State Sen. Bob Jauch, (D-Poplar), and State Rep. Cory Mason, (D-Racine), are circulating a letter among their colleagues urging action on the stalled Great Lakes Compact - - and the Madison Capital Times in a Saturday editorial praises them for their leadership.
Media and political figures in Wisconsin need to follow this lead, as the longer this crucial Great Lakes protective agreement goes without implementation by all eight of the Great Lakes states (Minnesota and Illinois have already approved it), the easier it will be for water-loss through-diversions to occur without standards or a fair, legal process.
Implementing legislation for the Compact in Wisconsin has been blocked for two years, principally by business and political interests in Waukesha County who mistakenly argue that an agreement with the other states to manage cooperatively what is a shared US-Canadian resource - - and 95% of the fresh surface water in the US - - might impede some development activities in Waukesha County.
There is a similar, narrow-minded obstructionist attitude in one far-right corner of the Ohio legislature: the other states have either adopted the Compact or are making solid progress.
This means that without strong bi-partisan leadership and alliances among conservationists and businesses in the manufacturing, shipping, food-processing and tourism sectors, our state - - even with its great legacy of resource protection, from John Muir to Aldo Leopold to Gaylord Nelson, could be the state that fails to seal Great Lakes protection across the region.
This blog was created in February to carry a pro-Compact message, with more than 200 postings to date on the Compact or related water conservation and management topics.
I'm happy to help anyone find information about the Great Lakes Compact on the Internet, or elsewhere.
I'm happy to help anyone use this blog's posted archives, as many items contain links to documents that show how the Compact has been stalled in Wisconsin, or connections to useful resources and activists in other states.
One posting with an index to resources is here, and is updated often.
Suggestions? Send comments, or email me at jer45y@gmail.com
What leadership? The letter is nothing more than a "Statement of Principle" that the Great Lakes are, well...great, and that they should be protected. The letter is addressed to no one and has been filed away in Sen. Jauch's office. A symbolic gesture with no substantive components. Again, what leadership?
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