The Nature Conservancy Supports Governor’s Conservation Priorities

State of the State Outlines the Importance of Passing Great Lakes Compact and Addressing Global Climate Change

MADISON, Wis. — January 24, 2008 — The Nature Conservancy today applauded Governor Doyle’s conservation agenda laid out in the State of the State address, which included the protection of the Great Lakes through approval of the Great Lakes Compact and ensuring Wisconsin is a regional leader in addressing climate change.

"Governor Doyle has shown great leadership in Wisconsin and the Midwest in addressing two of our most pressing environmental issues,” said Mary Jean Huston, state director of The Nature Conservancy. “The diversion of water from outside the Great Lakes basin and climate change impacts are serious threats to Wisconsin’s unique natural resources.”

During Governor Doyle’s tenure as Chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the group signed the historic Great Lakes Compact. In order to be a binding agreement, the compact must now be ratified by the State Legislatures of all Great Lakes states and the governments of two Canadian provinces. In his address, the Governor reiterated the importance of Wisconsin ratifying this historic agreement.

“The Great Lakes Compact represents a major step forward in protecting Wisconsin’s greatest natural resource,” said Huston. “The sustainability of the Great Lakes is essential to our state’s environment, our culture and our economy.”

As chairman of the Midwest Governors’ Association, Governor Doyle was a leader in the passage of the Midwest Regional Greenhouse Gas Accord. The goal of the agreement is to achieve energy security and a reduction of global warming gasses in the region.

“Conservancy scientists have identified climate change as a serious threat to the conservation of biodiversity in Wisconsin and around the world,” said Huston..

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working in Wisconsin and around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. In Wisconsin, the Conservancy has helped conserve more than 140,000 acres since 1960. The Conservancy has more than 21,000 members in Wisconsin and offices in Madison, Baraboo, East Troy, Minocqua and Sturgeon Bay. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at nature.org/wisconsin.