Conservation across the Great
Lakes requires unprecedented collaboration among scientists, resource managers
and administrators, business leaders, and policy makers. Collaborating
effectively to protect the Great Lakes, however, requires a continuous supply
of data and knowledge, accompanied by up-to-date information about progress
towards regional goals. As part of the Blue Accounting program, the Nature
Conservancy is supporting the development of Great Lakes Inform, an information
management and delivery system designed to contribute to information
infrastructure in the region.
Great Lakes Inform is a free, online platform designed to
increase the efficiency of regional conservation and resource management in the
Great Lakes. Great Lakes Inform is a “first-stop” shop to find, share, and
access information that helps resource managers and decision-makers address key
Great Lakes issues.
Great Lakes Inform complements the many existing websites
that provide valuable data, tools, maps, and general information to the Great
Lakes community. Great Lakes Inform integrates and displays these resources,
making it easier to find information about key Great Lakes issues.
Great Lakes Inform gets the right information to the right
people in the right format by providing following services:
- See the big picture: The
six modules and related content allow all users to see the context of each
information resource, including how it specifically supports a given management
strategy and how it relates to other resources.
- Learn about Great Lakes ecology: All
users can access learning resources to gain ecological and resource management
knowledge they
need to become more informed participants in helping address challenges facing
the Great Lakes.
- Share information: Registered
users can share their conservation actions and information resources with the
region.
- Find collaborative strategies and regional goals: All users can read about
management strategies and shared, regional goals for specific issues as drafted
by collaborative groups focused on specific Great Lakes issues.
- Follow and assess progress towards regional
goals: All users can see the status of issues at local to basin-wide
scales based on metrics selected by issue-based collaboratives.