On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, joined the likes of former President Jimmy Carter, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former vice president Al Gore in being honored by the National Wildlife Federation for her track record demonstrating environmental responsibility.

Stabenow’s work was honored in Washington, D.C. with the National Conservation Achievement Legislative Award, which has been given annually since 1965. We applaud Stabenow and we’re glad she’s been honored for her work.

“Sen. Debbie Stabenow made a stand for wildlife conservation with her work as a leading author of the 2014 Farm Bill, which contains the most far-reaching enhancements to land and water conservation policy on private lands in decades,” said Collin O’Mara, federation president and CEO in a news release. “Sen. Stabenow has also worked to build bipartisan support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and for protecting the Great Lakes from invasive species.”

These are important endeavors for our region.

The 2014 Farm Bill includes the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which empowers landowners, conservation groups and local communities to lead the way on conservation projects for water, air and wildlife.

The federation said throughout Stabenow’s career, “she has been a fierce defender of the Great Lakes.”

Stabenow serves as co-chairwoman of the Senate’s Great Lakes Task Force and the first legislation she passed as a senator was a bill to prevent Great Lakes drilling.

With the vital importance of the Great Lakes – in particular lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan – to our region, we are fortunate to have a senator like Stabenow representing the Upper Peninsula and Michigan as a whole in Congress.

From a recent Canadian proposal for a nuclear waste repository less than a mile from Lake Huron to Asian carp and other invasive species challenges and ongoing conerns from pollution, the Great Lakes are a precious resource constantly under threat.

We’re happy the federation has singled Stabenow out for her efforts to help maintain this critical freshwater resource for not only the U.P. and Michigan, but for all the Great Lakes states and the country as a whole.

Marquette Mining Journal