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Great LakesCoastalCondition
Chapter 
7 
 
Based on
available informationfrom variousmonitoring efforts,ecological conditionsinthe Great Lakes areborderline poor(Figure 7-1).Theopen waters oftheapproximately 290,000 square milesofthe GreatLakes aremonitoredannually byEPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO),inconjunction withNOAA and USGS.A fixed site design has been used tocharacterize waterquality and,in recentyears,the composition ofthephytoplankton,zooplankton,and benthic communities.Thelimnology (lake science) program provides information on key environmentalfactors thatinfluence the aquatic ecosystem ofthe Great Lakes.Annualmonitoring began in 1983 for LakesMichigan,Huron,and Erie;in 1986forLakeOntario;and in 1992 for Lake Superior (Figure 7-2).Thesamplingstrategy is to collect water and biota samples at specific waterdepths from a selectset oflocations in each lake twice ayear.Thelimnology program focuses on the open lakebasins (water greater than98 feetin depth and greater than 3 miles from shore).At key stations,and as part ofspecial studies,sediment samples are taken as well.Forknown or suspectedproblem areas,such as the Great Lakes Areas of Concern,sampling is also performed in thenearshore zone.This zoneincludes numerous bays and rivers connecting the lakes.
Great LakesCoastal Condition
Chapter 7 
Great LakesCoastalCondition
156 
National Coastal Condition Report
 
National Coastal Condition Report
Chapter 7 
Great Lakes Coastal Condition
157 
Water ClarityDissolved OxygenCoastal WetlandsEutrophic ConditionSedimentBenthosFish Tissue
GoodFairPoor
OverallGreat Lakes
Figure 7-1.
Overallcondition of the GreatLakes as measured by  the seven indicators.
CanadaUSADuluthGrand MaraisOntonagonMarquetteGreen BayManitowoaSheboyganMilwaukeeChicagoTraverseCityBay CityLudingtonMuskegonBuffaloErieClevelandToledoDetroitPort Huron
Master StationsSurveillance Stations
Alpena
Cities
Fishing from the Great Lakesshore (Courtesy of USDA NaturalResources Conservation Service).
Figure 7-2.
Monitoringstations used by the GreatLakes Limnology Program.
Probabilistic surveys like those completedfor the Northeast,Southeast,and Gulf Coastsdo not exist for the Great Lakes region.Therefore,spatial estimates of ecologicalcondition consistent with those calculatedin earlier chapters cannot be determined.However,existing monitoring data from long-standing programs have been used to assessecosystem condition to the extent possible.
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