Surely there are not 600 substantial threats to the Great Lakes
ecosystem. Yet the federal government, through a $300 million
pot of funding each year, provides money for more than 600
projects related to the Great Lakes. There are significant
threats of immediate concern, of course. One of them is the
invasive species known as Asian carp, which could decimate
populations of other marine life in the lakes, if allowed to
multiply. More than one-fifth of the surface freshwater on the
planet is contained in the Great Lakes. Obviously, keeping them
healthy is important to all Americans. To accomplish that,
federal officials should take a more focused approach to funding
Great Lakes projects to make limited resources count.