Michigan Statewide Public Advisory Council

Draft Assessment of Fish and Wildlife Beneficial Use Impairments in Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) has prepared a draft report, Pathway for Delisting Three Beneficial Use Impairments in Great Lakes Areas of Concern (PDF), that establishes a restoration pathway for delisting habitat-related beneficial use impairments and assesses progress being made along that pathway in Michigan’s Areas of Concern. The pathway adapts an ecological restoration approach comprised of five steps: vision and goals; inventory and assessment; project design; implementation; and monitoring and re-assessment. These steps ensure that habitat restoration targets will be met and Area of Concern environmental goals reached, resulting in a clearly articulated and defensible delisting process for the three habitat-related beneficial use impairments (degradation of fish and wildlife populations; loss of fish and wildlife habitat; and degradation of benthos).

For each of Michigan’s 14 Areas of Concern the report identifies which of these steps have been undertaken; the natural resource values and unique features in the Area of Concern; whether the three beneficial use impairments under review are considered impaired and the causes of their impairment; and the actions needed to address the impairments.

Appendices to the report include a primer on ecological restoration prepared by the international Society for Ecological Restoration; information on natural landscaping and native plants; and lists of natural landscaping design consultants and nurseries.

U.S. EPA-GLNPO invites input on the draft report, including both the proposed restoration pathway and the assessment of progress in Michigan’s Areas of Concern, and is committed to pursuing ecological restoration leading to delisting, and improvement in the overall health of the Great Lakes basin.

Comments on or questions about the draft report Pathway for Delisting Three Beneficial Use Impairments in Great Lakes Areas of Concern should be directed to Karen Rodriguez, U.S. EPA-GLNPO, 312-353-2690, rodriguez.karen@epa.gov; or James Schardt, 312-353-5085, schardt.james@epa.gov.