Nice stuff in Ohio

I sat in on the tail end of the Ohio coalition member breakout session today - they were discussing the pretty interesting political climate in which they're operating. They have a new governor and senator, both Democrats taking the helm after multiple term Republicans who made it a point to keep Great Lakes issues at the top of their list. They're working hard to get the new guys on board.

I talked to Sandy Bihn, the Waterkeeper for Western Lake Erie, about getting the point across in the Buckeye State. She pointed out that Ohio's Lake, Lake Erie, is the most biologically productive but also the most vulnerable of the Great Lakes - it's the shallowest and the only one above sea level. She rightly suggested that Ohioans should be leaders for the region in the restoration effort But with the compact threatened in the state legislature, and most of the state outside the watershed and not totally plugged into Lakes issues, they've got some storytelling to do to get folks on board.

Sandy explained how she tries to "point out the nice stuff - why people care so much about the Lakes, not to only be all doom and gloom." Good advice - for some stories absent of doom and gloom, check out the HOW story and photo contest from last year - it's good to remember why everyone is working so hard.