MANITOWOC, Wis. (WBAY) -- Governor Tony Evers announces state support once again for National Marine Sanctuary designation along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
The process started in 2014. It stopped in March of last year when then-governor Scott Walker pulled the nomination, saying he listened to concerned citizens and believed the designation would create unnecessary red tape.
"It will provide educational benefits to families across the state and is projected to attract thousands of additional tourists each year boosting tourism and economic growth in our beautiful coastal settings," said Gov. Evers Friday.
The governor sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) office on Friday morning to share the state's renewed interest.
"As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I fought to ensure that NOAA has the funding to support our maritime proposal," said U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin).
This is the same National Marine Sanctuary designation proposal previously in the works, but that proposal included many different maps. The boundary map moving forward under Governor Evers now includes Kewaunee and Algoma.
"We have charter fishing. It's great along the Lakeshore, but now we're going to attract a whole new group of people. We're going to attract those scuba divers," said Jennifer Gonzalez, Kewaunee County Tourism Coordinator and Public Information Officer.
Those scuba divers would be able to visit 37 known Lake Michigan shipwrecks and 41 potential others that would be protected in the sanctuary.
"This is the final resting place of many of the people who built our communities," said Mayor Justin Nickels of the City of Manitowoc. "This National Marine Sanctuary will not only put us on the map, but it will educate future generations as to how we got here."
For local officials, it is now time to wait and see. NOAA needs to file paperwork on the nomination request, and the National Marine Sanctuary must get onto the federal registry, passing through Congress, before becoming official.
If passed, the proposed National Marine Sanctuary will become the second of its kind in the country.
2019-11-01 23:12:32Z
https://www.wbay.com/content/news/Governor-Ever-renews-state-interest-in-Lake-Michigan-National-Marine-Sanctuary-564252151.html
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