LAND by the LAKES Nearshore Terrestrial Ecosystems
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State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference 1996 Background Paper THE LAND BY THE LAKES Nearshore Terrestrial Ecosystems Ron Reid Bobolink Enterprises Washago, Ontario Canada Karen Holland U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chicago, Illinois U.S.A. October 1997 ISBN 0-662-26033-3 EPA 905-R-97-015c Cat. No. En40-11/35-3-1997E ii The Land by the Lakes—SOLEC 96 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................. v 1. Overview of the Land by the Lakes .................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................ 1 1.2 Report Structure ......................................................... 2 1.3 Conclusion ............................................................. 2 1.4 Key Observations ........................................................ 3 1.5 Moving Forward ......................................................... 5 2. The Ecoregional Context .......................................................... 6 2.1 Why Consider Ecoregional Context? .......................................... 6 2.2 Classification Systems for Great Lakes Ecoregions ............................... 7 3. Where Land and Water Meet ....................................................... 9 3.1 Changing Shapes and Structures ............................................. 9 3.1.1 Crustal Tilting ................................................. 10 3.1.2 Climate ....................................................... 10 3.1.3 Erosion ....................................................... 11 3.1.4 Lake-Level Fluctuations .......................................... 12 3.2 Relationship with Other Systems ............................................ 12 3.3 Classifying the Shoreline ................................................. 13 3.3.1 Physical Shoreline Types .......................................... 13 3.3.2 Classification of Vegetation Communities ............................. 15 4. Special Lakeshore Communities ................................................... 17 4.1 Sustaining Wildlife Populations ............................................ 18 4.2 The Rare and the Beautiful ................................................ 20 4.3 Special Ecological Communities ............................................ 21 4.3.1 Sand Beaches .................................................. 21 4.3.2 Sand Dunes .................................................... 22 4.3.3 Bedrock and Cobble Beaches ....................................... 24 4.3.4 Unconsolidated Shore Bluffs ....................................... 26 4.3.5 Coastal Gneissic Rocklands ........................................ 28 4.3.6 Limestone Cliffs and Talus Slopes ................................... 29 4.3.7 Lakeplain Prairies ............................................... 31 4.3.8 Sand Barrens .................................................. 33 4.3.9 Arctic-Alpine Disjunct Communities ................................. 34 4.3.10 Atlantic Coastal Plain Disjunct Communities .......................... 36 4.3.11 Shoreline Alvars ............................................... 37 4.5.12 Islands ...................................................... 38 SOLEC 96—The Land by the Lakes iii 5. Land under Stress .............................................................. 40 5.1 Direct Alteration of Habitat ............................................... 41 5.2 Alteration of Hydrology .................................................. 43 5.3 Alteration of Physical Processes ............................................ 43 5.4 Alteration of Biological Structure ........................................... 44 5.5 Alteration of Chemical Regime ............................................. 45 6. What Actions Are Needed? ....................................................... 46 6.1 Get the Facts .......................................................... 48 6.2 Plan for Protection and Recovery ........................................... 50 6.3 Preserve and Restore Large Tracts .......................................... 54 6.3.1 Shoreline Biodiversity Investment Areas .............................. 57 6.4 Involve Private Landowners ............................................... 63 6.5 Make Use of Legislation and Regulations ..................................... 65 6.6 Educate to Build Support ................................................. 67 7. How Will We Know What We’ve Achieved? .......................................... 69 7.1 Status of Ecosystem Health for Ecoregions .................................... 70 7.2 Status of Ecosystem Health for Special Great Lakes Ecological Communities .......... 78 7.3 Status of Overall Ecosystem Health for the Land by the Lakes ..................... 82 8. APPENDIX: Characteristics of Lakeplain Ecoregions ................................... 85 8.1 Thunder Bay–Quetico .................................................... 85 8.2 Lake Nipigon .......................................................... 86 8.3 Abitibi Plains .......................................................... 87 8.4 Lake Timiskaming Lowland ............................................... 89 8.5 Algonquin–Lake Nipissing ................................................ 90 8.6 Manitoulin–Lake Simcoe ................................................. 91 8.7 Lake Erie Lowland ...................................................... 94 8.8 Frontenac Axis ......................................................... 97 8.9 Erie and Ontario Lake Plain ............................................... 98 8.10 Southern Lower Michigan ............................................... 101 8.11 South Central Great Lakes .............................................. 104 8.12 Southwestern Great Lakes Morainal ....................................... 105 8.13 Northern Lacustrine-Influenced Lower Michigan .............................. 106 8.14 Southeastern Wisconsin Savanna ......................................... 110 8.15 Northern Lacustrine-Influenced Upper Michigan and Wisconsin .................. 111 8.16 Northern Continental Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota ...................... 116 8.17 Northern Minnesota ................................................... 119 9. Glossary .................................................................... 121 10. References ................................................................. 129 11. Additional Reading ........................................................... 139 iv The Land by the Lakes—SOLEC 96 12. List of Figures, Tables, and Case Studies .......................................... 141 Acknowledgments We wish to acknowledge the contribution of the following people who provided information or participated in the reviewing and writing of this paper. Dennis Albert, Michigan Natural Features Inventory John Bacone, Indiana Department of Natural Resources Wasyl Bakowsky, Natural Heritage Information Centre Tom Beechey, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Sandra Benanno, The Nature Conservancy, New York Hans Blokpoel, Canadian Wildlife Service Lee Botts, Environmental Consultant Dieter Busch, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mary-Louise Byrne, Wilfred Laurier University Pat Collins, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Mark Conti, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Bill Crins, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Sue Crispin, The Nature Conservancy Great Lakes Office Bob Davidson, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Don DeBlasio, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Dale Engquist, National Park Service George Francis, University of Waterloo Duane Heaton, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Ron Hiebert, National Park Service Gail Jackson, Parks Canada Ian Jarvis, Agriculture Canada Patrick Lawrence, University of Waterloo Kevin Kavanagh, World Wildlife Fund Canada Phil Kor, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Bruce MacDonald, Agriculture Canada Brian McHattie, Canadian Wildlife Service Susanne Masi, Chicago Botanic Garden Ralph Moulton, Canadian Centre for Inland Waters Noel Pavlovich, National Biological Service Brian Potter, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Christian Pupp, Environment Canada David Rankin, Great Lakes Protection Fund Cheri Recchia, World Wildlife Fund Canada David Reid, NOAA/Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory Paul Smith, Ontario Heritage Foundation Judy Sullivan, Metro Toronto and Region Conservation SOLEC 96—The Land by the Lakes v Joseph Thomas, Indiana Department of Environmental Management Tom Trudeau, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Peter Uhlig, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Tony Wagner, Waterfront Regeneration Trust Susan Wil-Wolf, University of Wisconsin, Madison Jennifer Windus, Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves John Young, Wildlife Habitat Council vi The Land by the Lakes—SOLEC 96 Notice To Readers This Background Paper is one of a series of such papers that were prepared to provide a concise overview of the status of the nearshore conditions in the Great Lakes. The information they present has been selected as representative of the much greater volume of data. They therefore do not present all research or monitoring information available. The Papers were prepared with input from many individuals representing diverse sectors of society. The Papers provided the basis for discussions at SOLEC 96. Participants were encouraged to provide specific information and references for use in preparing the final post-conference versions of the Papers. Together with the information provided