Friday, March 9, 2018

Two thoughts on Walker's killing Lake MI sanctuary he'd proposed

Since the story links Walker, water and Lake Michigan, let's play "Who Got To Him?"

Walker stabbed Lake Michigan shoreline counties and the state's freshwater identity in the back by suddenly and without meaningful explanation withdrawing a lakeshore marine sanctuary proposal he'd initiated.

In a letter last week to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s acting administrator, Walker said he was pulling the nomination over “concerns” by citizens and elected officials about the proposal.
The sanctuary would have attracted tourists, divers and scientists to this area:


NOAA’s preferred alternative for a Wisconsin-Lake Michigan National Marine Sanctuary encompasses 1,075 square miles, 37 shipwrecks and 80 potential shipwrecks. (Photo: Courtesy of The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Two things to remember, since he's playing the anti-federal government' card and has zero credibility when it comes to anything connected to the natural environment:

1. His action underscores the ugly outlier status Walker is embedding for Wisconsin in the Great Lakes region and nationally when it comes to environmental stewardship, particularly when it involves water.

2. Since his latest forays into the use of water resources and Lake Michigan - - sweetheart wetland filling permissions and diversion access for Foxconn and sweetheart wetland filling and public parkland transfers for the proposed Kohler lakefront golf course - - involve his obeisance to special interests, we can assume that news will follow about which Walker donors or favor-seekers convinced him that a marine sanctuary off the Lake Michigan shoreline was bad public policy.

So start tuned, and alert.
  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What? is someone dumping stuff into Lake Michigan that they don't want divers to discover?