Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United (GLU) and its members participate in the governments’ review of the GLWQA, and Be it further resolved that GLU confer with its members throughout the review process to develop positions on actions that should be taken as outcomes from the review, and Be it further resolved that GLU continue to consult with its members and communicate to the governments recommendations to improve the review process as it moves forward, and Be it finally resolved that GLU communicate to the governments that the review should first review the purpose and scope of the GLWQA and provide for broad public review, before review of Agreement and Annexes.

The principal conclusion of this study is that a cessation of ocean shipping on the Great Lakes would result in a transportation cost penalty of US$54.9 million per year. The study has been peer reviewed by a panel of four peer reviewers from the agricultural economics and economics professions who concluded that the study methodology and conclusions are reasonable. The relatively small transportation cost penalty of US$54.9 million is due to the fact that just 12.3 million metric tons of ocean vessel cargo passed into and out of the Lakes via the MLO Section of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 2002, or some 6.8% of total Great Lakes -St. Lawrence Seaway System tonnage.

This talk will look at untapped opportunities to catalyze change and prevent new
introductions of AIS by international commercial vessel transportation. It will identify approaches being actively pursued, as well as options just being debated. What they all have in common is that they are ways we can better prevent invasions. There are ways we can do more. And ultimately this talk intends to illustrate that we have substantially more authority to protect the Lakes than is currently being exercised.

The undersigned Great Lakes organizations are writing to support the approach taken within the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2005 (S. 770, H.R. 1591, H.R. 1592) and express concern with the Ballast Water Management Act of 2005 (S. 363). We applaud your ongoing commitment to finding a comprehensive federal solution to the problem of invasive species in the Great Lakes and nationwide. While state and regional actions against invasive species vectors are critical to establishing a fully protective framework, we believe a coordinated, comprehensive, and national approach is the preferred long-term means of stopping new invasive species from penetrating U.S. borders. We have also attached recommendations from the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration process to strengthen several aspects of these important bills.

Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United calls on the Province of Ontario to take the necessary legal steps to defend the promise of the Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt, starting with actions to defend the “in perpetuity” easements to which it is a party, on the lands in the Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve, and Be it further resolved that Great Lakes United calls on the Federal Government of Canada and its elected representatives, as parties to COA to make its concerns known to the Province of Ontario with respect to the pressures that are coming to bear on the lands in the Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve.

The member organizations of the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS) urge you to co-sponsor the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (NAISA), S. 770. NAISA will amend and improve the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990.

An overview of extended producer responsibility.

Comments on the Great Lakes Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.

Op-ed dispelling myths surround the Annex Agreements, and explaining why the agreements are a positive step forward for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River protection.

Process and background on the Annex process to protect the Great Lakes from diversions.

Comments by the Nature Conservancy on the Annex 2001 draft Implementing Agreement.

Primer on facts surround Great Lakes water use, and the development of Implementing Agreements.