Conservationists expressed outrage that a Congressional bill wouldcut funding to fight the influx of aquatic invasive species like the Asian carp, while extending a controversial and ongoing study on commercial shipping on the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes United coalition applauds efforts to amend the Shipping Act to better protect waters of the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River, and the nation. We stress that such action has been strongly supported by the federal government in the “Government Response to the 4th Report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans- Aquatic Invasive Species: Uninvited Guests”. In this response,
the government expressed support for the committee recommendation “that as a matter of priority, standards for the treatment of ballast water be developed, implemented and fully enforced” (Recommendation 6). We encourage the government to demonstrate support by immediately amending, implementing and enforcing changes to the Shipping Act that significantly increase protection of national waters from the ecologically and economically devastating impacts of aquatic invasive species originating from the ballast tanks.

The undersigned Great Lakes organizations are writing to support the approach taken within the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2005 (S. 770, H.R. 1591, H.R. 1592) and express concern with the Ballast Water Management Act of 2005 (S. 363). We applaud your ongoing commitment to finding a comprehensive federal solution to the problem of invasive species in the Great Lakes and nationwide. While state and regional actions against invasive species vectors are critical to establishing a fully protective framework, we believe a coordinated, comprehensive, and national approach is the preferred long-term means of stopping new invasive species from penetrating U.S. borders. We have also attached recommendations from the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration process to strengthen several aspects of these important bills.

Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United calls on the Province of Ontario to take the necessary legal steps to defend the promise of the Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt, starting with actions to defend the “in perpetuity” easements to which it is a party, on the lands in the Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve, and Be it further resolved that Great Lakes United calls on the Federal Government of Canada and its elected representatives, as parties to COA to make its concerns known to the Province of Ontario with respect to the pressures that are coming to bear on the lands in the Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve.

Presented at the 2005 Great Lakes Conference and Biennial Meeting of the International Joint Commission

Kingston, Ontario

I am writing on behalf of Great Lakes United to express our recommendations for the
improved regulation of ocean-going vessels declaring “no ballast on board” (NOBOB)
and the aquatic invasive species they carry. Great Lakes United is an international
coalition of over 170 environmental and conservation organizations, unions, academia and businesses in the United States, Canada, First Nations and tribes dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin ecosystem.

Press release calling for the U.S. Coast Guard to enforce the National Invasive Speices Act.

Comments on the Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact.

The impact of the Annex agreements for Canada.

Background information on considerations for the development of the Annex agreements.

Comments on the Great Lakes Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.

The Lake Michigan Federation (LMF) and Great Lakes United (GLU) hereby petition you, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act at 5 U.S.C.§553(e) and 33 CFR 1.05-20(a)(Petitions for Rulemaking), to reconsider your refusal, in the above cited regulation, to bar vessels from outside of U.S. waters from entry into the Great Lakes while they remain in violation of mandatory Ballast Water Management (BWM) reporting requirements. We urgently request that you issue a second correction to the Coast Guard’s new regulation that includes denial of entry to the Great Lakes as a penalty for violation of BWM reporting requirements before the new rules take effect on August 13, 2004.