Prescription for Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection and Restoration

Publication Date: December 2005

Publisher: National Wildlife Federation

Author(s): Donald Scavia; Henry Regier; John Gannon; Michele DePhilip; Jonathan Bulkley; Alfred Beeton; Jack Bails

Research Area: Environment

Keywords: ecosystem; coastal habitats; Great Lakes

Type: Report

Coverage: United States Canada

Abstract:

More than 60 scientists in the Great Lakes region endorsed this report that called for strong, immediate action to reverse the decline of the Great Lakes ecosystem, which the scientists argued is verging on collapse. It calls for across-the-board efforts to restore the Lakes, which comprise almost 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water and supply drinking water to more than 40 million people in the United States and Canada. The report says that a comprehensive response is necessary because past efforts to fix individual problems one at a time have not worked.

Among the suggestions are a renewed effort at rehabilitating the coastal habitats, wetlands, and tributaries that serve as a filter for the Great Lakes, stopping the introduction of non-native species, protecting areas within the Great Lakes ecosystem that are still healthy, and vigilant monitoring of restoration efforts to determine whether they are beginning to help the Lakes recover.