(Note: Does this excerpt raise any large Red Flags? "...threats to the Great Lakes watershed come from extensive urban development, invasive species, altered water flows, and incompatible agricultural uses." Also please note that Senator DeWine is still apparently as eager as ever to spend other people's taxpayer dollars to rewild the world. "...his continued leadership..." is how TNC sees his spending of $6 billion of other people's money.)

July 14, 2003

Chicago, Illinois - The Nature Conservancy is encouraged by ongoing Congressional interest in a comprehensive and coordinated restoration of the Great Lakes watershed -- reinforcing the knowledge that the lakes are key to the health of U.S. and Canadian populations and to economic growth.

"We appreciate and support the interest that Congressional leaders are taking in this valuable natural resource. The Great Lakes are a resource for millions of people and are critical to the economic and ecological sustainability of the Great Lakes states, the region, and two countries," said John Anderson, director of the Conservancy's Great Lakes Program.

"We will need to have a coordinated plan, which incorporates mutually acceptable priorities, to restore the natural systems that support these lakes and the entire ecosystem. Public support will be essential for success," Andersen said.

The Great Lakes hold one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water and provides drinking water to 40 million people in the U.S. and Canada. Ongoing threats to the Great Lakes watershed come from extensive urban development, invasive species, altered water flows, and incompatible agricultural uses.

A successful Great Lakes restoration program would need to address key issues such as protecting the river corridors of major tributaries, coastal wetland restoration, control and prevention of aquatic invasive species, and a plan for future sustainable water use.

"Working together and sharing valuable resources and knowledge will help us to protect our natural resources. It's the region's natural biodiversity that forms the foundation of our ecology and our economy," Andersen said.

In Ohio, key issues that need to be addressed include solving the problems associated with agricultural runoff in the Maumee River, restoring coastal wetlands and protected of the Western Lake Erie Islands, said State Director Rich Shank.

Shank thanked U. S. Senator Mike DeWine for his continued leadership in Great Lakes conservation efforts.

DeWine is a principal co-sponsor of legislation introduced Monday in the Senate that would authorize the spending of $6 billion over 10 years in the eight Great Lakes states.

"We are pleased that Congressional leaders recognize the great need to rehabilitate this resource," Shank said.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 14 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

Visit us on the Web at nature.org

http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/ohio/press/press1129.html