lakes are not only vital to Wisconsin, but to the nation. Scientists across the region recognize that they are at a tipping point,” said Malott. “This bill provides funding and other tools for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, states, and tribes to help protect and restore the fish and wildlife so crucial to the health of Great Lakes ecosystem and the people who depend upon it.”

Malott recently returned from a series of listening sessions conducted by Clean Wisconsin to discuss Great Lakes issues with residents around the state. She noted that people are concerned about toxins in water and algae that chokes beaches and shorelines. “People don’t know what to do. It is their tradition to eat the fish that they catch, but now they worry about the health effects of doing so.”

Wetlands – which act as natural filters to remove toxins and pollution from waters feeding into the Great Lakes - have been diminishing at a rapid rate over the past years in Wisconsin, resulting in higher toxics concentrations in the Great Lakes. Restoration of these natural filters would be eligible for funding under the Act.

"Congress holds the key for the Great Lakes," said Emily Green, director of the Great Lakes program for the Sierra Club. "This action builds momentum toward the comprehensive restoration effort the lakes need to combat threats such as sewage contamination, toxics pollution, and aquatic invasive species."

Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin’s clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and corporations accountable. Founded in 1970 as Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, Clean Wisconsin exposes corporate polluters, makes sure existing environmental laws are enforced, and educates citizens and businesses. On behalf of its 10,000 members and its coalition partners, Clean Wisconsin protects the special places that make Wisconsin such a wonderful place to live, work and play.