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On December 13, 2005 the governors of the eight states bordering the Great Lakes and two Canadian Premiers signed the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Compact and Agreement. to establish the first region-wide standards to govern the withdrawal and use of Great Lakes Water.  This led to a process of each of the eight state legislatures needing to ratify the compact and pass legislation to implement the requirements of the Compact before it goes to the U.S. Congress for approval.

Over the last year, Wisconsin Environment worked with a coalition of environmental and conservation organizations to build support for a strong Great Lakes Compact to protect and conserve our most treasured natural resource.  In May, 2008, after months of campaigning, and thousands of citizens voicing their loud and consistent support, the Legislature approved the Great Lakes Compact with a nearly unanimous vote.  Then, on May 27th, Wisconsin Environment Director, Dan Kohler, joined Governor Doyle on the shore of Lake Michigan as he signed the bill into law.

 

 

How You Can Help

Thank your representatives and Governor Doyle for supporting strong protections of our Great Lakes.

Background

The Great Lakes are an unparalleled natural wonder containing 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. From the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior to the beaches of Door County, to the ports on Lake Michigan—Wisconsin families flock to the Great Lakes for picnics, swimming, fishing, and boating, and to its surrounding lands to build their homes and grow their businesses. Many Wisconsin communities rely on the Great Lakes for clean drinking water, and our state benefits tremendously from the $15 billion economy generated through shipping, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.  

Unfortunately, the Great Lakes face great peril. Powerful developers and industries want unregulated access to Great Lakes water, threatening to divert the Great Lakes for runaway development outside of Wisconsin and to privatize it as a commodity.

To address these problems and conserve the Great Lakes for future generations, Governor Doyle joined other Governors in the region in signing the Great Lakes Compact. Now our state Legislature needs to follow Gov. Doyle’s lead by endorsing the Great Lakes Compact while strengthening provisions to keep the Great Lakes great.