News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan

State lawmaker calls for the protection of the Thunder Bay Sanctuary

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A new resolution in the Michigan state house supports protecting the boundaries of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuaries.

The boundaries may be in danger from an executive order issued last year by President Trump calling for the rollback or elimination of eleven marine sanctuaries.

Under an executive order, the US Secretary of Commerce reviewed all marine sanctuary expansions within the last ten years and the budgetary impacts of maintaining each one.

That report was submitted in October, but no one outside the administration has seen it so it’s unknown what recommendations it makes for any given sanctuary.

Representative Sue Allor is a sponsor of the state resolution. She said the sanctuary needs to be protected.

“It’s the only cold water sanctuary of all the sanctuaries in the world. It’s one of a kind. We need to maintain it.”

If protections are rolled back on Thunder Bay Sanctuary could shrink it from 4,300 miles to just 448.

Allor said she hopes the resolution will receive bipartisan support.

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