Special Designation of Lake Superior -- a work group
reaching consensus

Member List | Agendas and Minutes

Lake Superior holds 10 percent of the surface freshwater in the world. It is considered world-class resource water, deserving of special designation and protection measures. The Bi-National Program established by the IJC (International Joint Commission) recommended that a "special designation" be developed for all the states and provinces surrounding Lake Superior. The designation is intended to help protect the lake from discharges and other pollutants.

But some organizations felt the mandates under the special designation were not strict enough, and for six years Wisconsin was tied up with threatened litigation. The Lake Superior Basin Educator was asked to provide assitance in resolving the conflict. Environmental, industry, government, and tribes were gridlocked over the zero-discharge language of the so-called "nasty nine" critical pollutants.

In 1999 Wisconsin DNR Secretary George Meyer appointed a 15-member special designation work group made up of various interest groups to try to reach consensus. Follow the link here to see a current member list of the Special Designation Work Group. The Lake Superior Basin Educator was asked to facilitate this work group. DNR Lake Superior Water Team Leader Ted Smith called this ‘the most important natural resource issue in the Lake Superior Basin’.

The objective of the program was to help bring a diverse, multi-interest group of individuals, representing industry, environment, government, and tribes, together to reach a common vision and understanding, and to develop consensus recommendations to protect Lake Superior for future generations.

After four years and over 30 meetings and fact-finding educational programs, the Lake Superior Special Designation Work Group reached consensus. Under the agreement, Wisconsin became the first to develop a Tier I category that established a quarter mile perimeter around the mouth of rivers leading to the lake and the Apostle Islands. Inside this perimeter no discharges are allowed. The measure aims to protect critical spawning beds in the lake.

Under a Tier II category of the agreement, Wisconsin will soon be joining Michigan and Minnesota in forming a united front to work with Canada in eliminating the bio-accumulative toxic chemicals from Lake Superior ecosystem. This agreement was made to protect the waters using best technology and processes available.

A Tier III category agreement is currently still being worked out. The hope is to establish a way to look at critical habitats and wetlands protection via a watershed perspective.

The consensus of Tier I and Tier II was presented to DNR Secretary Darryl Bazzell and to the DNR Board in fall of 2002. It was also presented at the Capitol Building Senate Room for Superior Days on February, 2003 where DNR Asst. Sec. Bill Smith was quoted as saying “this is an excellent example of consensus building that we should be utilizing for other contentious natural resource issues in future years’. DNR Great Lakes Bureau Chief Chuck Ledin is presently developing a rule-making ‘issue paper’ that was scheduled for formal presentation to the DNR Board in April 2003. The presentation will be followed by a public hearing.

UWEX was able to provide a neutral facilitation and education role to bear on a complicated and divisive natural resource issue in the Lake Superior Basin. This model could be replicated in any basin, county, town or tribal area throughout the United States. UWEX has the expertise, skill and knowledge and is recognized as a credible and neutral institution to deal with natural resource and societal issues affecting quality of life.

To see the 2002 Draft of the Tier III Special Recognition of Lake Superior, click here. (108 kb, pdf file)