Saliency is a term used in geometry (for angles that stick 
out) and in social science research (for issues that are prominent, conspicuous and important to people).  Saliency comes up frequently in public opinion research about environmental issues.  Many Americans care about the environment, but it tends to be in an abstract way that
isn’t particular prominent in daily life.  As a result, many
people assume that we don’t have to get involved, that

experts somewhere are dealing with these issues, and that our personal
actions wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway.

We’ve seen this attitude crop up across several research topics, and it was
one of the important findings in our recent Great Lakes research, Protecting
the Great Lakes: Responsibility to Awareness to Action, which you can find
on our Web site.  People in the region care about the Great Lakes, but
many don’t easily grasp the new environmental threats to this remarkable
ecosystem, or make the connection to their lives and actions.  The Lakes
are important to many people, but not of high personal importance.  So our challenge is to increase saliency – the relevance and importance of the
Great Lakes ecosystem to the lives of millions.

One of the first steps is to help people understand that the resource, while
vast and truly great, is indeed threatened.  We hope that people will
understand the threats in ways that don’t fit outdated Lake Erie
stereotypes and visions of industrial glop pouring out of big pipes into the
Lakes.  We’re not just trying to raise awareness, but also concern. 

This summer we’re running a pilot project in Wisconsin to get a “concern” message out to people who already care about the Lakes and to citizens
who are actively engaged in public policy.  We are also testing out some
fresh approaches to reaching people.  Our Great Lakes message will run in regional tourism and lifestyle magazines, on select radio stations, in
lakefront state parks, and even on drink coasters.  Each of these
“products” includes information about our Great Lakes Forever Web site, www.greatlakesforever.org.  The site was designed to provide visitors with
more information about threats to the Lakes and actions that we all can
take to help protect the Lakes.  Finally, in three lakefront cities, local
volunteers will team up with scientists in an intense “BioBlitz” inventory
to document the biodiversity of their Great Lakes communities. 

Unlike many environmental communications campaigns, we’re not trying to achieve just a short-term victory, or advance just one policy.  Instead,
we’re trying to raise the overall profile of a suite of threats to the Lakes,
and build a deeper constituency for the long-haul that it will take to
restore, protect and care for one of the world’s largest fresh water
ecosystems.

The resources for the pilot campaign are modest, which is a compelling
reason to be strategic, and to magnify our effort with the reach of partner organizations and agencies.  Nearly 50 groups and state and federal
agencies are pitching in to help us reach people throughout the state. 
We will be tracking public response carefully over the summer months, and
will complete an evaluation of the pilot in the fall.

We invite you to visit the Great Lakes Forever Web site –
www.greatlakesforever.org.  There you can join others in learning more
about this remarkable living system and how you can take action to
protect it. 

Great Lakes Forever
“The Great Lakes are changing . . .”  Does this quote from a report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Government of Canada concern you?  Now is the time for us to decide if we want the Great Lakes to change for the better, or change for the worse.

Following two years of public opinion research in the Great Lakes states and provinces, the Biodiversity Project is launching its Great Lakes Forever public education initiative this June. The program, funded by the Joyce Foundation, Wisconsin’s Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is designed to engage millions of citizens in ensuring a better future for the Lakes.

Stretching from the rustic shores of Lake Superior, through the hard-working waters of Lake Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, and on to the mouth of the St. Lawrence river, the Great Lakes are one of the natural wonders of the world. The Lakes and their connecting channels contain roughly 18% of the world’s surface freshwater, second only to the polar ice caps. The Lakes and their surrounding lands and waterways are home to over 37 million people and a rich and unique diversity of plants and animals.  

The Great Lakes’ natural bounty have played a defining role in the region’s history and still support its primary economic activities - including agriculture, industrial manufacturing, steel production, shipping, commercial and sport fisheries, recreation and tourism.  Yet this incredible natural resource is threatened.   Pollution is closing our beaches and contaminating our fish. Invasive species and irresponsible development are threatening the survival of our native wildlife. And special interests are pushing to actually buy and sell Great Lakes water for a profit.  By building concern about these and other threats to the Lakes, Biodiversity Project hopes to encourage individuals, families, and communities to become more engaged in the future of their Lakes.

Great Lakes Forever includes magazine and radio advertisements, educational signs in the coastal state parks, Great Lakes BioBlitz events in Green Bay, Superior, and Milwaukee, and specially designed educational drink coasters to be distributed to restaurants and taverns on Wisconsin’s coast.  All of the materials are backed up by a new Web site – www.greatlakesforever.org – which features information about the Great Lakes

ecosystem, threats to the health of the Lakes, and simple solutions we can all take to help protect the Great Lakes.

Working with more than forty partner organizations throughout Wisconsin
and the region, including state and federal agencies and local non-profit
groups, Biodiversity Project identified four key issues where increased public concern could have an impact on the future of the Great Lakes:  water
quality, water supply, habitat protection, and invasive species control. 

For decades, Great Lakes water has been contaminated by toxic pollutants
such as mercury, PCBs, and agricultural pesticides.  PCBs and DDT, both
banned in the 1970’s, have settled in the sand, clay, silt and organic matter found at the bottom of the Lakes and other regional water bodies.  Bottom feeders, such as tiny crustaceans and insect larvae, absorb these
chemicals and can pass them on to fish, waterfowl, and eventually to
humans through a process known as “biomagnification.”  Threats to aquatic
life become threats to human health when contaminated fish end up on our tables. Mercury contaminated fish in particular are of great concern –
potentially causing birth defects, high blood pressure, infertility and even
brain damage.  Human health, the tourism economy, and our native
biodiversity are all threatened by persistent contaminated sediments. 

Bacterial contaminations of the Great Lakes, from untreated sewage
dumping and livestock facilities, pose an equally dangerous threat to our
health and the health of the ecosystem.  Fecal coliform and e.coli bacteria
from animal feces, dirty diapers, failing septic systems, and municipal sewer overflows can contribute to higher levels of bacteria.  The results are
closed beaches and illness for boaters, swimmers, and others entering or consuming water from the Great Lakes.  The increased organic matter (and phosphorus from agricultural fertilizers) in the waters also contributes to
algae growth, oxygen depletion in the water, and threatens all aquatic life
in the Lakes. 

Loss of habitat is another issue where the Great Lakes Forever campaign
hopes to increase public concern.  For a lot of us, it’s easy to forget that
the Great Lakes are more than just water, but protecting the land around
the Lakes is crucial to protecting the Lakes themselves.  Careless
development and poor land management are rapidly destroying wetlands, shorelines, and other critical habitat that is vital to the health of the Great Lakes.  When we lose this habitat we also lose critical homes for wildlife
and places for our families to go to fish, boat, hike and just plain enjoy. 

Great Lakes Forever also hopes to take advantage of two policy issues up
for discussion this summer, the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act
(NAISA) and the Great Lakes Charter Annex.  NAISA focuses federal
regulations on invasive species in the Great Lakes, putting stronger
restrictions on cargo ships that may be carrying exotic species from distant waters.  Invasive species carry both an ecological and economic burden for
our communities. Sometimes called biological pollution, invasive species can cause irreversible harm to the biodiversity of the Great Lakes and related
basin-lands. The loss of native biodiversity could cause regional extinction
of many species that have survived in this region for millennia. 

Currently, the region does not have a sufficient conservation plan and
regulatory structure to protect Great Lakes surface freshwater and
groundwater supplies. The Council of Great Lakes Governors (which includes the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec) have made some progress on a
management plan, but the existing “charter” on water withdrawal, signed
in 1985, is non-binding. Since 2001, the governors and premiers have been working on a revised Charter Annex – nicknamed Annex 2001. The Great
Lakes are a treasure and so they should be cautiously protected.  A strong, fully enforceable, management agreement between the federal and regional governments of the United States and Canada should be signed as soon as possible.  When we conserve water for all, we protect our individual right
to clean drinking water as well.

The Great Lakes are not only the heart of the region's ecosystem, they are
the heart of the region's economy. Tourism in the Great Lakes region
generates billions of dollars each year, but contaminated fish, closed
beaches, and degraded scenic beauty threaten this important revenue
source.  In 2003, according the Lake Michigan Federation, Lake Michigan suffered its highest number of beach closings ever, a potential economic indicator for the future of Great Lakes tourism if we don't clean up our
Lakes.  Only greater public involvement can bring about the level of
restoration the Lakes really need.

The situation is not good, but it's not too late to make a difference.  The
Great Lakes Forever program was launched to increase public participation
in the protection of the Lakes.  It’s an important time for the future of the Lakes.  There are important policy decisions being made right now, such as
the Great Lakes Charter Annex on water supply and federal appropriations
for Great Lakes restoration.  These are initiatives where the public can
have their say, letting our leaders know that our Lakes must be protected.

The Great Lakes identify our region.  We enjoy the benefits of the Lakes
and so, naturally, it’s our responsibility to help protect them.  They are a
gift of nature and they are at the heart of the ecosystem that millions of Americans and Canadians (and billions of critters) rely on for life.  We owe
it to ourselves, future generations, and even the Great Lakes themselves,
to get involved in protecting this remarkable resource.

Great Lakes Policy News

Over the coming twelve months, three (potentially major) government policy decisions are poised to increase protection for the Great Lakes:

Great Lakes Restoration Act – Fate Uncertain

In April 2003 the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report concluding that the federal government’s efforts to protect the Great Lakes were suffering from limited funding and a lack of coordination, and
that restoration of the Great Lakes ecosystem would not succeed without
a comprehensive strategy similar to those developed for the Florida
Everglades and Chesapeake Bay. 

In response to the GAO’s findings and the dramatic effects of pollution,
habitat destruction and invasive species, Congressional leaders sponsored Great Lakes Restoration bills in the House and Senate in July 2003. Both
bills call for increased strategic and operational coordination among federal
and state agencies and allocate up to $6 billion over the next ten years for water quality improvement, sediment cleanup, habitat restoration and
invasive species control and prevention, among other things.  Both bills are currently held up in their respective houses. 

This May, the Bush administration called for a special Great Lakes
Interagency Task Force, staffed by cabinet secretaries and charged with writing a report of recommendations by next summer.  Great Lakes movers
and shakers, from Governors, to environmentalists, to journalists generally
see the task force as a distraction.  To quote the Detroit Free Press
editorial board, “The task force does not need to reinvent the wheel; its measure will be how fast it can convert decades of existing reports into action.” 

National Aquatic Invasive Species Act – Currently Pending in Congress

Since the 1800s, more than 160 non-native nuisance species have invaded
the Great Lakes ecosystem, seriously affecting its ecological and economic well-being. The most blatant pathway of introduction has been the
exchange of ballast waters of oceanic vessels (the means of introduction
of zebra mussels). A decade ago, the federal government legislated steps
to combat invasive species introductions, but these laws fell short of eliminating the problem. Behaviors to reduce introductions were not
mandatory and, therefore, often ineffective.   

Recently, revamped policy in the form of the National Aquatic Invasive
Species Act (NAISA) has been introduced in Congress. NAISA is a master
plan intended to prevent the introduction of aquatic invasive species in all waters of the United States by vessels and other pathways. It includes a national mandatory ballast water management program, and all ships will be required to have a “whole ship” invasive species management plan. NAISA includes early detection, rapid response, control and outreach strategies to combat aquatic invasive species; and it provides for federal funding for research on invasive species. NAISA is still pending in Congress.  

Great Lakes Charter Annex (Annex 2001) – Public Hearings Expected Summer 2004

Currently, the region does not have a sufficient conservation plan and regulatory structure to protect Great Lakes surface freshwater and groundwater. The Lakes are constantly threatened by interest in selling or exporting Great Lakes water to everywhere from Asia to Arizona.  The
Council of Great Lakes Governors (which includes the Premiers of Ontario
and Quebec) have made some progress on a management plan, but the existing “charter” on water withdrawal, signed in 1985, is non-binding. Since 2001, the governors and premiers have been working on a revised Charter Annex – nicknamed Annex 2001. The Charter Annex was developed to
update the Great Lakes regional water management system, but the final language is not expected to be released for public comment until late June 2004.  

If you’re interested in learning more about these and other important Great Lakes policy issues, check in with the Great Lakes Forever Web site – www.greatlakesforever.org.  By joining our “Lake Lookout” email list, you’ll receive updates and the opportunity to comment on pending legislation.

Great Lakes Forever Campaign Goals:

º Pilot campaigns that reach target audiences in new and different ways - testing pathways (lifestyle media), outputs (coasters and bathroom signs) and place-based campaigns (BioBlitzes)

º Garner institutional commitment from partner organizations for a long-term Great Lakes public education program

º Increase capacity and sustainability of partner
organizations - communications expertise, collaboration skills, raise profile of organizations

This summer the Biodiversity Project will implement the Logic Model (also
known as Targeting Outcomes of Program or TOP Model) to plan and
evaluate the Great Lakes Forever Wisconsin pilot project. The logic model
asks program planners and evaluators to examine the inputs you need to
run a program (e.g. funds and staff), what program activities will be carried
out, who the target audiences are, the outputs that stem from your
program activities (such as publications, presentations, meetings, workshops/trainings, etc.), what reactions the target audience has to the outputs (did they like it? did they want to learn more?), what outcomes
you are trying to achieve, and what are results are achieved (in other
words, did you meet your goal?).  

The answers to each of these questions not only provides the
communicator (in this case the Biodiversity Project and our partners) with
a clearer picture of their work, they also illuminate areas of concern and
help all interested parties understand how to avoid certain pitfalls and build
a stronger campaign.  The Biodiversity Project is deeply invested in
boosting the communications capacity of its partner groups.  We hope that
by closely examining our work and sharing what we have learned, we can
play a small role in increasing the effectiveness of Great Lakes education
and outreach.

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The Biodiversity Project has created a new message kit for organizations to
use in their efforts to build awareness of biodiversity issues in their
communities. The Biodiversity Project designed the kit to make it easier for biodiversity advocates to promote the concept of biodiversity and help the
media understand why it is an important issue in all communities.  

The kit contains the following resources: 

A series of fact sheets to help educate reporters and the public on the
three key indicators for assessing the conditions
for biodiversity in the community.
A set of communications tools designed to
help advocates break out of
the environmental or science section of the paper use the media to reach audiences in new ways. 
Web sites and other resources for finding information on a range of biodiversity
conservation topics, environmental indicator projects and sustainable community initiatives.
Examples of communities taking action for biodiversity.  The Biodiversity Project collected
these inspiring examples as a strategy to raise
the profile of biodiversity protection in America. 
The Project then worked with an environmental journalist to research, write and pitch some of these stories
A series of stories written by environmental journalist Brian Lavendel about real communities making a difference for biodiversity.  These stories are a
culmination of the Great Communities for People and Nature idea – that by communicating stories of communities protecting biodiversity we can raise awareness and inspire action to protect biodiversity.  These stories are a
model for the kind of pitch advocates might make to the media, (in fact,
the Biodiversity Project has pitched the stories in this kit to national and
regional lifestyle media.)

To order a copy of the Kit, find it and other Biodiversity Project publications in the Publications Section of our Web site.  If you have other questions about the the Great Communities project, please contact the project coordinator, Erin Oliver, at eoliver@biodiverse.org or call our office – (608) 250-9876.

Muskellunges, green herons, and sea rockets –
BioBlitzing our Backyard Parks

Bio . . . what?  If you've never heard of a BioBlitz,
you're not alone. But we hope that that is about to change. Biodiversity Project is planning three Great
Lakes BioBlitzes as part of its Great Lakes Forever Wisconsin pilot campaign this summer.

Designed as part festival, part educational event, part scientific endeavor, a BioBlitz brings together scientists, volunteers, and the public to see how many species
they can count in a day-long biological survey.  The
public is invited to observe the scientists' activities, to interact with them,
and to participate in other activities that are presented by partner
organizations and hosts.  Ultimately, a BioBlitz is designed to increase the public's awareness of the biodiversity in their "backyards."

Successful BioBlitzes have been conducted in places such as Central Park in New York and Calumet, outside of Chicago, where more than 1,300 species
were found in just twenty-four hours. The planned Great Lakes BioBlitzes
will be somewhat shorter, approximately eight to ten hours in length, but
we expect to raise awareness about Great Lakes biodiversity in these
media-friendly family-oriented educational events.

With the help of partner organizations in each locale, Great Lakes Forever BioBlitzes will take place on July 31, August 7, and September 18 in Green
Bay, Superior and Milwaukee, respectively.  The diversity of the Great Lakes basin is phenomenal and what better way to address this topic than to
invite the public to share in a hands-on discovery that a BioBlitz offers. 

Biodiversity Project encourages you, your neighborhood, or organization to
plan a BioBlitz near you.  To learn more, we recommend using the BioBlitz Organizational Guide produced by the Connecticut Museum of Natural
History.  If you would like to learn more or participate in a Great Lakes
Forever BioBlitz, do not hesitate to contact Tami Lee at tlee@biodiverse.org, (608) 250-9876, or visit www.greatlakesforever.org and follow the link to BioBlitz.

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