The Laurentian Great Lakes host the largest collection of freshwater islands in the world with approximately 32,000 islands. Many of these islands hold significant ecological, economic, cultural, and historic significance and serve as an ecological refuge under various stressors. Despite the importance of these features, islands are often understudied and overlooked. The Great Lakes Coastal Assembly’s Island Workgroup is developing a series of reference guides, one for each Great Lake, to help direct conservation and restoration actions on Great Lakes islands. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the guide development process and share preliminary results for Lake Erie, including the upstream St. Clair/Detroit River system. Review and input from partners and the general public is welcome. Ultimately, the guide will assist priority-setting by agencies and organizations, support grant applications, and bring attention to the conservation needs of Great Lakes islands.
Northeast Michigan contains many miles of Lake Huron shoreline and a wide array of islands that support rare species and natural communities. The disruption of natural processes from pollution, development, climate change and invasive species has caused the extirpation and decline of many species in the region. While many of the Lake Huron islands have been spared the pressure of disturbance, they are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and invasive species. Through funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Coastal Program, Huron Pines is working closely with partners to monitor and restore habitat across eleven islands in Lake Huron. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the on-the-ground efforts to collect and update island inventory data, manage invasive species, and monitor habitat for Great Lakes piping plover and other threatened and endangered species. Additionally, we will share our perspective on the unique partnerships and opportunities that were forged through this island conservation project.
Michigan is home to more than 1,700 islands, many of which are remote and difficult to access. While their isolation can be helpful to protect biodiversity and reduce invasive species introductions, Great Lakes islands often have sporadic, incomplete, and outdated biological inventories. This lack of data was apparent across several islands in Lake Huron, underscoring the need for collaborative data collection to better inform local conservation and management efforts. Through funding from the USFWS Coastal Program, Huron Pines has been working with state, federal, and NGO partners to monitor populations of threatened and endangered species on eleven Lake Huron islands. In this presentation, we will share a glimpse of how we monitor everything from Pitcher's thistle to piping plovers, as well as a highlight reel of some of our interesting finds.
Due to their high biodiversity and unique habitats, the Nature Conservancy of Canada has identified islands and coastlines as priorities for conservation in all the Canadian Great Lakes. In many cases, we have worked to protect these islands from development through direct securement and working with partners, along with restoration projects on NCC lands intended to bring back natural habitat and support biodiversity. This presentation will provide an overview of NCC’s work on the Canadian Great Lakes islands and highlight some examples from each of the lakes, including Pelee Island, Wolfe Island and Cockburn Island.
For many Great Lakes Islands, protection is just the first step in ensuring these biological gems provide the best habitat for the many species they support. Following securement, the Nature Conservancy of Canada works to restore habitat that has been degraded by human impacts, from creating wetlands and planting former agricultural fields to removing old buildings and invasive species control. Visitor management is also an important component of ongoing stewardship to ensure humans can enjoy the properties safely and without negative impacts to the environment. This includes trail maintenance, appropriate signage, access agreements and hunting management. Stewardship and restoration projects will be highlighted, including a large wetland restoration on Pelee Island.
Great Lakes islands provide critical habitat for native biodiversity & support rare & endemic natural communities. A diverse assemblage of over 32,000 islands occurs across the Great Lakes, constituting the world’s largest collection of freshwater islands. The crown jewel is Isle Royale. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of our ecological surveys of Isle Royale National Park, which is managed by the National Park Service, a key partner for this endeavor. This research was funded by the EPA through Michigan’s EGLE. We will describe our methods for prioritizing natural community targets & share stories of some of the most difficult but rewarding field work of my career. The presentation will showcase the ecological splendor of Isle Royale including the rugged volcanic shoreline replete with arctic-alpine disjuncts, the ominously named “Swamp of Sadness”, expanses of majestic old-growth forest, & the rarest natural community in Michigan, sandstone bedrock glade. With over 40 days of ecological adventure under our belts & the fruit of the elusive lingonberry in our bellies, we will conclude our presentation of ecological & botanical discovery with lessons learned from our intensive island experience.
Great Lakes islands provide critical habitat for native biodiversity & support rare & endemic natural communities. A diverse assemblage of over 32,000 islands occurs across the Great Lakes, constituting the world’s largest collection of freshwater islands. The crown jewel is Isle Royale. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of our ecological surveys of Isle Royale National Park, which is managed by the National Park Service, a key partner for this endeavor. This research was funded by the EPA through Michigan’s EGLE. We will describe our methods for prioritizing natural community targets & share stories of some of the most difficult but rewarding field work of my career. The presentation will showcase the ecological splendor of Isle Royale including the rugged volcanic shoreline replete with arctic-alpine disjuncts, the ominously named “Swamp of Sadness”, expanses of majestic old-growth forest, & the rarest natural community in Michigan, sandstone bedrock glade. With over 40 days of ecological adventure under our belts & the fruit of the elusive lingonberry in our bellies, we will conclude our presentation of ecological & botanical discovery with lessons learned from our intensive island experience.
An innovative cobble tracer study is advancing our understanding of coarse beach sediment transport while engaging students in hands-on learning along the Lake Ontario shoreline. The southeastern shoreline of Lake Ontario is dynamic and continually shaped by wave conditions, precipitation patterns, fluctuations in lake levels, and interactions with shoreline infrastructure. These factors influence the transport of sediment that sustains Lake Ontario’s beaches and barrier bars; however, these processes remain poorly understood. To address this data need, the Lake Ontario Sediment Tracer Study was launched to better understand sediment transport along McIntyre’s and Whistlewood Bluffs. Beaches at these sites consist of sand, pebbles, and cobbles. The study deployed two types of tracers: painted pebbles (0.5–1.5 inches) and pebbles/small cobbles (1.5–5 inches) equipped with embedded passive integrated transponders (“smart rocks”). These tracers were used to track coarse sediment transport rates, directions, and potential movement barriers from fall 2025 through 2026. This presentation will share findings from the tracer study and highlight a collaborative partnership among state agencies, private consultants, New York Sea Grant, and the Sterling Nature Center. Together, these partners developed the three-part “Track-the-Tracers” Shoreline Adventure, which engaged rural home-school students in designing, deploying, and tracking their own cobble tracers along the shoreline.
Understanding Community Perceptions of Dredged Material Management Abstract This study examines community perceptions of dredged material management and the beneficial use of dredged material in the western Lake Superior region. Dredging is essential for maintaining navigation channels in Great Lakes ports, yet long-term beneficial use of dredged material often faces social, institutional, and informational barriers. To better understand these challenges and opportunities, this project employs a qualitative research design using five (5) in-person focus groups, and one (1) virtual focus group, conducted at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Participants will represent four key stakeholder segments: potential dredged material users, local community members, environmental program managers, and maritime industry professionals. Guided, semi-structured discussions will explore perceived environmental, economic, and community impacts of dredging, as well as barriers to and opportunities for sustained beneficial use planning. Focus group data will be analyzed at the group level to identify shared values, priorities, and areas of divergence among stakeholder groups. Findings will inform future dredged material management strategies, support community-engaged decision-making, and contribute to applied workforce development through undergraduate student involvement.
To set the stage for this session, the Great Lakes Commission will present an introduction its three-year Sediment Management to Support Restoration and Resilience project. The goal of this project is to explore pressing issues related to Great Lakes sediment management, including its role in restoration, coastal resilience, and maritime transportation efforts, with a focus on the Eastern Lake Erie Basin, Lake Ontario, and the upper St. Lawrence River. As part of the introductory presentation, audience members will be asked to participate in a short survey to gauge stakeholder perspectives on sediment and their familiarity with various sediment management topics.
Coastal communities and harbor managers across the Great Lakes face persistent challenges with sediment accumulation. The traditional response—dredging and hauling sediment away—treats sediment as waste rather than a resource essential for healthy shorelines. Beaches, dunes, barrier bars, and wetlands depend on coarse sediment moving through longshore transport. When harbors interrupt this flow and dredged material is removed, downdrift shorelines lose sediment supply, leading to erosion, habitat loss, and increased coastal vulnerability. A growing number of Great Lakes communities are rethinking dredging outcomes by placing sediment where it can re-enter the system. At Sandy Pond on Lake Ontario, dredged material was strategically placed to restore barrier bar dunes protecting a bayfront community. Around Point Pelee on Lake Erie, coordinated sediment placement maintains the dynamic spit system that defines this internationally significant coastal habitat. These examples show that with intentional planning, dredging can support rather than undermine coastal resilience. This presentation shares insights from the Sediment Positive Actions project on the governance structures, economic frameworks, and institutional coordination that enable communities to use dredged sediment as a coastal resource.
Maintaining Ohio's Lake Erie federal navigation channels for commerce is vital to local and regional economies. To maintain these navigation channels, regular dredging of accumulated sediment is necessary. Managing the beneficial use of the sediment removed from the navigation channels is a priority for Ohio to protect the long-term health of Lake Erie. Ohio is working closely with local public and private partners and USACE on sustainable, innovative beneficial uses of dredge sediment. Partners are turning sediment into a true commodity that recognizes sediment as a valuable resource for marketable soils, agriculture, wetlands and habitat creation, and other innovative uses. Ohio EPA and the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority will provide an overview of the Ohio Dredge Material Program and will share about projects underway in each of Ohio's harbors, sediment management needs, and ongoing efforts to beneficially use dredge sediment.
Sandusky Bay is a 64 sq mi shallow embayment that supports the region’s ecotourism economy. Historically, the Bay supported a complex matrix of wetlands, however, regional land use has negatively altered the Bay’s water quality and its ability to regulate as a healthy system. Wetlands, habitat, and wildlife populations are diminished, shorelines are largely armored, and the Bay is plagued by high levels of turbidity and persistent harmful algal blooms. Therefore, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Coastal Management launched the Sandusky Bay Initiative, a landscape-scale intervention to restore ecosystem functionality. The Nature Conservancy is leading the implementation of 13 integrated projects designed to reduce sediment resuspension, enhance nutrient assimilation, and restore habitat. Several projects repurpose excavated material within their footprint and serve as an example of the innovative use of dredge material for nature-based shoreline restoration. The largest project, the Inner Bay Wetlands, involves the creation of three barrier wetland features spanning 600 acres. Approximately 5.33 million cy of fill material is needed for the project, so The Nature Conservancy is exploring fill material source options including a nearby borrow area and the Sandusky Federal Navigation channel and the associated technical, financial, operational, maintenance, environmental, and regulatory tradeoffs.
Tommy Thompson Park, a wilderness area on a constructed landform along Toronto’s central waterfront in Lake Ontario, includes three confined disposal facilities (CDFs). Two CDFs reached capacity by the late 1990s and were subsequently capped to physically and biologically isolate contaminated material, with coastal wetlands established on the cap surfaces. The Cell 2 CDF was capped and restored to a wetland between 2015 and 2016, using beneficially reused clean dredged material to enhance soil quality and plant survival. Restoration incorporated diverse habitat features, including rocky substrates and spawning shoals, as well as the reuse of logs and root wads to create aquatic and terrestrial habitat. Native vegetation—emergent aquatics, wet meadow forbs, shrubs, and trees—was extensively planted. A decade post-construction, the Cell 2 wetland supports high biodiversity and provides essential wildlife habitat. Ongoing challenges include invasive species management, addressed through an integrated approach. Annual monitoring tracks physical and ecological conditions, while continued planting supports the gradual establishment of a hemi-marsh community.
