Lake Erie Needs Our Help

The Ohio House recently re passed the Great Lakes compact. An alliance between the Great Lakes states and Canada, formed to prohibit the diversion of Great Lakes water to drier climates in the American West, and even to the Middle East. While the other states and Canada are ready to ratify and sign the deal the Ohio State Senate has stalled the agreement because they say it infringes on private property. Because private landowners own the stream bed, some State Senators feel these individuals should be free to divert water from Lake Erie feeder streams that run through their property. Please e-mail your State Senators if you are in support of prohibiting diversion of Great Lakes water to other regions. Go to www.senate.oh.us/

Also, the United States senate is in the middle of legislation to make it mandatory for all incoming ocean liners to flush their ballast tanks with salt water 200 miles from U.S. waters, and the St. Lawerence Seaway which is the gateway to the Great Lakes. These ships are responsible for bringing in the quagga and zebra mussels, which have been blamed for the collapse of the Lake Huron Salmon fisherie and are responsible for the declining stocks, and individual fish size of Lake Michigan Salmon. Michigan scientists estimate their are around 5 billion pounds of these water clearing mussels on the Lake Michigan floor. These invasives can also be linked to the Lake Erie Walleye decline. Please contact your Ohio Senators to voice your support for this important legislation. Don't let foreign shipping companies dictate the rules for our waters.

Sherrod Brown..........brown.senate.gov
George Voinovich.......voinovich.senate.gov