Author(s)

H. Shear, P. Bertram, N. Stadeler-Salt & P. Howatin

Abstract

Development and application of ecosystem health indicators in the North American Great Lakes Basin H. shear1, P. ~ e r t r a m ~ , N. ~tadeler-salt' & P. orv vat in^ 1 Environment Canada, Ontario Region, Canada 2~nited States Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes National Program OfJice, United States Abstract Assessing the health of the North American Great Lakes Basin ecosystem is a significant challenge. The Lakes themselves contain one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water with over 17,000 kilometres of shoreline. The Basin consists of over 520,000 square kilometres of land with about 33.5 million people living there. The Basin (including the St. Lawrence River) is governed by two nations, eight states, two provinces, and hundreds of municipal and local governments. A set of Great Lakes Basin ecosystem health indicators will enable the Great Lakes community to work together within a consistent framework to assess and monitor changes in the state of the ecosystem. Data collected t

Keywords