[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 51 (Friday, April 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3735-S3736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GLENN (for himself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. DeWine, 
        Ms. Moseley-Braun, and Mr. Kohl):
  S. 659. A bill to amend the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration 
Act of 1990 to provide for implementation of recommendations of the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contained in the Great Lakes Fishery 
Restoration Study Report; to the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works.


       the great lakes fish and wildlife restoration act of 1997

  Mr. GLENN. Mr. President, this week our nation celebrates the 27th 
anniversary of Earth Day. In 1970, the inaugural year of Earth Day, the 
Nation's consciousness was raised about the plight of our environment. 
The Great

[[Page S3736]]

Lakes were held up as some of the worst examples of human abuse; Lake 
Erie was given up for dead, the victim of unrestrained pollution and 
the misuse of its precious natural resources. The Cuyahoga River caught 
fire and phosphate-based soap suds washed up on shorelines throughout 
the Nation. The Great Lakes region responded to the alarm with 
unprecedented vigor.
  In 1971 I headed the Governor's Task Force on Environmental 
Protection in Ohio, a forerunner to today's Ohio EPA. In a spirit of 
regional cooperation, the surrounding States, Native American Tribes, 
and Canada entered into collective agreements that recognized the Great 
Lakes as a set of shared resources within a single ecosystem. Important 
environmental legislation was designed and implemented to combat 
pollution and clean up the environment.
  Since that time, water quality has improved dramatically and 
fisheries scientists are witnessing recovery of fish populations in 
each of the lakes. Lake Erie is experiencing rebounds in lake whitefish 
populations thought impossible just 10 years ago. This past summer, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service announced that lake trout populations in Lake 
Superior are now self-sustaining, needing no further stocking. There 
are many success stories in the Great Lakes, suggesting the ecological 
health of our lakes is on the mend, but the job is not yet complete. 
Degraded habitats, reduced fish and wildlife populations, and the 
threat from nonindigenous species still imperil the well being of our 
lakes.
  Today my colleague from the House of Representatives, Congressman
La Tourette of Ohio, and I will introduce a bill into the House and 
Senate that will continue the recovery process of the Great Lakes and 
their associated natural resources. This bill, the Great Lakes Fish and 
Wildlife Restoration Act of 1997 builds upon the Great Lakes Fish and 
Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990. The 1990 act authorized the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service to undertake a comprehensive study to first, 
assess the status of fishery resources and their habitats and second, 
to gauge the effectiveness of management strategies used to protect 
these resources. The study's findings recommend a definite course of 
action for the continued restoration of the region's natural resources. 
The full implementation of the strategic plan for management of Great 
Lakes fisheries and the institution of a comprehensive and standardized 
ecological monitoring system for all lakes are just 2 of 32 specific 
recommendations set forth by the study.
  The Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act represents a new 
generation of environmental legislation, one that recognizes the 
complexity and interrelatedness of ecosystems. This act seeks to 
address natural resource management in a comprehensive and 
conscientious manner by building partnerships among the Great Lakes 
States, United States and Canadian Governments, and Native American 
tribes. Through regional cooperation, I believe we can address the 
environmental and economic concerns of the Great Lakes basin and 
continue the recovery that began some 27 years ago. By supporting this 
legislation, we in the Congress will be taking the right next step 
toward responsible stewardship of the Great Lakes as we venture into 
the new millenium.

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