State Of The Lakes Ecosystem Conference 1996

"In October 1994, the governments of the United States and Canada convened the first State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC '94). The conference was designed to further the purpose of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada, which aims to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. Background papers prepared for the conference and discussions that occurred at SOLEC '94 are summarized in a document prepared by the U.S. and Canadian governments titled "State of the Great Lakes 1995" (EC and EPA 1995). A second, follow-up conference (SOLEC '96) scheduled for fall 1996 is designed to focus more intensively on the status of the Great Lakes coastal ecosystem, which includes the coastal shorelands, coastal wetlands, and coastal or nearshore waters. A major objective of SOLEC '96 is to examine the effects of human activity--and particularly land use practices--on the coastal ecosystem. The present paper is designed to provide background information that will facilitate discussion of the status of the nearshore waters element of Great Lakes coastal ecosystems"--Introd., p. 5.

This report summarizes the state of the Great Lakes as of the end of 1996, based on information contained in five background papers gathered for & discussed during the 1996 State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC). It begins with background on the Great Lakes, SOLEC, the 1994 SOLEC conference, and an update on the states of ecosystem stressors & ecosystem health since 1994. Section 2 reviews how the state of the Lakes can be expressed in terms of integrity, biodiversity, and sustainability. Section 3 examines the state of information available on the state of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Section 4 briefly outlines ecosystem indicators and the meaning of indicator ratings. Section 5 presents overall ratings of the state of the Lakes' nearshore waters, coastal wetlands, and land by the Lakes. Section 6 reviews physical (including land use), chemical, and biological stressors affecting the nearshore. Section 7 presents detailed ratings of the state of each lake and section 8 rates the state of their connecting channels. The final section discusses environmental management challenges that need to be addressed. Includes glossary.

One of the critical issues of our time is the dwindling capacity of the planet to provide life support for a large and growing human population. Based on a symposium on ecosystem health, Managing for Healthy Ecosystems identifies key issues that must be resolved if there is to be progress in this complex area, such as: Evolving methods f

Great Lakes Journey is a follow-up to William Ashworth's earlier book The Late, Great Lakes, published in 1986. Fifteen years after his first trip, Ashworth journeys to many of the same places and talks to many of the same people to examine the changes that have taken place along the Great Lakes since the 1980s. Through personal observation, research, and numerous interviews with scientists, activists, and government agencies, Ashworth creates a detailed picture of the status of the Great Lakes at the end of the twentieth century. Among the most prominent changes he finds are the arrival of the zebra mussel and other exotic species, the rise and fall of the RAP process for pollution cleanup, a growing public mistrust of government action, a substantial loss of habitat and biodiversity, and an explosion of urban sprawl along the shores of the Lakes. Great Lakes Journey is a welcome update on the latest issues affecting the Great Lakes region.