Out on the Great Lakes, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Lake Guardian research vessel is not your typical ship.
Habitat
Improving aquatic connections along the St. Croix River for fish to migrate would be a boon to those populations and the ecosystem at large.
Lake sturgeon were once abundant in the Great Lakes basin before overfishing and habitat destruction in the late 1800s through the early 1900s decimated their numbers. Since then, a lack of suitable spawning locations for the sturgeon to lay eggs has been a major drag on recovery efforts.
Recent studies performed under the IJC’s International Watersheds Initiative (IWI) should provide policymakers and researchers with more information to help make decisions related to fishing, water quality and water withdrawal.
People like to be near the water, and that sentiment has led to intensive development along much of Great Lakes shoreline. How does this development impact the health of shoreline ecosystems?
Adaptive management is nothing new. Canada and the United States have asked the IJC to evaluate fluctuations in levels and flows in the Great Lakes periodically over the last half century.
For the fourth year, the Ontario government is offering $1.5 million in grants to community groups through the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund.
Water can be a great glue – joining people together to help keep it clean and plentiful. The matter comes down to building relationships and understanding, so that when the going gets tough – as with this year’s western drought – we can pull together.
One fish told another fish, and now alewives are returning to the St. Croix River.
Once formally established, the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area will be one of the world’s largest freshwater marine protected areas.