Monitoring Infrastructure and Activities of Great Lakes Connecting Waters: An Assessment and Recommendations

Date
Precis

The connecting waters are vital links in the economic and ecological network of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system, but they are threatened by multiple stressors. Present monitoring activities are insufficient to adequately inform the management of these connecting waters. The Great Lakes Science Advisory Board-Research Coordination Committee studied this issue in response to the apparent need to better coordinate monitoring in connecting waters to make more effective use of existing resources and infrastructure, and the need for new investments and creation of stable funding structures to support continued monitoring in the connecting waters’ technically challenging environments.

This report recommends specific actions to address such needs. These actions include: two recommendations for specific changes to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; one recommendation for enhancement of coordination, funding and infrastructure; four advisory statements about monitoring and research needs; and three advisory statements about education, outreach and communication needs.

The video below is of a public webinar about the report that was held on October 8, 2021. The slides from the presentation given on the webinar are available hereResponses to questions received during this public webinar are available here.

Webinar on Monitoring the Great Lakes Connecting Waters Report by the Science Advisory Board-Research Coordination Committee

Organization
SAB-RCC