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Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land today called on residents to arm themselves with "crayons and creativity" to help combat zebra mussels and other aquatic pests in the Great Lakes and Michigan waterways.

Land unveiled the 2004 Watercraft Decal Design Challenge, providing residents with an opportunity to submit their ideas for a fund-raising watercraft decal designed to battle aquatic nuisance species. Proceeds will support education and research to help eliminate zebra mussels and other invasive pests from the Great Lakes and Michigan waters. Legislation establishing this program was passed in 2003.

"Since the 1880s, more than 140 nonnative species of fish, plants, mollusks and algae have invaded the Great Lakes, displacing Michigan's indigenous plant and animals," Land said. "More than one-third of these nuisance species have been introduced within the past 30 years. I encourage everyone to submit their design ideas and creatively conquer this problem."

Entry forms are being sent to public and private schools and home-school organizations to encourage student participation. The deadline for submissions is midnight June 16. Entry forms are available online on the department's Web site, www.Michigan.gov/sos and at all Secretary of State branch offices.

A judging panel headed by Land and bill sponsors Sens. Jason Allen and Patricia Birkholz, and Rep. David Palsrok will determine which motifs are incorporated into the final design. The 2004 decal will go on sale Oct. 1.

"Because these invasive pests are transplants, they frequently have no natural predators, which allows them to multiply unchecked," said Birkholz, chairwoman of the Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee. "Research and public education are essential if we are to keep their numbers in check, minimize the damage they cause and reduce the number of potential new invasions."

Cost of the decal is $35, with $25 earmarked for the Great Lakes Protection Fund. To ensure the program is fiscally responsive, a minimum of 2,000 decals must be sold in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2005, and at least 500 decals must be sold each year thereafter for the program to continue.

"Anyone who has cruised along Michigan's beautiful shoreline or any of its 11,000 lakes appreciates how important it is to protect this incredible resource with which we have been blessed," said Palsrok, who chairs the House Great Lakes and Tourism Committee.

The 3-inch square decal is purely decorative and does not replace any required watercraft registration or identification stickers. The decal may also be placed on cars, trucks, trailers and other vehicles.

"These malicious pests have the ability to hamstring the state's water-based recreational and commercial industries," said Allen, chairman of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and a Traverse City resident. "The scope of this problem is enormous, requiring all the resources we can marshal."

Land launched the design challenge on "Resources and Recreation Day" during Michigan Week to emphasize the critical need to protect water quality. Unarguably one of the nation's most significant natural resources, the Great Lakes provide incomparable ecological, commercial and recreational environments that are threatened by nuisance species.

"Nuisance species, such as the zebra mussel, cost state government and private industry millions of dollars each year," Land said. We must take a stand to protect our environment, and all it supports, from being harmed by these invasive plants and animals."

According to the Aquatic Nuisance Species task force, Great Lakes water users spend tens of millions of dollars on zebra mussel control every year. Affected municipalities and industries spend approximately $360,000 fighting the nonnative mollusk, while smaller municipalities average $20,000. Nuclear power plants spend an additional $825,000 annually to keep discharge pipes clear of the mussel.

Also at risk are the $4.5 billion sport- and commercial-fishing industries whose game fish are harmed by invasions of the sea lamprey, ruffe and round goby. Nuisance aquatic plants choke out native plants and clog ponds and lakes.

Editor's note: Radio actualities are available on the Department of State news line at (517) 241-2800.

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