You're absolutely right, Mick. The lakes are too precious to waste on bankrupt development schemes. All that water is already being used right where it is. In addition to all the human activities the lakes support, the needs of the critters need to be considered, and not just the walleye, waterfowl and other commercially important species.
In addition to keeping the water where it belongs, we need to do more to keep other water out, specifically, ballast water from foreign freighters which has introduced zebra mussels, round gobies and God knows what else into the lakes because its inconvenient to exchange ballast water at sea.
Considerable damage has been done to the Great Lakes and and it must be addressed now if we're to save any of the system for anyone.
Fair winds and Following (fresh-water) Seas,
SKP (on the shores of Lake Erie)