Lake Michigan The Lake Michigan Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP) is a collaborative, adaptive management program where federal, state, tribal and local governments along with other partners work together to protect and restore Lake Michigan. The LAMP shares responsibility for implementing many aspects of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), which seeks to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Waters of the Great Lakes." One commitment under the GLWQA is to develop and implement lakewide habitat and species protection and restoration strategies. The Northern Basin is a bathymetrically diverse area of reefs, islands and undulating coastlines in the northeast portion of Lake Michigan known as the Islands Area. This region spans from the Leelaunau Peninsula and the Beaver Island Archipelago eastward to the Straits of Mackinac falling entirely within the State of Michigan. The many islands, including the High, Beaver, Hog and Garden Islands, are key biodiversity features that host rare plants and animals, including colonies of nesting waterbirds. The islands rank among the most biologically significant in all the Great Lakes. The region's mainland and island shoreline consists of 84% sandy beaches or dunes. The region is valuable to a variety of fish species. There is a reef through the Straits that is crucial to fish spawning in this area. Nearshore areas in the Northern Basin provide important habitat for Whitefish spawning. iGrand Traverse Bay contains Lake Michigan's only verified population of Cisco (Lake Herring|), a native prey fish. Located south and west of Beaver Island, the Northern Basin contains a Lake Trout Refuge, which is an underwater, ancient habitat area. Currently, the refuge is used to stock native Lake Trout and encourage natural spawning in an effort to create a self-sustaining population in Lake Michigan. Com merited [ M P1 ]: Is this true? I thought they found some in Green Bay? Is GT Bay considered a "population" or was it a handful of individual fish? Collaboration among partners in the Northern Basin is needed to implement key actions that will maintain and increase the viability of biodiversity and abate identified threats to biodiversity. Threats to Biodiversity In an assessment of threats to biodiversity, numerous experts rated the current viability status of an array of targets using recognized Key Ecological Attributes and indicators of viability (Table 1). Critical threats to biodiversity in the Northern Basin include aquatic and terrestrial invasive species, climate changes and dams. Invasive species can alter ecosystem attributes, such as water clarity and nutrients, and present serious competition to native species. Northern Lake Michigan fish populations are heavily stressed from sea lamprey predation. First observed in 1936, the unintentional introduction of the sea lamprey has been fought continually, is costly and continues to be a needed activity facilitated by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The Northern Basin has also been impacted by invasive Phragmites in the area's wetlands. Climate changes contribute to a variety of effects on ecological processes that limit the suitability of lake habitats and increase threats associated with other stressors, like invasive species and algal blooms. Loss and degradation of coastal terrestrial and wetland habitat threatens resident native species, as well as aerial migrants. Traditional spawning grounds have been altered as emergent shorelines, low lake water levels, and invasive species such as quagga mussels have impacted the sub-strata, resulting in intermittent spawning cycles. Dams and other barriers alter coastal wetlands and block access to tributary habitats, which lead to declines in native migratory fish populations. TARGET CATEGORY ASSESSMENT THREAT STATUS Table 1. Viability Assessment Summary for the Northern Basin Source: Lake Michigan Biodiversity Conservation Strategy, 2013. SpiritA/Vycamp Lake Dam and Creek on Lake Michigan. Photo: Little Traverse Bay Bands ofOdawa Indians. High Very High Good Very High High Nearshore Zone Aerial Migrants Coastal Terrestrial Systems Coastal Wetlands Islands Native Migratory Fish Offshore Benthic & Pelagic Ecosystem Lake Michigan Northern Basin Biodiversity Revised September 2014 ------- Strategies Needed to Conserve Biodiversity A number of actions can be taken by agencies, tribes, municipalities, planning commissions, and other partners concerned with biodiversity in the Northern Basin. The following strategies are recommended. For additional details, see Chapter 6 of the Lake Michigan Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. Strategies for Very High Threat Targets: • Implement ecosystem and species climate adaption strategies. • Maintain critical habitat on islands and coastal areas: o Periodic surveys to assess status of critical habitat and important species, o Outreach/education on how shoreline management affects coastal ecology, o Develop sustainable remediation designs that restore coastal and shoreline habitat. • Support the continual development of early detection and rapid response plans for invasive species. o Collect and share data among organizations, and train people to provide data at volunteer and professional levels, o Develop rapid response capability to respond quickly and limit the spread in the event of an invasion of invasive species, o Align projects among jurisdictions to implement common policies, risk assessments, and funding that will minimize the introduction and spread of invasive species. • Continue efforts to remediate the Manistique River AOC by working together to complete the remaining restoration actions to address contamination causing consumption advisories and restrictions on dredging activities. Strategies for High Threat Targets: • Broaden the constituency for sea lamprey control. • Assess the risk of sea lamprey access to new spawning ground and increase habitat connectivity among water bodies: o Identify the most important barriers for removal or modification, considering the costs and benefits of each situation, o Continue development of comprehensive decision support tools for barrier removal, and solicit their application consistently by agencies and organizations across the region, o Develop incentives to remove high-priority problem barriers, and prevent future barriers to connectivity. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (www.glri.us/) has supported habitat and species protection and restoration efforts and will continue to serve as an important mechanism for implementing biodiversity conservation strategies in the Northern Basin area. Key Next Steps • Seek better alignment and implementation of the many existing federal, state, tribal, and local plans, such as wildlife action plans, watershed management plans, species recovery plans, island management plans, with biodiversity Targets and Threats. • Target invasive species as identified in the 2010 Biodiversity and Conservation Atlas of the Great Lakes Islands that have potential to alter ecosystem dynamics and protected habitat essential for aerial migrants. • Determine roles and responsibilities in the Northern Basin area for education, surveillance and standardization of procedures to aid in meeting the GLWQA Annex 6 Aquatic Invasive Species Goal of development and implementation of an early detection and rapid response initiative by 2015. • Identify opportunities to expand piping plover habitat and protection. • Work collaboratively to preserve and restore wetlands from the invasive common reed Phragmites (www, greatl akesphragmites. net provides an interactive forum for stakeholders working on control of this wetland problem). • Protect and enhance nearshore spawning habitat, wetlands, and shoreline. • Support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mass marking initiative and Lake Trout. • Support current and future efforts on Cisco (Lake Herring) restoration, including stocking Grand Traverse Bay. • Identify and remove/modify high-priority problem barriers, considering potential for sea lamprey to gain access to new territory. • Improve communication and collaboration with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and local partners. • Promote widespread adoption of The Urban Conservation Treaty for Migratory Birds and continual implementation of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, in light of the added stress of climate change on species and habitats. High Island Dunes. Photo: Kevin Haynes, LTBB NRD Inland Fisheries. For More Information www, e pa .qov/q rtla kes/m ich iqa n. htm I LAMP Partners: Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Chippewa-Ottawa Resource Authority (CORA) // www.1836cora.org The Nature Conservancy // www.michiaan.aov/dea www.ltbbodawa-nsn.gov [ www.qtbindians.org U.S. EPA, Great Lakes National Program Office Chris Korleski Lake Michigan Manager, Interim Phone: (312) 353-4891 Lake Michigan Northern Basin Biodiversity Revised September 2014 ------- |