On the recordAugust 2, 2017
as we head into the month of August, many Americans are planning to spend time along our beautiful coasts. Our country is fortunate to have such a wide variety of natural resources along the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, and the east and west coasts. However, I am partial to America's best coast: The 4,500 miles of U.S. coastline along the Great Lakes. Our coastal resources make it possible to move cargo and goods around the world. They provide opportunities for outdoor recreation like fishing and boating and trips to the beach. Our coasts are not only beautiful, providing some of the most scenic vistas and picturesque landscapes our country has to offer; these ecosystems also provide many tangible benefits. They serve as flooding buffers, critical habitats for fish and wildlife, and locations for ports and other marine infrastructure. In the Great Lakes, our freshwater coastline contains one-fifth of the entire world's fresh water and provides drinking water for over 40 million people. We must be stewards of these areas so that future generations can also benefit from them. In order to do so, we must properly document and keep track of this precious resource. That is why I partnered with Senator Young to introduce the bipartisan Great Lakes Environmental Sensitivity Index Act of 2017 to require NOAA to update environmental sensitivity index maps and map products.…
