Tony Evers puts Wisconsin-Lake Michigan National Marine Sanctuary proposal back on table

MANITOWOC - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced his support and petition to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to renew the Wisconsin-Lake Michigan National Marine Sanctuary proposal Friday during a press conference at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

"The Great Lakes were part of my life growing up in this part of the state," Evers said. "All across Wisconsin, the Great Lakes play a critical role not only in history but in the environmental health and economic vibrancy of our state for future generations."

Evers' announcement was met by enthusiastic applause from the audience attending the press conference.

"It will provide educational benefits to families across the state and is projected to attract thousands of additional tourists each year, boosting tourism and economical growth in our beautiful coastal cities," Evers said.

The renewed proposal includes Kewaunee County in addition to Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties. With the addition, the sanctuary would span 1,260 square miles, which would include 38 known shipwrecks and 95 unexplored potential shipwrecks.

Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels said at the press conference, "This national marine sanctuary will not only put us on the map, but it will educate future generations as to how we got here.

"It's not just our past, but it is our present," Nickels continued. "We have so many neat things happening in the city of Manitowoc ... and it's the circle of the maritime history heritage that we have that has continued to today, to the present, but also to reflect upon our past, and it is our future."

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Sheboygan Mayor Mike Vandersteen and Leslie Kohler, chairman for the Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan, also made comments during the press conference Friday.

Immediately after the announcement, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation President and CEO Kris Sarri said an issued statement: “The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation applauds Governor Tony Evers for working with Wisconsin communities to preserve their cultural heritage and support community engagement in conservation."

For the renewed proposal, Nickels said Friday that most of the process was already completed the first time the sanctuary was proposed between 2015 and 2018. He said the next step is to get the sanctuary on the federal registry. He said the United States Congress will have 50 days to comment on the proposal before it is finalized.

Jennifer Gonzalez, public information officer and tourism coordinator for Kewaunee County, said after the press conference that officials are "really excited" Evers included the county in his petition.

"Kewaunee County was included in Plan B (of NOAA's options for the sanctuary), but there never was anything definite," Gonzalez said. "Now, Kewaunee County is part of that, and that's really exciting for us. It's an opportunity to draw on that underwater tourism aspect."

The waters off the county have two shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places: The America, about 4 miles offshore from the Town of Carlton, and the Daniel Lyons, about 9 miles northeast of Algoma.

Gonzalez said gaining an official designation from NOAA could draw thousands of tourists to Kewaunee County, and it could be marketed as a complement to the charter fishing and other maritime-related tourist activities available.

"Really, this is another way to get us on the map," she said. "Our job will be to market ourselves as a new spot for the underwater tourism industry. It's another type of tourism for us."

NOAA had initially planned a sanctuary that would cover about 1,075 square miles of Lake Michigan — that would include 37 known shipwrecks and span Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties.

NOAA's intent to designate that area as a marine sanctuary was announced in October 2015 after former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker asked the federal government to consider a sanctuary off the Lake Michigan coast.

The national marine sanctuary designation was lauded as a way to further protect historic shipwreck sites while also providing a foundation to boost tourism to the three counties.

The proposal moved forward until opposition arose in 2017 amid fears that the federal government was using the marine sanctuary to gain more control of the Great Lakes and threaten Wisconsin's sovereignty.

Manitowoc County Supervisor Don Zimmer at a public forum in 2017: “This is a question of whether the federal government, through the NOAA, is intruding into areas that should remain beyond its purview. It’s a costly and unnecessary intrusion into what is properly state and local responsibility."

Supporters of the marine sanctuary said the designation could create up to $10 million in annual income for the three counties, based on the assumption 70,000 tourists would visit the sanctuary each year. Many local governments — including the Manitowoc County Board and the Manitowoc and Two Rivers city councils — passed resolutions or letters of support for the initial proposal.

The process to implement the sanctuary included multiple public meetings and had pressed on steadily until President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2017 that prevented the naming of most new national marine sanctuaries.

Then, in March 2018, Walker rescinded his nomination. In a letter dated Feb. 27, 2018, Walker wrote that he believed the sanctuary would "create unnecessary bureaucratic red tape" and be an undue burden on Wisconsin citizens.

“The addition of another level of federal bureaucracy will not materially advance our shared commitment to protecting shipwrecks," Walker wrote.

“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 trade-off for the negligible benefit to protecting shipwrecks,” Walker continued in his letter. “Wisconsin has and will continue to protect our submerged cultural resources.”

Days after news about Walker rescinding his nomination broke, he came to Two Rivers for an unrelated event at the Lighthouse Inn. He was greeted by dozens of protesters demonstrating their support for the former sanctuary proposal.

When Walker was unseated by Evers in the 2018 Wisconsin elections, supporters of the sanctuary grew hopeful that Evers would revive the project.

"Even when Walker pulled the nomination, we were still looking two steps forward," Nickels said in January. "The communities are still gung-ho in favor of this."

Contact Alisa Schafer at 920-686-2105 or aschafer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlisaMSchafer.

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