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.

This talk will look at untapped opportunities to catalyze change and prevent new
introductions of AIS by international commercial vessel transportation. It will identify approaches being actively pursued, as well as options just being debated. What they all have in common is that they are ways we can better prevent invasions. There are ways we can do more. And ultimately this talk intends to illustrate that we have substantially more authority to protect the Lakes than is currently being exercised.

Testimony of the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing on the Importation of Exotic Species and the Impact on Public Health and Safety. Invasions by exotic plants, animals, and pathogens into non-native environments pose one of the most significant, but least addressed, threats to human health, agriculture and our natural ecosystems. Monkey pox, SARS and West Nile virus are the new buzzwords of public health, as communicable diseases increasingly leap hosts from animals to humans. In the United States, in 2002 alone, West Nile virus claimed more than 60 lives among constituencies represented by this committee and sickened more than a 1,000 people. Deliberate animal imports (legal or illegal) are thought to be one of the most likely ways that WNV got to New York City in 1999.

Although the serious consequences caused by invasive species reaching our shores have received considerable attention, the problems caused when U.S. species land in other countries has not. Exported species have caused extensive damage to other nations, but little progress has been made toward creating policy, both international and domestic, to mitigate the exportation of potentially invasive species. Today, we continue to send species, intentionally and unintentionally, from the United States to other nations. These species can be transported by air, land, and sea through tourism, military operations, trade, development assistance projects, and industry expansion. Here are just some of the problem species we have exported.

Although invasive species may cause local damage, their impacts go well beyond state borders. The Office of Technology Assessment’s 1993 report and countless others call for federal action to address invasive species problems, but progress so far has been woefully inadequate. However, there are opportunities to act. We call upon the U.S. Congress and President Bush to immediately take the following steps to benefit our Nation.

I am writing on behalf of Great Lakes United regarding the proposed rule to list the silver carp(Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) as an injurious species of wildlife under the federal Lacey Act, as published in the June 27, 2003 issue of the Federal Register (Vol. 68, No. 141), RIN 1018-AI87. Great Lakes United supports: Listing of silver carp as an injurious species of wildlife under the federal Lacey Act; expansion of the Lacey Act listing to include other Asian carp species, including the bighead, grass and black carp; removal of species of carp where currently stocked or traded in the U.S.

The member organizations of the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS) urge you to co-sponsor the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (NAISA), S. 770. NAISA will amend and improve the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990.

U.S. efforts to stop the introduction of invasive species have not fully utilized existing authorities and have largely focused on creating a short list of known harmful species to regulate. This approach has not adequately protected our lands, waters and biological diversity. By waiting until species’ potential to damage our ecosystems and economy manifest themselves, we miss the most cost effective – and in some instances the only – window of opportunity to prevent their establishment or eradicate them.

Comments from David Lodge on the economic impact of invasive species in the Great Lakes.

A letter outlining Great Lakes United's opposition to Genesee County's proposal to build a pipeline to withdraw 15.5 billion gallons of water a year from Lake Huron. The proposal is opposed because:1) The proposal would increase water withdrawal and consumptive use from Lake Huron; 2) The proposal would increase water withdrawal and consumptive use from Lake Huron; 3) The proposal would dramatically increase water withdrawal and consumption by the Genesee County system and its users; and 4) The proposal does not provide a water conservation and efficiency plan.

Letter to Marc Gagnon, Director General of Société de développement économique du Saint-Laurent (SODES), offering Great Lakes United's limited endorsement of the Green Marine Program. Great Lakes United supports the Green Marine program and its goals, but cannot endorse Green Marine's objective of "increasing understanding… of the environmental advantages of marine transportation" until such time as the disadvantages of maritime transportation are mitigated through regulation or achievement of Green Marine’s highest goals on a consistent basis.

A letter to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Commons supporting the Canadian Environmental Law Association’s suggested amendments to Bill C-20, regarding nuclear industry liability, the proposed Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act.