Great Lakes Health
The Great Lakes are a globally important natural resource. They represent approximately 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water and provide habitat for over 100 species of globally rare plants and animals. Additionally, 42 million people depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water.
Unfortunately, the ecological integrity of the lakes is significantly stressed. Within the past few decades, chemical and microbial contamination and the introduction of invasive species have led to the decline of native fish and wildlife populations and degradation of water quality and habitats.
IISG is engaged in initiatives that provide the latest information to those in the Great Lakes region who can best use it. For example, Sea Grant works closely with U S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office to develop products, tools, and strategies to communicate the results of the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC), and recent findings from water quality sampling conducted aboard the research vessel R/V Lake Guardian. In these and other efforts, IISG works with community leaders, with natural resource professionals, and with Great Lakes residents to monitor, improve or protect the quality of the Great Lakes overall and in critical locations.
News
- The HELM: Recreation reduces Karner blue butterfly reproduction
- Needs tips for restoring Great Lakes habitats?
- Lawn to Lake program promotes natural lawn care
- Natural lawn care workshop highlights healthy alternative
- Healthy lawns can be pesticide free
- The HELM: SOLEC spotlights Great Lakes nearshore conditions
Initiatives
Lawn to Lake
Lawn and garden chemicals applied in the Lake Michigan basin can wind up in the water, polluting the lakes with pesticides and excess fertilizer. The program promotes healthy landscape practices, offering communities, landscapers, residents, and others, tips for maintaining healthy lawns and landscapes without over-relying on chemicals.
SOLEC
The State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conferences and State of the Great Lakes reports are produced by the U. S. EPA and Environment Canada to provide independent, science-based reporting on the state of the health of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem.
The Great Lakes Legacy Act
This 2002 congressional act authorizes funding to remove hundreds of tons of contaminated sediment that has built up over the years and left some local waterways severely polluted.
River Restoration: Concepts and Practices
This workshop series brings together experts from around the United States and Canada to discuss the successes and failures of current river restoration technologies.
Got fish and aquatic plants? Get a Habitattitude™
Aquarium and water garden enthusiasts can help prevent the introduction of invasive species into local waters by choosing alternatives to releasing plants and animals into the wild.
Lake Guardian Blog
This Sea Grant blog documents progress aboard the U.S. EPA GLNPO’s R/V Lake Guardian as it navigates and samples throughout the Great Lakes.
Research Projects
Real-time Fluorometric Assay for Sewage Presence: A Cost-effective Method to Determine Potential Water Quality Threats to Swimmers and Ecosystem Health
Kishanipuram Vinodgopal, Indiana University Northwest
Multi-site Economic Benefits of Sediment Remediation at Great Lakes Areas of Concern
John Braden, University of Illinois
More Great Lakes Health research
Products
Lawn to Lake - Nearshore Environment
Lawn to Lake - What's in Your Watershed?
Great Lake Restoration: Best Management Practices
SOLEC Reports
Natural Lawn Care for Homeowners
Web Links
COSEE Lake Guardian Cruise (Lake Erie)
COSEE Lake Guardian Cruise (Lake Ontario)
Great Lakes Information Network
Great Lakes Observing System
Great Lakes Regional Research Information Network
Lake Guardian
Purdue Water Community
U.S. EPA GLNPO Great Lakes Indicators
