Contact: Mike Donahue E-mail: mdonahue@glc.org

For immediate release January 9, 2001

Great Lakes Program for Environmental and Economic Prosperity to be released
Great Lakes Day to feature priorities for 107th Congress

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Legislative, appropriations and policy priorities of the Great Lakes states will be showcased on Great Lakes Day, March 15 in Washington, D.C. Co-sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission and the Northeast-Midwest Institute, the day’s activities will include a briefing by the region's policymakers and opinion leaders for members and staff of the Great Lakes Congressional and Senate Task Forces and other key leaders.

The day will begin with the annual Great Lakes Congressional Breakfast and feature release of the "Great Lakes Program for Environmental and Economic Prosperity," a bold new strategy to restore greatness to the world’s largest system of fresh surface water. The breakfast will be held in Room B-339 of the Rayburn House Office Building from 8-9:30 a.m.

Dick Munson, executive director of the Northeast-Midwest Institute, will offer remarks and introduce members of the Great Lakes Congressional Delegation speaking at the breakfast. Nat Robinson and Sam Speck, chair and vice chair of the Great Lakes Commission, will speak on legislative and appropriations priorities in the areas of environmental protection, resource management, transportation and sustainable economic development.

"When it comes to federal support for Great Lakes research and management activities, the status quo is no longer acceptable," says Robinson. "It is imperative that we reverse the relentless erosion of support and establish powerful new federal/state partnerships that ensure the environmental and economic prosperity of the world's greatest freshwater resource. The bold, new Great Lakes Program to be released on March 15 can be the cornerstone of that partnership."

An issues briefing and dialogue with congressional staff and other interested parties will be held following the breakfast from 10 a.m. to noon at a Capitol Hill location to be announced. Key staff from Great Lakes Congressional and Senate Task Force offices will speak, as will directors and senior staff from the Great Lakes Commission; Northeast-Midwest Institute; and numerous state, regional and federal Great Lakes agencies and organizations.

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by Nathaniel E. Robinson (Wisconsin), is a nonpartisan, binational compact agency created by state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of state legislators, agency officials and governors’ appointees from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a "Declaration of Partnership." The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.