Lake Erie

"Hundreds of millions of birds will stop along the way and southeast Michigan is one of their favorite places to rest and refuel. These stopover sites are critical to the survival of migratory birds, whose journeys can span thousands of miles, some traveling from as far as the tropical forests of South America. The more we can do to provide the habitat they need during their arduous journey, the better we can protect their future survival . . . Unfortunately, the forests, shrublands, grasslands and marshlands that are vital to these migratory birds are declining due to climate change impacts and habitat loss. As much as 95% of Lake Erie’s coastal wetlands have been lost, which means preserving and restoring what’s left is an important part of work in the region . . . "

“Today marks a key milestone in the restoration of lake trout in Lake Erie after six decades of significant investments to improve water quality and habitat and promote sound fisheries management . . . This phenomenal Great Lakes story of recovery is a testament to the perseverance of the researchers and biologists from DEC and partner agencies who worked tirelessly to help restore this fishery.”

"The canal damaged wetlands in Central New York, and now, rather than helping move goods from the heartland to Manhattan, it has become a highway for invasive species that could destroy native habitats along its path."

"Every year, an explosion of microscopic life reigns over western Lake Erie, forming a green slick of algae and bacteria so massive and vibrant that it can be seen from space. The harmful algae bloom slimes fishing boats, paints beaches in toxins and engulfs water intake cribs . . . This year, the bloom was among the most severe and toxic since scientists began keeping track in the early 2000s. At its peak, it coated around 620 square miles of Lake Erie’s surface waters, an area more than twice the size of Chicago, according to satellite imagery. The sheer weight of blue-green bacteria making up the bloom — forecast to be around 46,000 metric tons — was expected to be a new record."

"The landmark National Climate Assessment report . . . predicts a dire future for the Great Lakes, and Lake Erie in particular. Much of the harm already is underway . . . It foresees more severe storms, more lake-effect snow and rain, expansion of invasive species that threaten local wildlife, larger “dead zones” in Lake Erie, and worsening of the algal blooms that can close beaches and threaten drinking water . . . As winter ice cover on Lake Erie declines and surface water temperatures increase, the seasonal stratification between cold and warm water also will increase, causing oxygen depletion in Dead Zones and changes in fishery locations . . ."

“Although the Cuyahoga River doesn’t burn, it is still in critical condition, filled with viruses, bacteria, and microparasites. The fish are back, and the people are back – fishing, swimming, and boating in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. . . However they are not safe. In the Cuyahoga, the USGS (2004) found Salmonella Clostridium, enteroviruses, hepatitis A virus, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia. These are among the most common causes of infectious disease in the United States.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved $1 million for the Lake Erie Coastal Wetlands project, a collaborative effort . . . for the permanent protection of more than 2,000 acres of critical wildlife habitat in nine counties in Northeastern Ohio and restoration of 135 acres of emergent wetlands within the project area.”

“U.S. and Canadian regulators have set new targets to achieve a 40 percent reduction in phosphorus entering Lake Erie. The U.S. EPA and Canada's Environment and Climate Change Minister say the targets are to keep algae growth at a healthy level and to minimize low oxygen ‘dead zones' in Lake Erie. ‘A number of farm organizations, Ohio Farm Bureau included, have put a lot of money, millions of dollars, into research on how do we understand the problem, so we can then fix it . . . '”

“Lake Erie . . . is a major recreational asset, a magnet for tourism and sport fishing. It's our Big Nature. But is also a very vulnerable, troubled lake. It's vulnerable because it has the smallest water volume of all the Great Lakes but the greatest pressures from human settlement. The Lake Erie Basin has more urban area, more heavy industry, higher population densities and more row crop agriculture. It receives larger loads of many pollutants than any other Great Lake.”

“In 2012, Ohio health officials detected E. coli levels [at Lake Erie beaches] exceeding the acceptable maximum set by the Ohio Department of Health in 21 percent of the samples tested . . . ‘If you look over the last five years, Ohio has really shown some stubborn water pollution problems,’ said Karen Hobbs, senior policy analyst with NRDC. ‘It’s almost a perfect storm within the Great Lakes basin—these aging and failing sewer systems, this immense amount of stormwater runoff because of all the paved surfaces, exasperated by climate change—all of this has combined to keep our water pollution pretty steady.’”

"Presque Isle Bay being delisted is a testament to the many conservation, environmental and sportsman groups in Erie County who have made the health of Presque Isle Bay a community priority. While this is certainly an achievement, we as a community must keep Presque Isle Bay a priority to avoid any environmental challenges in the future."

“Where is the Coast? Lake Erie’s water quality suffers too from the loss of wetlands along its coast and at the mouths of the rivers and creeks that flow into the lake. These areas reduce erosion, slow down water, and allow plant life to absorb phosphorous and other nutrients . . . Over time, the boundary became hardened by dikes and development, coastal wetlands were drained or filled, and waterways dredged. Now, this natural filter has been lost and 95 percent of the native wetland habitat destroyed.”

“Considerable cleanup of the Buffalo River has occurred since 2012 through a coalition put together by the Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, including remediating over 660,000 m3 of contaminated sediment [and] restoring nearly two miles of shoreline and 20 acres of [habitat]. This contaminated sediment remediation and habitat restoration, along with controlling industrial and municipal pollution, has led to surprising ecological revival.”

“Lake Erie water quality has taken a turn for the worse. The algal blooms that threatened the Lake Erie ecosystem in the 1960s and 1970s have returned, and the extent and duration of anoxia/hypoxia [oxygen-depleted bottom waters] in the central basin continue to increase. The algal blooms that began to return to the western basin in the 1990s are composed primarily of the blue-green alga Microcystis aeruginosa . . . We are now again faced with the challenge of fixing the lake. We faced the challenge before, and succeeded; with the same commitment to partnerships . . . we can again succeed.”