INLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

“Protecting the Great Lakes through Education”

STEWARDSHIP STATION

Stewardship Station Learning ObjectivesStudents will be able to:

2. Define stewardship as the responsibility to protect & preserve the Great Lakes for future generations.

3. List several ways they can become stewards of the Great Lakes.

4. Define a watershed as the land water flows across or under that drains into a common body of water.

5. Explain the feeding relationships between organisms in the aquatic food web of Lake Michigan in terms of producers, consumers, & decomposers.

6. Discuss the impacts water waste and pollution (excessive nutrients, exotic species) have on the aquatic food web.

Teaching the Station

3 main concepts:

Stewardship

Watersheds

Food Web

Stewardship

Stewardship is the responsibility we have to protect & preserve our natural resources

for future generations

The quality of water in the Great Lakes is a reflection of land uses & natural features

found in its watershed

Stewardship

Each year rainfall & snowmelt only replenish 1% of the water in the Great Lakes watershed (the other 99% is non-

renewable)

Unlimited residential, commercial, & industrial water withdrawals, along with pollution’s depletion of clean water, can

weaken the ability to sustain communities & wildlife

Current Great Lakes Water Issues

Water Diversion

Water Quality

Invasive Species

Water Levels

Water Diversion

1848-1899

Chicago River reversed

Diverted water from Lake Michigan down the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal & eventually

into the Mississippi River

Reversed the flow of untreated domestic sewage into Lake Michigan & Chicago’s drinking

water supplies

Source: Chicago Historical Society

Water Diversion

International Joint Commission (IJC) established in 1909 by the Boundary

Waters Treaty to help prevent & resolve disputes related to the use & quality of

boundary waters

Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG) formed in 1985 to tackle the severe

economic & environmental challenges facing the Great Lakes

Water Diversion3 policies govern diversion of Great Lakes water:

• 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty – refrain from any water resource uses that would harm the waters of the other country

• 1986 Water Resources Development Act – requires approval of all Great Lakes governors on any proposed water diversion

• 2008 Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact – includes standards & processes to be used when reviewing diversion proposals

Current Great Lakes Water Issues

Water Diversion

Water Quality

Invasive Species

Water Levels

Water Quality

1972 Clean Water Act

Cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the U.S. (does not deal directly with groundwater or water

quantity issues)

Established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the

waters of the U.S.

Water Quality

1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Expressed the commitment of the U.S. & Canada to restore & maintain the chemical, physical, & biological integrity of the Great

Lakes basin

Current Great Lakes Water Issues

Water Diversion

Water Quality

Invasive Species

Water Levels

Invasive Species

1990 Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention & Control Act

Required ships entering the Great Lakes after operating outside the U.S. 200

nautical mile “exclusive economic zone” to exchange their ballast water in the high

seas or otherwise treat it

Invasive Species

2007 National Aquatic Invasive Species Act

Every ship must have an Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan, carry out Best

Management Practices, document all ballast operations & management activities, & comply with treatment requirements

Current Great Lakes Water Issues

Water Diversion

Water Quality

Invasive Species

Water Levels

Water Levels

Since the winter of 1999-2000 water levels in the upper Great Lakes have been low

relative to their long-term average

This 9 year low has only been exceeded once in the last 145 years of record keeping

during the 12 year low of the dust bowl era

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Stewardship

While there are on-going efforts to help protect & preserve the Great Lakes on a

state & federal level, there is also a lot YOU can do in your everyday life to protect this

precious natural resource

Teaching the Station

3 main concepts:

Stewardship

Watersheds

Food Web

Watershed

A watershed is the land water flows across or under on its way to a stream, river, or lake

The landscape is made up of many interconnected watersheds separated from

each other by landforms such as ridge lines or mountain divides

Watersheds

Understanding the water quality of the Great Lakes involves investigating the condition

of the contributing watershed

Concerned with land use practices that might affect the quality of the water (point

& non-point source pollution)

Source: EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

Watersheds

What you do to protect water in your hometown affects the quality of water in nearby streams, rivers, lakes, the Great

Lakes, & the Atlantic Ocean

Teaching the Station…

3 main concepts:

Stewardship

Watersheds

Food Web

Food Web

A food web describes the feeding relationships between different

organisms

Feeding Relationships

• Producers: organisms that produce their own food through photosynthesis using sunlight & nutrients

• Consumers: organisms that cannot produce their own food (need to consume another organism to obtain energy)

• Decomposers: organisms that break down organic material

Bioaccumulation

Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of contaminants in the tissues of

organisms

Many contaminants are hydrophobic (they prefer to be in the lipids/fats of an

organism rather than in water) & are taken up in the fatty tissues of organisms

What is an Invasive Species?

Exotic species: a species introduced to areas beyond its native range (a.k.a. alien, non-indigenous, introduced, or non-native species)

Invasive Species: exotic species that spread from the point of introduction, establish a sustainable population, rapidly reproduce, & are likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health

1. Aggressive

3. Rapid population growth (high rate of reproduction)

5. Lack natural predators in new environment

7. Able to tolerate wide range of environmental conditions

Successful invaders share several characteristics

Methods of IntroductionDeliberate release

Planting or stocking

UnintentionalEscape or release from cultivation, aquariums, aquaculture facilities, bait buckets, other accidental introductions

Canals

ShipsSolid ballast, ballast water, fouling

Ballast discharge from foreign ships is the #1 method of introduction for

exotic species

Responsible for 72% of all established introductions from

1959-2000

How Many Exotic Species Are In The Great Lakes?

Total ≈ 185

NOAA Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species List

www.glerl.noaa.gov

This is NOT a new problem

This problem is not unique to the Great Lakes Region

This is not a problem that is limited to aquatic environments

Clarification

Why should we care?

Ecological impacts

Largest threat to loss of biodiversity

Food web alteration

Water quality/contaminant transfer

Why should we care?

Economic impactsEstimated to cost $5 billion annually in

the Great Lakes region ($138 billion annually in the U.S.)

It is nearly impossible to eradicate an

Established invasive species

For this reason, we must focus on

Control Measures

PREVENTION

SourcesChicago Historical Society http://

www.chicagohistory.org/

Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/

United States Army Corps of Engineers http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/greatlakes/

All pictures and drawings not cited during the presentation were provided by Inland Seas Education Association. These pictures can be used freely for educational purposes if ISEA is correctly attributed. All commercial use of these pictures

requires written consent from ISEA.