Protecting The Great Lakes And The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

We can't afford to spoil the Great Lakes

- Howard A. Learner

The Great Lakes are our great natural treasure. This is where Midwesterners live, work and play. Protecting the Great Lakes has strong bipartisan support. Safe clean drinking water is not partisan at all. We all care—a lot. President Trump won the 2016 election in the Great Lakes states, but his policies are puzzling in light of Michiganders’ clean water priorities. His administration is proposing to allow offshore oil drilling and cut down the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron along the Alpena-toMackinaw City shoreline. His proposed budget slashes the sensible Great Lakes Restoration Initiative from $300 million to zero. The EPA is rolling back common sense Clean Water Act standards that protect safe clean drinking water. These are headscratchers, criticized by both Republican and Democratic leaders and by business, civic and environmental groups alike. The Great Lakes are a global gem.