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WORD COUNT
692
DECEMBER 8, 2004
TIME FOR A BILATERAL LAKE
SUPERIOR PEACE PARK – by Joyce Braithwaite-Brickley
In Lake Superior, the
United States and Canada have a global wonder. The biggest lake in the world
by surface area, big enough to hold the other four Great Lakes and then
some, it is the cleanest of the bunch, the coldest, and in some ways the
least damaged by accidents and greed. So why do both governments give
Superior more lip service than protection?
This fall marked the 13th
anniversary of an agreement signed by the two countries, plus Ontario,
Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, to get the toxic chemicals out.
Unfortunately, it also marked the 13th anniversary of promises that have led
to plenty of meetings and reports, but precious little action.
Back then, the
governments were under pressure from citizens and a government panel, the
International Joint Commission, to make Lake Superior a "demonstration zone”
of how economic development could be accommodated without poisoning the
environment. They accepted the challenge in a document signed in September
1991. Then they mostly dropped the ball.
Yes, the agreement
prompted a spirited discussion of the issues of economic growth and
pollution in the Lake Superior Basin. And local agencies, like the Western
Lake Superior Sanitary District in Duluth, made commendable efforts to
reduce some of the nastiest toxins like mercury and PCBs. But when it came
time for the governments actually to do something on a large scale -- like
require all new industries sitting in the Basin to use non-toxic chemicals
in their processes -- fears of job loss came first. On the tenth anniversary
of the 1991 agreement, the Lake Superior Alliance, a citizens group, gave
the overall government effort a "D." But it awarded an "A" for the number of
documents produced in the effort, adding, "While there is no denying their
usefulness as a repository of information, there have been other suggested
uses, including improving traction in older, rear-wheel-drive pickup
trucks."
To her credit, in her
2002 campaign for governor, Michigan's Jennifer Granholm proposed reviving
the state's participation in the Lake Superior protection effort, saying she
wanted to "protect Lake Superior from toxic chemicals, to protect special
places in the Lake Superior Basin, and to attract environmentally
sustainable business to the Basin." Now it's time for her to challenge the
governors of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and Premier Dalton McGuinty of
Ontario, to get the ball rolling again. But why be limited by unsuccessful
visions of the past? Perhaps the Lake Superior governments could excite
their people, in this time of international conflict, with a new vision --
the world's first international aquatic Peace Park.
It's not as outlandish as
it might sound. More than 70 years ago, Waterton Lakes National Park in
Alberta and Glacier National Park in Montana were linked together in one of
the world's first international peace parks. According to the United Nations
Environmental Program, the peace park idea was the brainchild of outdoorsmen
who considered the association of the two national parks as the basis of a
natural wildlife reserve spanning international differences. The park
"reflects the peace and goodwill between Canada, the United States, and the
Blackfoot Confederacy," says the United Nations.
Our understanding of
parks has changed since this international peace park was formed in 1932.
The United States has several underwater parks. Ninety-five percent of
Florida's Biscayne
National Park's 180,000 acres are underwater, Lake Huron's Fathom Five
Marine National Park, at the mouth of Georgian Bay and administered by the
Canadian government, is also largely underwater. If we ever thought of parks
as preventing use or economic development, that model has long since died.
Parks are often economic sparkplugs, in fact, attracting tourists and the
industries that depend on them.
Maybe it's time we
thought bigger here in the Great Lakes Basin. By designating Lake Superior
an International Peace Park, we can not only reinforce the tradition of
friendship between the United States and Canada, but also advance
understanding of the lake as one of the world's largest reservoirs of
freshwater, and a museum of unique fish and geology that is worth protecting
for all time.
It's worth a try -- and
better than another unproductive government task force.
--
Joyce
Braithwaite-Brickley was assistant to the Michigan Republican Party chairman
and political advisor and campaign manager for former Gov. William G.
Milliken. Her essays have appeared widely in the state.
priorities@charter.net -- A
photo of Joyce Braithwaite-Brickley is available
CLICK HERE
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