By Port Washington Mayor Tom Mlada, Sheboygan Mayor Mike Vandersteen, Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels, and Two Rivers City Manager Greg Buckley
As city leaders, elected and appointed, we have been proud to participate for the past five-plus years in advocating for the proposed Lake Michigan – Wisconsin National Marine Sanctuary.
We have been proud to partner with our State of Wisconsin, our Federal government, thousands of private citizens, and dozens of stakeholder and partner organizations to establish America’s newest Marine Sanctuary in the waters of our Great Lake, in a 1,075-square-mile area extending offshore from Two Rivers to Port Washington.
We have been engaged in the pursuit of an extraordinary opportunity: establishing America’s 15th National Marine Sanctuary and only the second such Sanctuary on the Great Lakes.
We have also been justifiably proud of the process, which has truly been “bottom up”—the State partnering with local communities in the application process, then working together with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to move the sanctuary proposal forward.
We have accomplished that progress with high levels of public engagement and lots of opportunities for public input along the way. That’s why we refer to the Sanctuary throughout the balance of this editorial and OUR Marine Sanctuary.
Indeed, we have often commented that “this is the way government ought to work.”
That’s why we were stunned to learn on March 6, 2018 that Governor Walker had abruptly ended OUR sanctuary designation process, through a letter to NOAA rescinding his nomination—a nomination he had supported and submitted on behalf of our State of Wisconsin back in 2014.
That single-page letter cited the “regulatory burden” and “unnecessary bureaucratic red tape” that would accompany our sanctuary as reasons for the rescission. It concluded that “the addition of a new level of government…” in the form of our Sanctuary is “too much of a tradeoff for the negligible benefit to protecting shipwrecks.”
What preceded this action by our Governor? The same Governor who presented our Sanctuary nomination to NOAA in December 2014?
Not much dialogue between the State and the Federal government, it appears. And no dialogue with local officials about the issues in the Governor’s letter, or the possibility of him rescinding the nomination. That despite the mayors of the three county seats in our Sanctuary area requesting a meeting with the Governor back in late February—that letter went unanswered.
We have learned, after the fact, that there was a September 19, 2017 letter to NOAA from the Governor, with questions about such regulations, and a detailed, four-page reply issued by NOAA on November 3, addressing the Governor’s concerns point by point.
We understand that this exchange of letters was not followed up with any direct discussions between State officials and NOAA. Further, the letters were not shared with local officials in the area subject to the alleged regulatory burden.
For the record, there was no pending deadline or drop-dead date that precluded good, honest dialogue on any outstanding issues. No reason to pull the plug on years of work, on literally tens of thousands of hours of work invested in establishment of our Sanctuary.
In stark contrast to the nomination, review and public comment process we have been so pleased to help lead forward, this is not how government ought to work.
We respectfully ask that Governor Walker reconsider this decision. We pledge to work with our partners in state government and at NOAA to understand and address whatever concerns prompted his rescission.
Why a National Marine Sanctuary?
The main purpose of our proposed Sanctuary is to preserve, promote, educate about, and learn more about the historic artifacts submerged in the lake waters off the counties of Manitowoc, Sheboygan, and Ozaukee: 39 known shipwrecks and 122 reported vessel losses (discoveries yet to be made).
…Artifacts that Governor Scott Walker termed “an extraordinary collection of submerged maritime heritage resources” when he submitted our Sanctuary nomination.
They include historic shipwrecks like the schooner Rouse Simmons (“Christmas Tree Ship”) off Two Rivers, the Francis Hinton off Manitowoc, the Gallinipper off Sheboygan, and the Northerner off Port Washington, just to name a few.
Further, our Sanctuary’s mission will be to heighten awareness and understanding locally, nationally, and globally, of our region’s significant maritime resources. In the pursuit of that mission, we will attract tourists to our communities, expanding state and local tourism impact and driving real economic development.
As Wisconsin’s Secretary of Tourism, Stephanie Klett, stated in her letter accompanying our nomination: “…This region will offer NOAA a strong framework of local community support, environmental commitment, and intrinsic maritime and natural attractions that can support and sustain a National Marine Sanctuary.” That statement that was true then, and is true today.
An extensive public input process drew large, mostly supportive crowds to scoping sessions in November 2015 and to input sessions on a draft management plan and environmental impact statement in March 2017.
Yes, there have been legitimate questions about the regulatory role of the Federal government in the sanctuary area, but we believe that many of those concerns have been addressed by NOAA.
A communication from Wisconsin DNR staff to State Representative Jim Ott of Mequon, in February of this year, directly addressed two of the repeat concerns we have heard during the review process, and clearly stated, “DNR staff has confirmed that fishing activity (commercial, charter, and recreational) would not be impacted by a sanctuary designation. Additionally, staff confirmed that a designated maritime sanctuary will not impact the ability of a riparian owner to utilize their shoreline—including the placement of piers or docks.”
Along the way, several people involved our Sanctuary effort talked to our peers in Alpena, Michigan on Lake Huron, home to the Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary since 2000. We talked with their mayor, city council members, city manager, local newspaper editor, and others.
From those discussions, we learned that Thunder Bay’s visitor center draws 100,000 visitors annually, to an area of Michigan well-removed from big population centers.
We learned how the Sanctuary has put Alpena “on the map,” boosting tourism and spurring downtown development. We learned about great programs at the area tech college, involving underwater robotics and marine technology.
We also learned that their city, county, and region enthusiastically supported a major expansion of the Sanctuary, from 448 square miles to 4,300 square miles, in 2014.
We DID NOT hear of a community whose vitality had been harmed by Federal regulation and red tape.
It’s Not Over
We have a history worth sharing, a story to tell. A story that has not ended, but is ongoing, woven into day-to-day life in our amazing, historic cities, on this magnificent, inland sea.
We have come too far to turn back, worked too hard to just accept a surprise announcement that “it’s over.”
We urge Governor Walker to reconsider the decision announced this past week. We urge him to engage with our communities, re-engage with NOAA regarding any concerns he may have, and resume the Sanctuary process.
We also urge the residents, businesses, and community organizations that support and believe in effort to contact the Governor’s Office. Please join us in affirming the support for the Sanctuary that is both broad and deep in our Lake Michigan communities.
Let’s get our Sanctuary designation process back on track, identify any legitimate concerns about Federal regulation, address those concerns face-to-face with our Federal partners from NOAA, and get the job done.
As we say in Wisconsin, “Forward!”
Mayor Tom Mlada, Port Washington, mladaforportmayor@gmail.com
Mayor Mike Vandersteen, Sheboygan, Mayor.Vandersteen@sheboyganwi.gov
Mayor Justin Nickels, Manitowoc, jnickels@manitowoc.org
City Manager Greg Buckley, Two Rivers, gbuckley@two-rivers.org