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Bipartisan Bill Introduced Updating Great Lakes ESI Maps
Representative Dan Kildee (MI), along with Representatives David Joyce (OH), Debbie Dingell (MI), and Bill Huizenga (MI) introduced the Environmental Sensitivity Index Act of 2017(
H.R. 3786) on September 14. The legislation was also introduced in the Senate by Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Todd Young (IN) earlier this summer (
S.1586).
The bill updates the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration's (NOAA) Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps and products for the Great Lakes.
ESI maps provide a critical overview of at-risk coastal resources such as endangered species, sensitive shoreline habitats, beaches, and parks.
While ESI maps for the East, West, and Gulf Coasts have all been updated over the last five years, it has been more than two decades since the Great Lakes ESI maps have been revisited.
The House bill has been
referred to the House Natural Resources Committee, while the Senate bill
was reported favorably by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on August 2.
Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Rural Development and Energy Programs in the Farm Bill Take
Center Stage at Hearing
On Thursday the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
will hold a hearing on rural development and energy programs in the upcoming Farm Bill.
The hearing comes at an important time in the development of the Farm Bill. Some of the energy programs, which
help increase the use of renewable energy by farmers, for example by guaranteeing funding for energy projects, have been threatened recently.
The recent appropriations minibus passed by the House, H.R. 3354, would severely curtail funding for several energy-related Farm Bill programs in FY18. Specifically, funding for the Rural Energy Assistance Program (REAP) would be reduced to $1,000,000, and funding for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) and the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program would be eliminated entirely.
The upcoming hearing may give clues about whether the Senate will try to protect these programs as the next Farm Bill is crafted.
For more information, please contact
Joe Vukovich, Senior Policy Analyst for the Upper Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Congressional Briefing on Aquaculture This Week
The Risks of Commercial Net-Pen
Aquaculture on the Great Lakes
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
10:00 AM- 11:30 AM
421 Cannon House Office Building
Representatives from conservation organizations will hold a Congressional briefing on Wednesday, September 27 from 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM in Cannon 421.
The briefing will provide Congressional staff, and interested members of the media and public, the opportunity to hear directly from conservation experts about the adverse impacts of commercial net-pen aquaculture to the Great Lakes. The briefing will include an overview of the impacts, first-hand accounts of current activities in US and Canadian waters, as well as an interactive discussion of legislative and administrative actions at the state and federal level in protecting the Great Lakes and in-land waters from commercial net-pen aquaculture.
The list of speakers includes:
- Marc Smith, Regional Conservation Director, National Wildlife Federation
- Dan Eichinger, Executive Director, Michigan United Conservation Clubs
- Taylor Ridderbusch, Great Lakes Organizer, Trout Unlimited
- Dennis Eade, Executive Director, Michigan Steelhead and Salmon Fisherman's Association
- Tom Baird, Anglers of the Au Sable
Presentations will be followed by a Q + A session with the panel.
For more information, please contact Marc Smith, National Wildlife Federation, 734-255-5413,
msmith@nwf.org.
You can view the full invitation to the briefing
here.
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This Week on Capitol Hill
The Graham-Cassidy healthcare reform bill is expected to reach the Senate floor this week. This will be the Senate's last chance to repeal Obamacare in 2017 since the budget reconciliation process, which lowers the passage threshold from 60 to 50 votes, will end September 30.
A full list of key Congressional committee activity that impacts the region can be viewed below:
Tuesday, September 26
- The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water Power, and Oceans will hold a legislative hearing on four fisheries bills at 10:00 AM in 1334 Longworth House Office Building. Featured bills include:
- H.R. 200, To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
- H.R. 2023, To modernize recreational fisheries management Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017
Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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