Great Lakes Article:

Saving the Great Lakes
By Jackie Johnson
Wisconsin Radio Network
Published August 2005

The governor hears from people in the Ashland area on their views of the proposals on the Great Lakes. As the debate over the management of the Great Lakes continues, Governor Jim Doyle says the Governors of the Great Lakes states have been working on the Annex 2001 plan with the Canadian Provinces, looking at many factors to save the lakes. "Looking at how we preserve both the quantity and the quality of Great Lakes water, how we move forward on cleaning up the Great Lakes, how we deal with the difficult problems of invasive species, how we try to restore habitat, how we deal with the issue of diversion of Great Lake waters."

Doyle says a serious issue that needs immediate attention is invasive species. The governor hopes to get a lot of help from the federal government, and he says diverting the water from the Great Lakes is a big issue that can't be ignored. Doyle says they really need an overall recovery and restoration plan for Great Lakes. "We just need general reclamation of the Great Lakes. Restoration of water quality, restoration of habitat, just a major effort to do in the Great Lakes what was done in the Everglades a number of years ago, to really improve the overall ecosystem of the Great Lakes."

The governor wants to hear from residents throughout the state in hopes of defining regulation for safeguarding the lakes as the rest of the world tries to get their fill of the water.