*Edit 3/8/18
Governor Scott Walker has rescinded the nomination for the Lake Michigan-Wisconsin National Marine Sanctuary. This designated sanctuary would encompass the coastline from Two Rivers to Port Washington that local and area leaders feel strongly would not only protect but enhance a major part of the past that would bring in many visitors to learn and possibly view an important part of the area’s “historical past.” Mayor Justin Nickels.
In a letter to Acting NOAA Administrator Benjamin Friedman the Governor states that this designation would create further unnecessary bureaucratic red tape—something Walker says his administration has been paramount in reducing this burden on citizens of Wisconsin.
Two Rivers City Manager Greg Buckley.
The Governor says the state has a strong history of protecting shipwrecks under the 1991 Wisconsin Act 269 in which the State of Wisconsin Historical Society is responsible with protecting “our submerged cultural resources” Moreover—Walker says the state’s shipwrecks have also been covered under the federal Law by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the Abandoned Shipwreck Act Of The Governor adds that the addition of a new level of government for citizens to petition for permits and certifications for normal use of Lake Michigan “is too much of a tradeoff for the negligible benefit to protecting our shipwrecks. Wisconsin has and will continue to protect our submerged cultural resources”.
Nickels along with Sheboygan Mayor Mike Vandersteen and Mayor Tom Mlada of Port Washington wrote a letter recently to the Governor.
And Buckley firmly believes—
Local leaders are hopeful to have a face to face meeting with the Governor this month.