Position Statement: Improving Funding to Address Invasive Species

Therefore be

it resolved that Great Lakes United reaffirms its commitment to work to oppose the North American Free Trade Agreement.

A new report has been released which attempts to determine the life history of the bighead carp captured on June 22, 2010, in Lake Calumet, just 6 miles from Lake Michigan. Great Lakes United, in partnership with Alliance for the Great Lakes, Healing Our Waters Coalition, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Prairie Rivers Network have produced a factsheet to unravel the science and clear up some of the misconceptions behind the bighead carp found in Lake Calumet.

A backgrounder on the Asian carp.

A document containing proposed changes to the Great Lakes United by-laws at the 2011 Annual General Meeting.

A joint resolution from the U.S. and Canadian advisors to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission supporting the ecological separation of the Mississippi River basin from teh Great Lakes basin, and calling upon the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to support this position. The resolution also expressses frustration that aquatic invasive species continue to menace the Great Lakes ecosystem after decades of experience with the ecological, social, and economic devastation to the Great Lakes region by exotic species such as sea lamprey, zebra mussels, and the more than 180 other species that have invaded and continue to invade the Great Lakes as a result of legislative and regulatory inaction, and call for immediate implementation of the recommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration to address all major invasive species pathways.

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.

A resolution passed at the 2012 Annual Meeting by the Great Lakes United membership on Radioactive Waste Burial. 

A resource developed for the Great Lakes United TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® 2010, the Green Book is a introductory guide to the problems affecting the Great Lakes in 2010. Topics include water conservation, Asian carp, toxics and pollution, wind energy and green gardening.

As of October 15, 2010. This is an updated list of NGOs signing in support of stopping the shipment of Radioactive Nuclear Generators.

Be it further resolved that Great Lakes United urges the Province of Ontario to implement its Water Efficiency Strategy for Ontario and ensure that a conservation policy is implemented as the mandate of the Ontario Clean Water Agency, and that it be consulted on the role of the OCWA, and that the public be given the opportunity to voice concerns about this privatization of the province's water responsibilities.

BE IT RBSOLVED THAT Great Lakes United should press state, provincial and federal Governments to provide for:

A. Long term adequate funding of research into the transport, fate and toxicity of substancee entering the Great Lakes from point and non-point sources with special attention to the need for long term adequate funding for the BPA Grosse Ile and Duluth Laboratories and NOAA GLERL Laboratory in Ann Arbor.

B. Increased funding for monitoring, investigation and enforcement to regulate the point and non-point source discharges of toxic pollutants in general and persistent, bioaccumulative and potentially carcinogenic substances like dioxin in particular.

C. Increased public access to relevant information.

D. Honoring Great Lakee Water Quality Agreement commitments.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT Great Lakes United should inventory and rank toxic and hazardous substance problems in the Great Lakes Basin.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT Great Lakes United press for etricter controls on the point and non-point source discharges of toxic substances into the Great Lakes Ecosystem.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT Great Lakes United promote alternatives to the generation and discharge of toxic and hazardous substances, with special focus on the need for the development of a comprehensive resource recovery and waste management plan within the Great Lakes Basin.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT Great Lakes United create a centralized repository/clearing-house for information relevant to the goals and objectives of Great Lakes United and its member organizations, readily accessible to its members.