If you are worried about the continued restoration of the Great Lakes, you might want to go to a public meeting in Detroit.
Tuesday's meeting, hosted by the International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes, is at the Outdoor Adventure Center at 1801 Atwater St. just across the Detroit River. The second of six public meetings planned starts at 6pm.
The International Joint Commission will present its findings on Great Lakes water quality. The 84-page report will go to governments on both sides of the border later this year, but the public is invited to comment.
Grand Bend beach. BlackburnNews.com photo by Melanie Irwin
Among ten key findings in the report, the commission says although progress is being made, governments have not yet demonstrated sufficient progress on the drinkability, swimmability and fishability of the lakes. It says there has been little progress identifying chemicals of concern and water quality in central and western Lake Erie is unacceptable. It also says significant progress has been made to prevent invasive species from migrating to the lakes.
"People care about the Great Lakes and depend on them for business, for leisure and more. Now is the time to provide your comments, recommend actions governments should take," says Canadian Chair Gordon Walker. "We need the public to speak up; we're listening."
The health of the Great Lakes has been of particular interest lately after a proposal to first cut 97%, and then all funding to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in the Trump Administration's first budget became public. The cut is part of a larger cut to the Environmental Protection Agency's budget.
The elimination of funding has been met with shock and anger on both sides of the border and was condemned by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
Earlier this month, Dr. Jan Cibrowski, a biology professor at the University of Windsor and member of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative told BlackburnNews.com he found the funding reduction chilling and cautioned progress made so far, could stagnate or even reverse if efforts do not continue.