The Michigan Environmental Council has welcomed Melissa DeSimone, MLSA Executive Director, as chair starting in 2025. She has big shoes to fill following the outstanding four year term of Environmental Council Board Chair Jennifer McKay and will be joined by two new member group representatives: Elayne Coleman of Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and Rebecca Esselman of Huron River Watershed Council.
We are excited for the good work we can accomplish with like-minded environmental nonprofit organizations in the Environmental Council as we continue to protect our precious waterways.
A VERY Lame Duck, indeed
by Melissa DeSimone, MLSA Executive Director
This past month in the Michigan Legislature was lame for the environment, no doubt. We hoped for a last minute hearing on our highly anticipated wake boat bill but to no avail. We spend hours reading through possible language for Michigan’s first ever statewide septic code that never made it. And perhaps most distressing of all, we hoped to see the restoration of water protection under Part 31 and that hope was dashed by one single vote. There are countless other disappointments, these were just the “highlights”.
Instead of seeing movement on any bills that might help provide protection for our precious lakes and streams, there was nothing but drama and stubbornness we had to watch painfully from the sidelines.
Now, more than ever, we are grateful for our relationship with the Michigan Environmental Council as well as other partners with similar missions to preserve the natural features that make Michigan special. Every glimpse of my own favorite lake, every trip I take that brings me across a river, I know the work we do is important – now more than ever.
Enjoy your water but don’t forget it’s up to all of us to keep it healthy and safe.