Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem

A tagged adult coaster brook trout from a Lake Superior tributary.

Ontario, through the Ministry of Natural Resources, works with the Government of Canada and other partners to protect and restore the health of the Great Lakes through the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA).

 

COA helps Canada meet its obligations under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), which has been in place with the United States since 1972.

 

The sixth COA was signed in 2007, and is a three-year agreement.

 

The Ministry of Natural Resources is one of three provincial ministries that are signatories to COA.

 

 

A Variety of COA Projects

Bald eagles are returning to the lower Great Lakes.

With funding from COA, the Ministry teams up with a variety of partners to undertake projects aimed at protecting, restoring and sustaining Great Lakes biodiversity through stewardship. The goals are to promote sustainable living within Great Lakes communities, to protect and support biodiversity, and to lessen the threat of invading species not native to the Great Lakes.

Here are some of many COA projects now underway:

• Identifying and protecting key habitat for the bald eagle along the Canadian shorelines of Lake Ontario
• Assessing the health of coastal wetlands in Rondeau Bay on Lake Erie
• Encouraging the adoption of good land stewardship practices in several Lake Huron watersheds to help restore habitat for fish and wildlife and improve water quality in streams
• Rehabilitating habitat for native fish species, such as the coaster brook trout and walleye on Lake Superior
• Improving public awareness to prevent the further spread of aquatic invading species

 

 

PhotographyBrook Trout: Upper Great Lakes Management Unit, MNRBald Eagle: Dave Menke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service