Supporters fear the recent nationwide heavy automatic spending cuts, often referred to as the sequester, drastically will impact many of Michigan’s environmental groups, such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, or GLRI.

These programs are expected to see their current federal funding levels take a significant slash — dropping from $300 million to $275 million. This could pose a major threat to a state with 79 state parks and five national wildlife refugees, many of which reside on or near the Great Lakes.

But despite the huge role the Great Lakes have in our state, when you consider the difficult decisions Washington is forced to make, it is difficult to stand completely behind GLRI advocates. Since President Barack Obama took office, Michigan’s wildlife programs have received more than $1 billion in marine and forest protection across the state.

The president’s aid was important for the state and influential in monitoring threats that might impact the Great Lakes, including invasive species, toxic pollution hotspots and disappearing fish and wildlife habitat.

The inability of Congress to come together and make agreements about avoiding the severe across-the-board cuts has made slashes to these federal programs despairing, but necessary at the same time.

For Michigan, these cuts seem to represent another tragic example of how our nation’s leaders lack of cohesiveness has put them in a situation they have little control over.

For advocates of the GLRI, intentions to lobby Congress on settling an agreement about Michigan’s wildlife seems like an irremediable case when other issues frequently seem pushed to the side.

As despondent as it might seem, in light of our nation’s inability to come to an agreement, Michigan’s wildlife groups should accept these cuts and make due with the funding they have.

Losing $25 million in federal aid will make protecting our state’s wildlife a more strenuous task, but it also has the potential to make protecting these amenities a larger community concern.

Instead of assuming these programs will be able to monitor, defend and resolve marine and wildlife issues across the state, Michiganians now should take a larger role in performing these deeds themselves.

Local residents, vacationers and tourists must use the situation our state is in as a chance to protect the features that define the Great Lakes State and view this as a challenge they must now work to overcome.

These tough decisions Michigan leaders soon will have to make to protect their natural resources is a fight they neither asked for or had any role in creating, but one they now are expected to resolve.

Hopefully they don’t wait until the last minute, like the U.S. chose to, to take action.