Indicators Reflect Health of Detroit River, Western Lake Erie

A varied list of environmental features—from the abundance of burrowing mayflies to transportation issues in Southeast Michigan—are among a new list of ecosystem indicators that reflect the health of the Detroit River and western Lake Erie.

Detailed information on 46 ecosystem indicators was compiled as part of the Detroit River-Western Lake Erie Basin Indicator Project. The project was led by the US Fish & Wildlife Service through a fellowship from Metropolitan Affairs Coalition with assistance from many other partners including Michigan Sea Grant.

Examples of other indicators include coastal wetland loss, urban sprawl, land use changes, contaminants in fish, and pollutant emissions. University of Michigan graduate student Emily Wilke, who played a key role in developing the indicators, defines an indicator as a measurable feature that provides useful information on ecosystem status, quality or trends.

“For this report, one of the goals was to bring together 30-plus year old data sets that have been collected by both U.S. and Canadian researchers,” Wilke said. “Next steps will be to identify data gaps and decide what additional information needs to be collected.”

She and others presented an overview of the indicator project at the biennial Detroit River and Western Lake Erie State of the Strait conference on December 5, 2006 in Flat Rock. Moderator John Hartig of the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge praised the “huge collaborative effort” involved in gathering the extensive long-term trend data, which provide a clearer picture of ecosystem status and will be used to inform policy makers and managers.

Throughout the conference, more than 25 scientists, educators and resource managers from the U.S. and Canada presented data on the specific indicators and responded to questions from the audience. Participants acknowledged the value of the data compiled, which was presented in four panel sessions addressing land use, transportation, population, and human health issues; fish and invertebrates; wildlife and habitat; and contaminants.

In terms of overall environmental health of the Detroit River and western Lake Erie, speakers noted that the indicators show a mixed picture. Twenty-two indicators show signs of improvement. Among these are the recent documented presence of lake sturgeon, and spawning lake whitefish in the Detroit River, as well as increasing numbers of some birds of prey including the peregrine falcon.

On the negative side, speakers cited the hypoxic zone in Lake Erie, an increase in toxic algal blooms, invasive species, and contaminated sediments. According to session moderator Melanie Coulter of the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, only 33 percent of targeted contaminated sediments have been removed from the river. An estimated 2.3 million cubic meters remain, concentrated in Trenton Channel, Rouge River, and River Raisin.

Priorities for management action include controlling contaminants at the source, remediating contaminant hotspots, greenhouse gas reduction, land use planning, stopping the introduction of aquatic invasive species, protecting high quality habitats, controlling combined sewer overflows, and accelerating nonpoint source controls.

Final discussions focused on challenges related to communicating the importance of the indicators and issues to a wider audience in conjunction with securing funding for research and monitoring. “It’s absolutely essential to take the next step in managing for sustainable communities and quality of life,” noted Hartig, who challenged the audience to think in terms of next steps—how to link the separate indicators in a meaningful way or “connect the dots.”

Michigan Sea Grant Director Don Scavia, who also served as Wilke’s academic advisor on the indicator project, suggested the indicators be thought of in the context of stakeholder and public participation. “What question does the community want answered? Their responses will help us prioritize and group relevant indicators to assess the data,” he said. “We have all the pieces. We just need the process to do it.”

Several audience members also commented on the important role young people can play in addressing environmental issues in conjunction with those who teach them, citing important groups like Downriver Stream Teams, that get students involved with environmental issues at an early age.

Biologist Bruce Manny of the US Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center echoed the important role that young people will one day play in natural resource management and acknowledged the presence of more than 200 students in the audience. “I’ve never seen so many young people in the audience,” he said. “To me that’s a good indicator.”

Detroit River-Western Lake Erie Basin Indicator Project

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