GLU News

The end of an era

Hired in 1991 to write and edit the Quarterly Bulletin of Pollution Prevention, Reg’s capacity for critical thought outgrew his editorial contributions and in 1997 Reg took on opposition to the Akron, Ohio diversion on behalf of Great Lakes United and our member groups. When that the diversion was approved in 1998, the state government found opposition so well coordinated and arduous it led, at least in part, to setting the stage for the negotiation of the Annex Agreements to discourage diversion of Great Lakes Water and establish a system for regional conservation.

Armed with a curious capacity for ignoring nationalist rhetoric, Reg was never shy to disagree, discuss and negotiate toward realizing the Annex. The Great Lakes United coalition will forever remember Reg as keeping his eye on the prize – a better, stronger, more robust regulatory system than anything in place to date. The Annex process has culminated with an International Agreement between the eight Great Lakes states and Ontario and Quebec, as well as a Great Lakes Compact between the eight states. Currently, this legislation is moving well, with only Ohio and Wisconsin threatening our determination to put the Great Lakes region once again at the forefront of international environmental policy.

Since state provincial legislatures started considering their respective legislative strategies for adopting the Annex Agreements in late 2005, Reg has taken on much of Great Lakes United’s work to move beyond the piecemeal pollution solutions offered by basin governments since the weakly enforced 1972 Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Throughout the public consultation phase of the review, Reg coordinated member group input and helped provide the robust rationale for including invasive species and climate change as threats to water quality.

Great Lakes United’s 2003 publication of the “Great Lakes Green Book,” followed a year-long effort in which Reg coordinated a half-dozen committees of basin activists in drafting an agenda for restoring the health of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ecosystem. Reg subsequently coordinated the coalition’s 2005 participation in the official, multi-stakeholder, U.S. Great Lakes Regional Collaboration aimed at developing consensus for restoration priorities and congressional funding commitments. Two years after it was issued, that group’s final report serves as the basis for Congressional efforts to protect, integrate, and expand Great Lakes restoration activities on the U.S. side of the border. Toward this end, Reg’s most recent projects included coordinating meetings between U.S. grassroots basin activists and their members of Congress to discuss local restoration needs.

Striving for 25 years to address the needs of two countries, eight states, two provinces, the labour movement and the many First Nations and tribes across the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River region, Great Lakes United has faced many challenges as it evolved into a organization of great diversity. For the last 18 years of that history, we could always depend on Reg Gilbert to weather those storms, carry much more than his own weight, stand up to protect the health of the region, and push Great Lakes United to exceed all expectations. On behalf of Great Lakes United’s Board of Directors and its dedicated staff: thanks so much Reg for all your good work – the future is yours and we hope to be part of it.

© 2008 Great Lakes News.