National Aquatic Invasive Species Act

Threat Level: Code Red, Severe Risk of Terrorist Attack

Tomorrow the St. Lawrence Seaway will open up for the new season and with it a dangerous threat – Russian born terrorists are poised to take advantage of the event to attack the United States under the watch of President Bush. Where is homeland security when you need it?

The terrorists in question are, of course, aquatic invasive species. The opening of the seaway marks the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the non-native mussel.

The pint-sized terrorists that hale from the Caspian Sea and stow away in the stabilizing ballast water of transatlantic ships first invaded our freshwater shores in the Read More » »

Wisconsin Joins Michigan In Ballast Battle

Wisconsin has taken steps to join Michigan as the second state to regulate ballast water in the Great Lakes sending a clear signal to Washington that absent Congressional leadership and legislation, the state is prepared take the initiative to create ad hoc ballast controls. As it turns out, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has the legal authority to regulate ballast water discharges under the state’s Pollutant Discharge Elimination System so international shippers may soon have to apply for permits for discharges into Lakes Michigan and Superior.

Wisconsin’s determination of its legal authority to regulate ballast water under existing state laws Read More » »

Stop The Invasion!

Forget about little green men from Mars, alien invaders are taking over the world’s waters and wreaking ecological disaster everywhere they go. A new report by the Nature Conservancy finds that 84 percent of the world’s coasts are being overtaken by invasive species. The first quantitative study of the impact that marine invasive species are having illustrates where they are located, how they are transported and what they do to the natives once they occupy new ground.

The Great Lakes are no stranger to the ecological devestation these species are capable of and have spent Read More » »

House Invasive Species Legislation a Step in the Right Direction, But Could Do More

H.R. 2830 – a bill to reauthorize the Coast Guard – takes important steps in protecting the Great Lakes and all U.S. waters from aquatic invasive species by creating a Coast Guard program to effectively regulate the primary source of invasive species in the Great Lakes – ballast water discharges. However, there is more work to be done. As Clean Water Action’s Rosie Loeffler-Kemp said to the Duluth News Tribune, “We want to thank Rep. Oberstar for taking the initiative and getting serious about ballast water regulation. But we also want to make sure that what passes Read More » »

HOW Coalition’s Ocean-going Vessel Moratorium Letter to Congress

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
Chairman
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Ted Stevens
Ranking Member
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable James L. Oberstar
Chairman
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Mica
Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairmen and Ranking Members:

On behalf of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition©, we want to let you know that our Coalition supports a moratorium of ocean vessels in the Great Lakes until Congress passes aquatic invasive species legislation that begins to take steps to immediately protect the Great Lakes from new aquatic invasive species. We take Read More » »

Time for Action is now on Invasive Species

Our friends at the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species are circulting a letter to urge Congress to pass comprehensive legislation to stop invasive species from entering the Great Lakes and other U.S. waterways. Here’s some information about that worthy effort:

“It could not be clearer. Congress must pass a comprehensive aquatic invasive species bill this year. A letter saying as much is being sent to members of Congress this month, and we’d like to get as many organizations signed on in support as possible. If you’re affiliated with an organization that is interested in signing on to the letter, please Read More » »

On Eve of Seaway Opening, Coalition Calls for Action to Stop Invasive Species

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (March 20)—As the St. Lawrence Seaway opens, a coalition is urging the federal government to pass comprehensive legislation to protect the Great Lakes from invasive species such as the zebra mussel by addressing the No. 1 pathway non-native organisms enter the lakes–the discharge of ballast water from ocean-going vessels.“Every shipping season brings the same story: The seaway opens, the invasion continues, the damage mounts,” said the National Wildlife Federation’s Jeff Skelding, campaign director of the Healing Our Waters®-Great Lakes Coalition. “It’s time to change that. We have solutions.

It’s time to use them. If we wait, the problems Read More » »