|
The State of the Lakes Ecosystem
Conferences (SOLEC) are hosted by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and Environment
Canada, every two years on behalf of the two
countries in response to the Great Lakes Water
Quality Agreement (GLWQA). Canada and the United
States are known as the Parties to the GLWQA. SOLEC
conferences are intended to focus on the condition
of the Great Lakes ecosystem and the major factors
impacting it, and to provide a forum for exchange of
this information. These conferences are not intended
to discuss the status of programs needed for its
protection and restoration. Another goal of the
conferences is to reach a large audience of people
in all levels of the government, corporate, and
not-for-profit sectors who make decisions that
affect the Lakes.
The conferences are the focal point
of a process of gathering information from a wide
range of sources and engaging a variety of
organizations in bringing it together. In the year
following each conference the Governments have
prepared a report on the state of the Lakes based in
large part upon the conference process.
The first conference, held in 1994,
addressed the entire system with particular emphasis
on aquatic community health, human health, aquatic
habitat, toxic contaminants and nutrients in the
water, and the changing Great Lakes economy. The
1996 conference focused on the near shore lands and
waters of the system where biological productivity
is greatest and humans have had maximum impact.
Emphasis was placed on near shore waters, coastal
wetlands, land by the Lakes, the impact of changing
land use, and information availability and
management. For both conferences indicators were
chosen and, based on expert opinions, subjective
assessments were provided as to the conditions in
terms of good, fair, poor, etc.
n planning for SOLEC 98 the
organizers wanted to support further development of
easily understood indicators which objectively
represent the condition of the Great Lakes ecosystem
components. These would be used every two years to
inform the public and report progress in achieving
the purpose of the GLWQA: to restore and maintain
the chemical, physical and biological integrity of
the waters of the Great Lakes Ecosystem. The SOLEC
indicators would reflect conditions of the whole
Great Lakes basin and its major components (a
general system-wide overview), and they would draw
upon and complement indicators used for more
specific purposes such as Lake wide Management Plans
(LaMPs) or Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) for Areas of
Concern.
Beginning with SOLEC 2000 and
continuing for at least the next decade,
progressively more indicators will be reported at
each conference until the entire suite is included.
The indicators presented in this report comprise the
SOLEC indicators list for SOLEC 2000. The list
should be considered dynamic, and modifications and
adjustments can be expected as the list evolves to
reflect better understanding of Great Lakes
ecosystem functioning and human interactions with
and within the |
 |
|
Selection of Indicators -
Version 4
Prepared for:
USEPA Great Lakes
National Program Office
77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60604
Paul Bertram
United States Environmental
Protection Agency, GLNPO
77 West Jackson Blvd.,
Chicago, IL 60604
USA
Nancy Stadler-Salt
Environment Canada
867 Lakeshore Rd.,
Burlington, Ontario L7R 4A6
Canada
March 2000
Main paper (pdf
90kb)
Appendix 1 (pdf 396kb)
Appendix 2 (pdf 112kb)
Appendix 3 (46pdf)
Appendix 4 (pdf 13kb)
Appendix 5 (16pdf)
Appendix 6 (pdf 10kb
Appendix 7 (pdf 25kb)
Appendix 8 (pdf 35kb)
Appendix 9 (pdf 119kb)
U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
Great Lakes
National Program Office
(G-17J)
77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60604
entire report (pdf
2.7mb) |
