The Great Lakes are a national treasure that the United States shares with our Canadian neighbors.

And that treasure provides the richest return to the states that border the lakes, including Wisconsin, which touches both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. For Wisconsin to be vital and healthy, the lakes must be vital and healthy.

So the restoration of the lakes is a top priority for this state. That restoration has been progressing since the days when former Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson awakened Wisconsin and the world to the need to address environmental pollution.

But the restoration is not complete. And in these tight budgetary times, this is a priority that could be threatened -- especially in a Congress that tends too frequently to respond more quickly to the demands of the Sun Belt states rather than those of the Midwest.

Luckily, Wisconsin and the Great Lakes have a champion in Congress, and he is in a position to ensure that the restoration of these inland oceans is completed.

Congressman Dave Obey, D-Wausau, chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee. And he succeeded in securing a House and Senate conference committee agreement to include a historic $475 million in funding for the restoration of the Great Lakes. The money is part of the fiscal 2010 Interior Department appropriations bill.

The legislation has been approved by the House and Senate. If President Obama signs the bill, which is expected, we will have a fully funded Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. And the promise of restoration of the Great Lakes, made so long ago, will finally be in reach.

"Up until now, the approach to cleaning up the Great Lakes has been piecemeal. Now we have a plan that uses the best possible science to comprehensively address the many problems that threaten the health and economy of the Great Lakes," Obey says.

That's good news not just for Wisconsin, but for the Midwest and the whole of the United States (and the Canadians won't mind, either).

Obey deserves tremendous credit for completing the work that was started by his friend and mentor Gaylord Nelson.

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