The Great Lakes’ Most Diverse Natural System

The Great Lakes owe much of their diversity and productivity to coastal systems. In addition to their ecological value, coastal systems provide significant economic benefits to Great Lakes communities like recreation, tourism, prime real estate, drinking water and fisheries. Today, coastal systems across the Great Lakes Basin are compromised largely due to habitat degradation, nutrient loading, shoreline alteration and invasive species, resulting in impairment to major functions and processes that support human and natural communities.  Addressing these challenges is complicated by a patchwork of agencies, industries and private landowners that are making decisions independently and without regard to the larger landscape context.  Fortunately, there is increasing public awareness about the deterioration of these coastal systems, driven in part by the negative impact on local economies that rely on nearshore functions and systems.

Western Lake Erie Coastal Conservation