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Mayors' Statement on Great Lakes Protection and Restoration Plan

Importance of the Great Lakes to Mayors
Mayors in the Great Lakes basin have a direct interest and stake in the sustainability of the Great Lakes. As the world's largest freshwater resource and an international treasure, the Great Lakes are essential to the continued vitality of the cities, townships, villages and counties along the shores and in the surrounding watershed. The Great Lakes support countless recreational, commercial, tourism, and cultural activities for citizens and visitors; drive economic development and improve the economic value of shoreline communities; support critical aquatic and coastal ecosystems; provide fresh drinking water for millions of people; and support agricultural and industrial activities. At the same time, on a day-to-day basis, the Great Lakes pose challenges for Mayors, county executives, and other municipal leaders, such as fish advisories, beach closings, invasive species, stormwater management, and diminished open space. Thus, while the Lakes are critical to the Mayors, the ecosystem's protection and restoration depends on the action of municipal officials.

Problem Statement
Despite such a significant stake in the Great Lakes, to date Mayors have not had an active voice in the development and implementation of Great Lakes policies and programs. A variety of Great Lakes efforts have been underway for decades, but almost none involve municipal leaders. Furthermore, these efforts are not well-coordinated with each other, and do not adequately address the long-term protection and restoration of the Great Lakes as a vital resource. Failure to adequately protect, improve, and preserve the Great Lakes could jeopardize public and environmental health as well as the economic prosperity of all Great Lakes communities.

Topics of Importance
Three specific topic areas are of primary importance to Great Lakes Mayors:

Governance: Mayors need a stronger role in how Great Lakes policies and programs are developed and implemented. While responsibility for the Great Lakes is shared by two national governments, eight states, two provinces, forty tribes and First Nations, it is municipal leaders who are on the front line, making decisions and investments every day to protect this natural resource. What Mayors do, or do not do, directly affects the health and vitality of the ecosystem. In turn, the health of the Great Lakes is a major factor in the ability to create and sustain vibrant cities where people can live, work, and play.

Economics: Basin-wide protection and restoration are essential to the region's economy. Shipping, tourism, and a wealth of other industries depend upon a clean and sustainable environment. Enhancing the region's economic prospects, therefore, requires aggressive environmental actions. It also demands outreach so that citizens appreciate how their actions affect the Great Lakes. Likewise, a clean and sustainable environment is possible only with the ingenuity and commitment of responsible public and private sectors.

Science: Although the availability of data on some Great Lakes environmental indicators has improved substantially over the past decade, more is needed if actions are to be targeted and effective. Great Lakes Mayors must be supported with funding to investigate these scientific challenges, clarify and be able to measure success of projects undertaken, and obtain real-time data on which to base daily decisions that affect this water resource.

Vision
Great Lakes Mayors will form a bi-national coalition and will actively work with federal, state and provincial governments to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes ecosystem through development and implementation of a comprehensive Great Lakes Protection and Restoration Plan. Mayors will become active participants in Great Lakes issues relating to governance, economics and science.

To achieve this Vision, Great Lakes Mayors agree to:

1. Establish a Great Lakes Cities Initiative, under which Mayors and other elected municipal leaders will work jointly to advance the restoration and protection of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Mayors are encouraged to ask their respective city councils or commissions to consider a resolution supporting the development of a Great Lakes Protection and Restoration Plan, as discussed in this Mayors' Statement.

2. Continue to seek partnerships and collaborate with other levels of government, various commissions and panels, and other organizations involved in Great Lakes issues.

3. Implement and advance existing mayoral initiatives concerning the Great Lakes, such as the 2002 International Association of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Mayors' Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Protocol, and continue a campaign to build upon such initiatives.

4. Call upon the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament to appropriate funds for the development, by an independent panel of science and policy experts that includes mayors, of a detailed plan for Great Lakes protection and restoration. The Plan would serve as a blueprint to guide agreed-upon future legislative and appropriations activities that restore and protect the Great Lakes ecosystem.

5. Secure a strong and meaningful role for cities, townships, villages and counties in the development and implementation of Great Lakes programs and policies at the state, provincial, regional, national and bi-national levels.

6. Identify, evaluate, highlight, and share information with each other about successful local initiatives and investments that protect and restore the Great Lakes ecosystem while encouraging the vitality of Great Lakes communities.

7. Continue to meet with each other to advance knowledge and understanding of Great Lakes issues, with the goal of creating as expeditiously as possible, a comprehensive identification of Great Lakes matters important to Mayors.

Agreed to by: