A vision from space

President Bush dreams of manned
flight to Mars. As president he is at-
tempting to stake out our vision for the future and leverage that vision into tangible action of great benefit to the nation and the world.

I, on the other hand, have a far less lofty vision, of significantly less cost, and with the likelihood of more tangible results — but of more immediate importance to those of us who live and work on and around the Great Lakes:

A single port from Lake Erie to Lake Superior working hard in close cooperation to keep the businesses of the Midwestern United States and Western Canada globally competitive.

If we are to realize the full potential of maritime transportation benefits for both the region and the nation, we must start now.

I envision an expansive Great Lakes port composed of piers and facilities in harbors throughout the Great Lakes system, connected to each other and the world through a thoroughly modern and environmentally sound system of locks and navigation channels. Additionally, I see these facilities marketed globally by a joint U.S./Canadian effort.

It was while developing a strategic plan for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority that I began to realize how closely aligned the mission and vision of all Great Lakes ports are to one another, regardless of whether on the U.S. or Canadian side. The prosperity of each port is dependent on the economic vitality of the entire region, but more particularly on the transportation efficiencies and utilization of the waterway system that connects the industrial heartland of our two nations with the global community.

The Great Lakes-St Lawrence Seaway System is a co-dependent, interrelated maritime transportation system of tremendous importance and potential to the region. As viewed from space, it is easy to understand that once a foreign vessel enters the system and passes through the Welland Canal (Niagara Falls) it is captive to the upper four Great Lakes and will, in all likelihood, load an export cargo before returning outbound. This captivity can be both an advantage and a barrier to trade. Its ultimate value will be determined by both the time and expense required to navigate the system.

Extending this vision of one great port leads us to the consideration of a bi-national agency for marketing and development, or at a minimum, the coordination of operations and services of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Cooporation and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (some of which is
already underway).

In the last week of January, I attended "Maritime Day" in Cleveland, Ohio. With the July deadline fast approaching for the implementation of the "U.S. Maritime Security Act," marine security was on everyone's mind. What was most notable was the cooperation and coordination that has developed between U.S. and Canadian maritime departments in the area of border security, particularly as relates to our 1,300-mile waterway border. This cooperation could and should translate into responsible dealings on our joint inland waterway system.

If we are to realize the full potential of maritime transportation benefits for both the region and the nation, we must start now. The current Seaway System is becoming obsolete, its locks and port infrastructure are aging and general use is in decline. The continued decline will create not only a dramatic negative economic impact, but also create a significant negative environmental impact on both the region and the nation because — as widely documented — waterborne shipping relieves land-based congestion and is by far the most economical and environmentally sound means of commercial transportation. Europe learned this lesson long ago, but we seem to be lagging behind.

Currently, approximately 200 million tons of cargo move through the Great Lakes and the Seaway System. A modal shift from marine to land-based transportation would have staggering environmental and social consequences. Yet, New York Senator Hillary Clinton recently asked President Bush to end U.S. funding for a bi-national study of the St. Lawrence Seaway, citing alleged environmental dangers posed to the Great Lakes by large foreign vessels. She said the "Great Lakes Navigation Study would exacerbate the problem of invasive species by making the Great Lakes accessible to more and larger foreign vessels." She either ignores or fails to recognize that the Great Lakes maritime community has been a national leader against the introduction of evasive species and has funded one of the few practical applied studies of the issue. Senator Clinton now argues to end the study while she supports a multi-billion dollar dredging project in the New York/New Jersey harbor that (applying her convoluted logic) will permit more and larger foreign vessels and their ballast to infiltrate the New York river systems and ultimately travel through the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes. We need to avoid special-interest issues and step back to see the big picture here.

Informed individuals understand the importance of environmental stewardship and that as our population and economy continue to grow, sound solutions to transportation logistics will dramatically help reduce pollution. It is important that the maritime community take a leadership role and provide educational opportunities for the general public and our elected officials to see the value and logic of enhanced waterborne transportation.

Each mode of transportation has its benefits and drawbacks. Our goal is to explore and understand the most environmentally sound, economically viable and socially acceptable methods of providing our region's access to the global economy. To do this we need to work cooperatively with local and regional environmental interests and try to understand the options and opportunities. Working cooperatively, we need to develop strategies and make recommendations as how best to intelligently meet regional transportation needs while protecting our unique environment.

And so the President supports a manned flight to Mars. It seems like only yesterday that the world first saw itself from space as a fragile blue ball floating in the abyss. Individually, our hopes are only dreams, but together we can build new realities.