Thursday, June 24, 2004

New on ENN:
Great Lakes Forever Campaign Launched in U.S.

From Biodiversity Project
Wednesday, June 23, 2004

MADISON, Wis. (June 22, 2004) ? According to a recent report from the Environmental Projection Agency and the Government of Canada, "the Great Lakes are changing . . ." This summer, the Biodiversity Project, a Madison-based non-profit environmental education and communications group, hopes millions of Great Lakes region residents will become concerned about the future of the Lakes to change things for the better.

Following two years of public opinion research in the Great Lakes states, the Biodiversity Project, headed by executive director Jane Elder, is launching its Great Lakes Forever public education initiative this June. "This campaign is a bit different," said Elder. "We're not just trying to achieve a short-term victory. Instead, we're trying to raise the overall profile of a suite of threats to the Great Lakes. We're trying to build a deeper constituency for the lengthy effort that it will take to restore, protect and care for one of the world's largest freshwater ecosystems."

Stretching from the rustic shores of Lake Superior, through the hard-working waters of Lake Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, and on to the mouth of the St. Lawrence river, the Great Lakes are one of the natural wonders of the world. The Lakes and their connecting channels contain roughly 18 percent of the world's surface freshwater, second only to the polar ice caps. More than 37 million people and a rich, unique diversity of plants and animals call the Lakes and their surrounding lands and waterways home.

The Great Lakes' natural bounty have played a defining role in the region's history and still support its primary economic activities - including...(Full Story)

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