Working Together to Protect and Restore the Biodiversity of the
Great Lakes

Lake Huron shoreline

It’s impossible not to feel amazed by the vast and complex ecological system we call the Great Lakes. The variety of experiences is remarkable: viewing spectacular vistas as you travel the highways of Lake Superior’s rugged coastline, hiking a trail to a Lake Huron lookout, bird watching in a quiet Lake Erie wetland or watching the sun set from your campsite on Lake Ontario. Even more remarkable, though, is the incredible diversity of life forms – the biodiversity – that makes this ecosystem unique. The Great Lakes Basin ecosystem is one of the most ecologically diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth, home to thousands of species of plants, fish and wildlife.

Staff in Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) have long recognized – and been responding to – the challenge of protecting and restoring native fish and wildlife species and other parts of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Most recently, this has been under the umbrella of the 2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA).

Among the many Ministry staff doing this valuable and exciting work are:

• Andy McKee – COA Lake Huron Basin Coordinator
• Dr. Rob Mackereth – an applied research scientist - Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research
• Khahy Ho – COA Lake Erie Basin Coordinator
• Marilee Chase – COA Lake Superior Basin Coordinator
• Eric McIntyre – Coordinator for the Eastern Georgian Bay Stewardship Council

Each has an important role to play around the Great Lakes Basin in projects designed to restore disappearing species or to augment dwindling numbers. They coordinate specific projects or the broader efforts of many organizations, groups and individuals. They know that working together makes a difference.

Andy McKee

Andy McKee sees biodiversity as a clear indicator of ecosystem health and balance. He explains that the more healthy species we have, the more likely we are to be able to maintain life at all levels. Andy says, “We are all interconnected, everything on this Earth is in some way dependent on other things.”

Why protect and restore biodiversity? And, why the Great Lakes?

These massive inland fresh water seas comprise one of Canada’s most significant and biologically diverse regions. They contain a variety of natural ecosystems, from coastal wetlands to alvars (limestone plains with very little soil or vegetation). Together, these ecosystems are home to thousands of native species of plants, fish and wildlife – many of which are unique to the Great Lakes region. They are valuable in themselves and for their importance to us: providing employment and recreation, inspiring us artistically and spiritually, and supporting our overall quality of life.

Dr. Rob Mackereth

Dr. Rob Mackereth in Thunder Bay explains the philosophy behind restoring and protecting biodiversity: “As stewards of the environment I see it as our responsibility to protect our natural ‘capital.’ We need to manage it so we benefit…without irreparably altering it.”

Khahy Ho

The projects in which Khahy Ho is involved help minimize the effects of development and make people aware of the importance of the natural world. Rob and Khahy are only two of the many people working to accomplish these goals. Under COA there are dozens of MNR staff working together with 240 partners on 200 projects across the Great Lakes Basin – of which more than 50 focus on rehabilitating and restoring native Great Lakes fish and wildlife species and their numbers.

What’s being done? Lots! And it’s exciting.

Marilee Chase

Some of the projects are astounding in the amount of shear physical work required – and time. They might involve visible and large changes to a landscape, as when rebuilding or improving the spawning or nesting habitats of native species. Or, the work may be as sensitive and delicate as inserting electronic monitoring tags in coaster brook trout. Large or small, these tasks mean bringing back species that have disappeared entirely or whose numbers have dwindled to nearly nothing.

At the top of the long list of species that requires restoration are the Atlantic salmon, American eel, lake sturgeon, walleye, coaster brook trout and the bald eagle. Each of these species is considered a barometer of ecosystem health and each plays an important role in the aquatic food chain. Marilee Chase refers to the coaster brook trout she studies as “canaries in the coal mine” – their depleted numbers sound a loud warning to her that something is very wrong with the ecosystem they inhabit. A lake-dwelling variation on brook trout, “coasters” were once plentiful in the Canadian waters of Lake Superior.

Partners are jumping in with both feet

Each of these fish and wildlife species has been affected by human activity through pollution, development, habitat loss from agriculture or forestry, urban sprawl and over-harvest. However, there are concerted efforts to undo this damage on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border. Not just conservation-minded organizations and governments, but community groups, private landowners and generous corporate sponsors – even people like you and me – have all “jumped in eager to help.” That’s terrific, because this kind of human activity is essential to successfully protecting and restoring our Great Lakes Basin ecosystem’s biodiversity.

Eric McIntyre

And it’s heartening, too. While working to bolster the Moon River walleye population, Eric McIntyre, working out of Parry Sound, has been surprised by the people working at restoration. “I am always impressed with the selfless, dedicated… motives of our partners and volunteers,” he says.

“Partners really like to get their rubber boots wet and dirty for the sake of nature,” says Khahy. She adds that most people she has dealt with feel “a real sense of accomplishment” in cleaning up a stream, and rebuilding or improving a spawning shoal. Planting trees, shrubs and grasses along the edges of a stream to enhance shoreline habitat for both fish and wildlife offers very personal rewards, Khahy says.

“Conserving Ontario’s biodiversity will ensure that we will have a healthy environment rich in species and varied habitat, along with clean air and water,” she adds.

We’re doing well – with everyone’s help

Significant progress is being made. For example:

   • more than 4 million eels have been stocked in Lake Ontario
   • the first eagle’s nest on the shores of Lake Ontario in 60 years has been spotted
   • successful lake sturgeon spawning has taken place in Lake Erie’s Detroit River
   • Atlantic salmon eggs have hatched in 41 classrooms in front of hundreds of fascinated wide-eyed      children.

Khahy concludes, “I think biodiversity conservation is an ambitious yet realistic goal … more and more Ontarians than ever seem to realize we need to live within nature’s means.”

It’s all about you and me – everyone – working together to protect and restore our native species and their habitats. Particularly around the Great Lakes Basin; our common and spectacularly rich natural heritage.