The 8,000 member businesses of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s would be undermined by the Lake Erie Bill of Rights if it passes and is enacted, says a spokesman for the group.
The walleye population in Lake Erie has exploded during the past few years — the fishing is considered to be great, and fisheries managers say it will likely get better in the near future as younger fish grow to keeping size.
Although the Lucas County Board of Elections in a 3-0 vote approved the ballot initiative last month, a second protest filed the day after Christmas on behalf of Josh Abernathy is before the Ohio Supreme Court and could, ultimately, prevent the grassroots initiative from appearing on the ballot.
Demonstrations against the government shutdown led by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), took place just steps from the EPA’s Great Lakes Region headquarters.
An effort by residents of a Midwest city to bestow Lake Erie, its tributaries and all its watersheds some of the same rights as American citizens has faltered for a third time. If approved, organizers say it would be the first use of Rights of Nature to protect a specific ecosystem…