Legislative Testimony on Invasive Species

Our own Nick Rusnak recently spoke before Congress. Here is his inspiring legislative testimony.

STATEMENT OF NICK RUSNAK, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION’S ROCHESTER, NY, OFFICE

Mr. Rusnak: Thank you, Chairperson Boxer. My name is Nick Rusnak, and I am employed by the National Wildlife Federation in Rochester, New York. It is my job to protect and preserve Lake Ontario, but I also work on issues affecting the other Great Lakes and promote the region’s overall well-being.

I first want to thank the Committee for its proven leadership on environmental issues, including those involving the Great Lakes. NWF is grateful for your ongoing efforts to confront these significant challenges to our nation’s ecosystems head-on. I am confident that you will uphold these time-tested principles in your consideration of this Bill.

At present there are over 186 non-indigenous invasive species present in the Great Lakes. And with a new invasive species introduced every 28 weeks, they are arguably also the worst problem plaguing the lakes. Species like zebra and quagga mussels, introduced through the ballast water of shipping vessels from the Baltic region, have rapidly spread throughout the Great Lakes in less than 20 years. Their presence has decimated food webs in the Great Lakes. And the parasitic sea lamprey, although currently being combated with chemical controls, has similarly devastated the lakes’ commercial and recreational fisheries. The combined costs of invasive species are tremendous – over $5.7 billion annually.

The primary avenues of introduction for invasive species are the St. Lawrence Seaway from the east, and the Chicago River System from the west. Other canal systems, such as the Welland and Erie canals, facilitate the proliferation and spread of invasive species throughout the Great Lakes once introduced.

The recent passage of the Federal Ballast Water Prevention Act of 2011 demonstrates the hard line Congress has taken against the shipping industry for its responsibility in introducing invasive species to the lakes. I am extremely appreciative of your work on that law, but it only addresses part of the problem. The enormous threat presented by Asian carp and other species that stand to enter the lakes via the Chicago River System remain to be dealt with.

click here to be taken to the entire testimony

On Fishes and Barrels

The 2008 election was supposed to be a transformative event for America. For environmental organizations like NWF, it was a chance to lodge our complaints with politicians who shot us down at every juncture – when they noticed us at all. When the nation finally chose Barack Obama, we were one of many groups celebrating the opportunity for real change. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was one of the victories for those of us who supported the Obama campaign.

As the years have worn on, there has been increasing pressure from certain legislators to cut environmental funding. The usual suspects have targeted environmental spending on the Great Lakes, aiming to allow the GLRI to expire at the end of the fiscal year.

It’s a reminder of how political victories are temporary. At this stage there are members of Congress who would vote to put a stop to federal restoration of salmon fisheries in Lake Ontario. The same representatives who talk about tightening the pursestrings would insist on maintaining enormous tax loopholes for oil companies engaged in hazardous drilling, even after watching the Deepwater Horizon disaster unfold in the Gulf.

Early in the 20th century, salmon were so common in Lake Ontario that enterprising fishermen would catch them by the barrel. That’s not the case anymore. Now we have congressmen who would rather give the barrels to British Petroleum and blame fishermen for getting in the way.

Some legislators still see the environmentalist community as an easy target for budget cuts. The only way we change their mind is to make our presence known. Take this opportunity to contact your representatives and urge them to support the passage of GLEPA. With midterm elections coming up, it’s time for us to fire back.