DULUTH, Minn. – The future of the Great Lakes is up for public comment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is crafting the next phase of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The Trump administration has recommended dramatic funding cuts for the initiative, so far without success.

Andrew Slade, a consultant with the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, said the next phase – known as "Action Plan Three" – covers the period from 2020 to 2024. He noted that the federal program to restore environmental health to the Great Lakes came only after decades of deterioration and neglect.

"'There's a river, we've got some stuff we don't know what to deal with – a paper factory or mill, or whatever – let's just dump it in the river, essentially,'" he said. "Over the course of 100 years now, people have woken up and done the hard work to stop doing that."

Since the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative began a decade ago, nearly $3 billion has been invested in more than 4,000 projects. The EPA held its only Minnesota hearing in Duluth last week, but people still can comment online at glri.us.

Slade said the initiative addresses threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem, such as toxic substances and invasive species. It also aims to accelerate progress in making sure fish from the lakes are safe to eat and that the water is safe for recreation and drinking.

"Remediating contaminated sediments to restoring habitat, to even education programs have gone on," he said. "Duluth, like a lot of Great Lakes cities, we get our drinking water right from Lake Superior so, you know, obviously we're trying to make sure that we protect that."

The EPA will hold other meetings on Action Plan Three in Milwaukee, Wis., tonight, Saginaw, Mich., next week and Chicago in August. A final plan should be available for formal public comment this fall.

The comment page is online at glri.us.


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HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. -- One of the major takeaways from last month's big climate conference in Scotland is, all levels of government need to collaborate to address climate change. One small New York community is trying to do just that.

Hastings-on-Hudson is 20 miles north of New York City, on the banks of the Hudson River.

Niki Armacost, mayor of the village, said due to more frequent extreme weather events, flooding has become a repeat concern. So, the town has adopted a Climate Emergency Declaration, working with Westchester County to reduce greenhouse gases.

Armacost argued it is critical, even for small towns, to take climate change seriously because it's increasingly becoming something they have to deal with.

"Arguably it's one of the number one concerns of municipalities, big or small, and it's a direction that we should all be moving in," Armacost asserted. "It's really, really important for our children, our children's children, for future generations, that we do whatever we can to address this issue."

She said the village is now working to draft a climate action plan, with a focus on sustainable transportation and energy-efficient buildings.

As the COP26 climate conference ended, the U.S. branch of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability released research on realistic pathways local governments can take to reduce per-capita emissions by 63% or more by 2030, in order to meet Paris Climate Agreement goals.

Angie Fyfe, executive director of ICLEI USA, said one way is through what's known as Community Choice Aggregation, which allows governments to have a say in their local energy supplier.

"That's a great way for a city to really lead by example and really demonstrate to the community that they are not only taking action themselves toward local environmental goals, but oftentimes these strategies will reduce the cost of operating city government."

She said Hastings-on-Hudson, which is powered by Sustainable Westchester, is among many New York towns participating in Community Choice Aggregation.

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. -- North Carolina's Marine Fisheries Commission has approved an updated version of the state's Coastal Habitat Protection Plan, which experts say will improve the health of the state's wetlands and estuaries, and increase communities' resilience to climate change.

Leda Cunningham, officer for conserving marine life in the United States at The Pew Charitable Trusts, explained the plan includes new guidelines aimed at protecting seagrass, which filter out pollutants, improve water quality and help communities withstand increasing flood and sea-level rise from climate change by strengthening shorelines.

"I think it's really important for the public to understand that a healthy coastal environment can contribute to healthier coastal communities," Cunningham asserted.

The updated plan also includes information on how residents can design local projects and solutions to protect their estuaries.

Cunningham pointed to the Neuse River Basin as an example, and said communities could identify where additional vegetation could be planted along stream beds to help absorb and slow stormwater runoff and reduce algae blooms.

The plan also is in line with Gov. Roy Cooper's 2020 Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan, which addressed the need to increase the resiliency of regions devastated by hurricanes.

Anne Deaton, habitat program supervisor of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, said the state's valuable fisheries depend on the actions outlined in the updated plan.

"So if we are successful in implementation actions, it will improve our water quality, which will improve our habitat," Deaton explained. "That improves things like tourism, water-skiing and swimming, harvesting shellfish. It also increases the resilience of the coast when we have storms."

Cunningham emphasized she is excited about the plan's recommendation to forge a public-private partnership to maximize the interest and commitment of residents who want local solutions. She added many of the recommendations already are happening in coastal communities, and noted the state will begin working on water-quality rule-making recommendations next year.

"They're going to hit the ground running in January," Cunningham remarked. "That's going to take really pulling together between the environmental management commission, DEQ staff -- especially the division of water resources -- and this new public-private partnership that needs to get formed quickly and move things along."

According to the Department of Environmental Quality, the state has received more than 1,200 signatures from North Carolinians endorsing the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

WARREN, Pa. -- A Western Pennsylvania conservation group is petitioning the Allegheny National Forest to prohibit bike riding on all non-motorized trails across its more than 500,000 acres of land due to safety concerns.

The Friends of Allegheny Wilderness are calling on the U.S. Forest Service to formally amend its 2007 Land and Resource Management Plan for the Allegheny National Forest because they say the advent of potentially fast-moving electric bikes, which can be indistinguishable from regular mountain bikes, poses a physical danger to hikers.

Kirk Johnson, executive director of the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, said the group's request can help ensure a positive hiking experience.

"E-bikes can travel greater distances in less amount of time at high rates of speed, so they're a real threat to not only just regular hikers but also especially to younger hikers or elderly hikers," Johnson explained.

E-bikes are not permitted on non-motorized trails. A spokesperson for the Allegheny National Forest said in a statement they are reviewing the petition and the forest is committed to "balancing the needs of user groups while sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of the forest."

Johnson said the ban would not apply to the Jakes Rocks mountain biking trail in Allegheny National Forest. The Friends group is asking for a ban on pedestrian access to the trail out of an abundance of caution. Johnson added it is important to keep all visitors to the national forest out of harm's way.

"I think what they have to do when it comes to trails is get away from the multiple-use concept," Johnson urged. "We need dedicated hiking trails with no e-bikes, no mountain bikes, and then there should also be dedicated mountain-bike trails. "

Mountain-bike riders would still be able to utilize other motorized trails in the forest, including Rocky Gap, Willow Creek, Marienville, Timberline and Penoke. Under the petition, mountain bike riders would have nearly 144 miles of trail to use, a reduction of about 45 miles.