2026 Great Lakes Coastal Symposium

2026 Great Lakes Coastal Symposium

2:30pm EDT

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

Monday October 26, 2026 2:30pm - 2:45pm EDT

Coastal restoration efforts across the Great Lakes have expanded over recent decades, supported by increased federal and state investment in hydrologic reconnection, invasive species control, nutrient reduction, and habitat improvement. Because these projects often pursue multiple objectives, evaluating their effectiveness depends on which ecological or management goals are prioritized and monitored. This session will focus on biological responses, particularly those tied to fisheries, to assess how restoration actions translate into meaningful improvements for target species and communities. Despite numerous project level successes, basin wide evaluation of restoration effectiveness remains challenging without consistent monitoring approaches and coordinated data integration. We will open the session by outlining how monitoring can scale from the nuances of a single site to coordinated regional efforts and how those choices shape the conclusions we can draw at each scale. We will also highlight the Fish Community Objectives (FCOs) developed through the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Lake Committees, which provide lake specific strategic guidance on desired fish community structure and often serve as reference points for restoration planning. Together, these elements will form a shared foundation for the presentations and discussions that follow, ensuring that diverse case studies can be interpreted within a coherent framework for evaluating restoration effectiveness.

Speakers

Wes Bickford

USGS - Great Lakes Science Center

Eric Ellis

Monday October 26, 2026 2:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

2:45pm EDT

Measuring Restoration Success at Brandenburg Park

Monday October 26, 2026 2:45pm - 3:00pm EDT

The Brandenburg Park Shoreline Restoration Project was identified as a priority project by the St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS) Initiative to address failing shoreline infrastructure and impaired fish and wildlife habitat in Lake St. Clair's Anchor Bay. The project utilized a combination of offshore habitat shoals, shoreline softening, and native plantings to increase shoreline protection and improve nearshore fish habitat. Following restoration, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has collected annual data to monitor the response by target fish communities as one indicator of the project’s success. This presentation will provide an update to ongoing monitoring and will explore how the results of this effort have informed project development in nearby communities.

Speakers

Eric Ellis

Jill Estrada

Coastal Conservation & Habitat Restoration Project Manager, Great Lakes Commission

Cleyo Harris

Monday October 26, 2026 2:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

3:00pm EDT

Monitoring connectivity of restored marsh channels: Braddock Bay as a case study on Lake Ontario

Monday October 26, 2026 3:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

Fish such as Northern Pike spawn in interior wet meadows; however, access to this habitat has been greatly reduced by the spread of invasive hybrid cattail, particularly in Lake Ontario coastal wetlands. Channels have been excavated through cattail marshes to restore connectivity, but monitoring is needed to determine whether restored habitats are accessible and functioning for fish. Braddock Bay, a large drowned river-mouth wetland on Lake Ontario, underwent marsh channel restoration to increase habitat availability and connectivity. From 2018–2022, we evaluated fish use of restored channels and adjacent wetlands through wetland fish community surveys and targeted young-of-year (YOY) fish monitoring. Across monitoring efforts, 17 fish species were documented, including recreationally important Northern Pike (Esox lucius), Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens), and Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). YOY surveys captured 15 species and more than 3,600 individuals, with most collected from restored habitats. YOY Northern Pike were detected in four consecutive years following restoration, providing evidence that restored channels support spawning and nursery functions. This case study highlights how we can use post-restoration fish monitoring, including the use of an existing monitoring program, to assess connectivity and evaluate ecological performance criteria.

Speakers

Rachel Schultz

Associate Professor, SUNY Brockport

Rachel E. Schultz, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Wetland Science at SUNY Brockport whose current research focuses on Great Lakes coastal wetlands. On Lake Ontario, Dr. Schultz led post-restoration monitoring at Braddock Bay since 2020 and has investigated the impacts of wetland... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 3:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

3:15pm EDT

Manoomin's Good Life: Wild Rice Monitoring and Restoration in Georgian Bay

Monday October 26, 2026 3:15pm - 3:30pm EDT

Manoomin (wild rice; Zizania spp.) restoration is both an ecological and cultural imperative throughout the Great Lakes. Wild rice beds provide essential habitat for fish, waterfowl, and invertebrates while stabilizing sediments, improving water quality, and strengthening economic and food sovereignty for Indigenous peoples. However, Manoomin populations in the Georgian Bay region of Lake Huron declined precipitously over the past century due to water level fluctuations, increased wave action, development pressures, pollution, and climate change impacts. Successful restoration requires understanding the complex interplay of ecological and biogeochemical factors that underlie Manoomin viability, but little is known about such factors as they relate to successful restoration outcomes, particularly in Georgian Bay. This talk will provide an overview of a collaborative project currently underway that is laying the groundwork for a comprehensive environmental monitoring network in partnership between the University of Michigan, Loyola University Chicago and First Nation communities to support their potential Manoomin (wild rice) restoration efforts in Georgian Bay. As its initial field season comes to an end, the project’s highlights will include the results of preliminary survey efforts and its focus on the co-development of scientific and conservation objectives done collaboratively across social and geographic boundaries.

Speakers

Fran Davis

Drew Gronewold

Shane Lishawa

Becky Pearson

Sam Schurkamp

Monday October 26, 2026 3:15pm - 3:30pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

3:30pm EDT

Monitoring reconnected diked wetlands: assessing site- and landscape-scale impacts

Monday October 26, 2026 3:30pm - 3:45pm EDT

Diked wetlands can be found in the coastal zone throughout the Great Lakes. These productive wetlands often were hydrologically connected to the lakes before construction of earthen berms that limited water exchange and fish access. This makes them priority targets for coastal wetland rehabilitation through installation of fish-passage structures. Work starting in the mid-1990s at places like Metzger Marsh (Lake Erie) and Oshawa Second Marsh (Lake Ontario) tested early rehabilitation strategies including dike redesign and carp-exclusion systems in structures. Site-scale monitoring after those projects characterized a positive ecosystem response, but intense monitoring of subsequent reconnections in the Crane Creek wetland complex (Lake Erie), and later the Maankiki wetland complex (Lake Huron), revealed much more about when and how fish use the rehabilitated sites. These findings informed the reconnection of over 50 other diked wetlands to rehabilitate coastal wetland habitats throughout the basin, setting the stage for ongoing monitoring of project impacts at multiple sites across the landscape and aggregation of data to explore how the site-scale projects are impacting lake productivity, fisheries objectives, and other landscape-scale priorities. Supported by Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Restoration Assessment data, reconnection of diked wetlands and low elevation agricultural fields continues as a rehabilitation strategy within the basin.

Speakers

Kurt Kowalski

U.S. Geological Survey

Monday October 26, 2026 3:30pm - 3:45pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

3:45pm EDT

Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Environmental Monitoring: Insights from the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program

Monday October 26, 2026 3:45pm - 4:00pm EDT

Transforming programmatic environmental monitoring into regional policy change requires an unbroken chain of resource-intensive actions: i) the generation of clear objectives and research questions, ii) the creation of study designs that can actually answer those questions, iii) the comprehensive QA/QC and analysis of data, iv) the ethical sharing and housing of datasets, and v) the communication between and among researchers, stakeholders, and policy makers. In this talk, we will draw on specific, actionable examples of solutions from the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program (WMP), a group that spans six research institutes and engages with partners from over 50 organizations to assess and promote nutrient reduction by restored and constructed wetlands in Ohio. We will briefly review common critiques of large-scale environmental monitoring programs, as discussed in recent literature. We will then explain the WMP’s data management and communication policies before focusing on the infrastructure the WMP has built to support flexibility in dynamic funding landscapes. We will end with short examples of successful interventions that were informed by WMP work. With forethought and adaptability, we can build environmental monitoring programs that are impactful, scalable, and resilient.

Speakers

Kenny Anderson

Lauren Brown

Bowling Green State University

Janice Kerns

Lauren Kinsman-Costello

Mary Ellen Klukow

Kent State University

Raissa Mendonca

Jessica Meyerson

Olivia Schloegel

Kent State University

Monday October 26, 2026 3:45pm - 4:00pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

4:00pm EDT

Evaluating Sustain Our Great Lakes (SOGL) Restoration Outcomes for Birds

Monday October 26, 2026 4:00pm - 4:15pm EDT

The Sustain Our Great Lakes (SOGL) Program, administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, has invested in Great Lakes restoration for nearly two decades. In 2021, Audubon Great Lakes began evaluating SOGL effectiveness by monitoring migratory shorebirds, waterfowl, and breeding marsh birds at restoration sites. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact framework, we analyzed data from 2021–2025 to compare restored and control sites. While statistically significant restoration-specific gains were not detected, consistent positive trends across bird groups suggest emerging benefits. Shorebirds responded positively at sites with improved hydrology and topography, and waterfowl use increased within restored landscapes in line with regional patterns. Marsh bird communities, measured with the Bird-Friendliness Index, showed modest but encouraging improvements in condition. Overall, restored wetlands appear to be functioning as increasingly suitable habitat, though outcomes remain influenced by environmental variability and ecological lag times. These findings indicate SOGL investments are improving wetland condition and bird habitat, with stronger and more detectable benefits likely as sites mature and long-term monitoring continues.

Speakers

Stephanie Beilke

Senior Manager, Conservation Science, Audubon Great Lakes

Jenni Fuller

Sarah Saunders

Quantitative Ecologist, National Audubon Society

Monday October 26, 2026 4:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

4:15pm EDT

Regional Coastal Wetland Monitoring to Guide Restoration and Adaptive Management

Monday October 26, 2026 4:15pm - 4:30pm EDT

Long-term and multi-site monitoring programs are essential for understanding coastal wetland condition, identifying ecological change, and informing restoration priorities across the Great Lakes. The Durham Region Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program (DRCWMP) has monitored coastal wetlands along the north shore of Lake Ontario for nearly two decades using standardized protocols aligned with regional and binational monitoring approaches. The program evaluates wetland condition through indicators including fish communities, vegetation, water quality, birds, macroinvertebrates, and water levels to support fisheries and habitat objectives. This presentation will highlight how DRCWMP data are used to identify ecological trends and establish reference conditions across a network of wetlands. Integration of datasets collected through the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan has strengthened the ability to evaluate regional patterns and restoration outcomes across years with highly variable water levels and climatic conditions. The presentation will also discuss how monitoring results support conservation planning and restoration prioritization through a structured conservation standards approach. Examples from the Lynde Shores Restoration and Resilience Project will demonstrate how long-term datasets are being used to identify ecological stressors, guide restoration actions, support adaptive management, and evaluate restoration effectiveness over time.

Speakers

Michael Grieve

Dan Moore

Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority

Monday October 26, 2026 4:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

4:30pm EDT

NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation Efforts to Address Environmental Priorities

Monday October 26, 2026 4:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

Since 2007, NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation has funded more than 130 habitat restoration projects in the Great Lakes region, primarily through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. These projects have collectively restored more than 5,700 acres of habitat and opened more than 860 miles of streams for Great Lakes fish species to access their habitat. We provide funding and technical guidance to local partners, who implement restoration projects throughout the Great Lakes basin. These projects help support our nation's fisheries and address a subset of habitat restoration projects identified by the Lake Committees as Environmental Priorities to meet fish community objectives for Great Lakes fish species.

Speakers

Ryan Darnton

Terry Heatlie

Cassie Lovall

Julie Simmons

Great Lakes Regional Manager, NOAA

Monday October 26, 2026 4:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

4:45pm EDT

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs – Panel Discussion

Monday October 26, 2026 4:45pm - 5:00pm EDT

Coastal restoration efforts across the Great Lakes have expanded over recent decades, supported by increased federal and state investment in hydrologic reconnection, invasive species control, nutrient reduction, and habitat improvement. Because these projects often pursue multiple objectives, evaluating their effectiveness depends on which ecological or management goals are prioritized and monitored. This session will focus on biological responses, particularly those tied to fisheries, to assess how restoration actions translate into meaningful improvements for target species and communities. We will wrap up this session by convening speakers in a panel discussion on the parallels among the goals of single site and coordinated regional monitoring. To further enrich the dialogue, we will engage panelists about strategies for building monitoring programs that are explicitly focused on effectiveness, and how to leverage the monitoring data collected to refine and improve restoration techniques. Additionally, we will explore approaches for interpreting the impacts of site-level outcomes on broader regional responses, especially related to Great Lake’s Fish Community Objectives, aiming to bridge the gap between localized project results and regional ecosystem management.

Speakers

Wes Bickford

USGS - Great Lakes Science Center

Eric Ellis

Monday October 26, 2026 4:45pm - 5:00pm EDT
Huron

Monitoring for diverse Great Lakes restoration needs with a focus on fisheries objectives

10:00am EDT

Workshop TBD

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm EDT

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Huron

Workshop

10:15am EDT

Interdisciplinary Research to Relate Coastal Wetlands to Great Lakes Water Quality

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:15am - 10:30am EDT

Through funding from NASA's MUREP program, research was done on the resilience of Great Lakes coastal wetlands to environmental disturbance and how wetland behavior impacts Great Lakes nearshore water quality. In particular, the ability of wetlands to retain nutrients was assessed under different inundation levels using the Mondrian ecosystem model, revealing that nutrient retention is significantly reduced under flooded conditions. The impact of nutrient retention on water quality was then assessed using satellite remote sensing. This analysis revealed that flooding leads to high dissolved organic matter loading in the nearshore environment, but relationships with chlorophyll-a concentration and submerged aquatic vegetation presence varied by site, baseline nutrient conditions and wetland condition. This work integrated in situ sampling, ecosystem modeling, and remote sensing analysis to assess the vulnerability of Great Lakes aquatic ecosystems, providing a framework for future integrated research. Further, it helped to increase the engagement of underrepresented groups in research, providing unique educational opportunities for a cohort of students from Texas State University who were able to get direct experience with remote sensing, data science, simulation modeling, and field sampling.

Speakers

Zane Almquist

Karl Bosse

MTRI

Laura Bourgeau-Chavez

Michigan Technological Research Institute

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:15am - 10:30am EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

10:30am EDT

Connected wetlands meaningfully contribute to nutrient retention within the Lake Erie watershed

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:30am - 10:45am EDT

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has constructed, restored, or enhanced wetlands throughout the state with the goal of capturing nutrients to improve water quality, and mitigate harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. The H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program was developed to evaluate a subset of those wetlands, measuring inflowing and outflowing nutrient concentrations to understand both the amount of nutrients wetlands retain, and what drives that retention. Three years of monitoring data shows that wetlands that are more connected to flowing water are more successful at nutrient retention. While monitoring is focused on only a small subset of the full number of constructed wetlands our data can be used to understand the potential for the full number of wetlands to treat nutrients across the entire watershed. Our results suggest that when wetlands are hydrologically connected, they are an effective method to mitigate nutrient loading to larger waterbodies such as Lake Erie.

Speakers

Eileen Acosta

Kenneth Anderson

Kent State University

Christie Bahlai

Richard Becker

Thomas Bridgeman

Lauren Brown

Bowling Green State University

David Costello

Kennedy Doro

Stephen Jacquemin

Laura Johnson

Janice Kerns

Lauren Kinsman-Costello

Mary Ellen Klukow

Kent State University

Ganming Liu

Kevin McCluney

Raissa Mendonca

Helen Michaels

W. Robert Midden

Assoc. Vice Provost, Bowling Green State University

Siliva Newell

Olivia Schloegel

Kent State University

Christopher Winslow

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:30am - 10:45am EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

10:45am EDT

Plant influences on nutrient retention in restored wetlands are both species-specific and trait-specific

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:00am EDT

Managing and monitoring wetland restorations for nutrient retention is a critical component of Ohio’s H2Ohio Water Quality Initiative, which aims to reduce nutrient loading to Lake Erie in part through wetland restoration. Leveraging data from the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program and funding from the Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative (HABRI), this study advances understanding of mechanisms behind wetland vegetation nutrient cycling and links nutrient retention outcomes to the species and functional traits that contribute most to nutrient retention. We selected 12 plant species commonly found in H2Ohio wetland restorations and quantified biomass and nutrient concentrations in the summer (peak biomass), fall (resorption), and following spring (overwinter storage) to capture annual nutrient cycling. Additionally, we conducted annual litter-bag decay experiments and monitored flow-event-driven sedimentation in areas where the species were dominant. Our results identify species that may enhance wetland nutrient retention through distinct mechanisms, including high rates of overwinter nutrient retention (e.g. Carex vulpinoidea), slower decay (e.g. Juncus effusus), and increased sediment capture (e.g. Asclepias incarnata). These findings inform species selection for wetland restorations by emphasizing functional traits and mechanisms associated with annual nutrient retention, providing guidance for practitioners beyond individual species selections.

Speakers

Lauren Brown

Bowling Green State University

Trevor DeGroote

Ethan Glassman

Steve Hovick

Janice Kerns

Lauren Kinsman-Costello

Corbin Kohart

Kevin McCluney

Helen Michaels

W. Robert Midden

Assoc. Vice Provost, Bowling Green State University

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:00am EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

11:00am EDT

Data Management Strategies and Challenges in the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:00am - 11:15am EDT

Environmental monitoring programs can generate actionable data that informs management and policy, but they require intentional design of shared data infrastructures that consider the timeline of decision-making activities, the primary audiences they serve, and potential pain points to ensure robust data-to-action systems. The H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program (WMP) was established in 2020 to evaluate the nutrient removal effectiveness of varied wetland restoration projects implemented by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The data stewardship and governance policies for the WMP have focused on strategies and tools that ensure data preservation, guarantee scientific rigor, and optimize efficiencies from data collection to dissemination by adopting FAIR principles. Our data infrastructure has been built in a stepwise iterative process, adapting and improving systems using on-the-ground feedback from data collectors. We have used custom digital surveys to centralize data entry and automated workflows to optimize and document critical data lifecycle steps. We built standardized quality checks to produce verified and integrated datasets. These approaches address challenges with information centralization and standardization, and ensure robust data toward actionable results, repeatable analyses, and usability in other applications.

Speakers

Connor Gluck

Lauren Kinsman-Costello

Raissa Marques Mendonca

Lead Data Manager, Kent State University / H2Ohio WMP

Ishfaq Rahman

Olivia Schloegel

Kent State University

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:00am - 11:15am EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

11:15am EDT

Optimization of Soil Sampling in Wetlands When Monitoring Resources are Limited

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:15am - 11:30am EDT

Soil plays a major role in wetland effects on watershed transport of phosphorus and nitrogen which drive the formation of Harmful Algal Blooms. Determining soil chemical characteristics is important for estimating and predicting wetland performance and understanding how performance can be improved. Soil in wetlands is spatially heterogeneous and unlike water, is relatively stationary and doesn’t mix as water does. An important question for evaluating soil function in wetlands is where and how many samples must be collected to generate an estimate of soil chemical composition with the desired level of confidence and accuracy. To answer this question we applied geostatistical techniques to the analysis of high-density soil sampling of pools in five wetland projects with a variety of conditions, hydroperiods, vegetation, and soil characteristics. We will summarize the results and explain how they can be used to decide the minimum number of soil samples that should be collected to achieve different levels of accuracy. We will also explain the limitations and give examples of the variation and considerations for applying this to wetland monitoring.

Speakers

Genna Hunt

Lauren Kinsman-Costello

Mary Ellen Klukow

Kent State University

Corbin Kohart

W. Robert Midden

Assoc. Vice Provost, Bowling Green State University

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:15am - 11:30am EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

11:30am EDT

Interpreting Wetland Conditions with Multiple Taxonomic Indices

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 11:45am EDT

In recent decades, aquatic ecosystem conditions have been monitored using a tool known as an index of biotic integrity (IBI). An IBI combines taxon-specific metrics into one score for easy interpretation of ecosystem health. The Great Lakes are an example of a highly monitored ecosystem where the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program (CWMP) uses multiple taxonomic IBIs for assessing conditions in over 1,000 coastal wetlands. The program monitors fishes, macroinvertebrates, birds, and vegetation to get one IBI per taxa group. This method provides us with a more detailed look at wetland conditions, though having multiple IBI scores can cause complications when variation occurs across taxa IBIs. The goal of this study was to develop an approach for understanding cross-taxa IBI variation to better understand wetland conditions. We modeled the four CWMP IBIs against a set of environmental variables to determine influences on IBI scores and variation among IBIs. Our results indicate that each taxonomic group was influenced by a different set of environmental variables. Water level fluctuations, land cover, and local wetland characteristics all influenced each of the taxonomic IBIs in varying ways, which helps explain IBI variation. Understanding the environmental influences on each taxonomic IBI will allow restoration managers to build site-specific restoration targets that better align with ecological objectives.

Speakers

Valerie Brady

Matthew Cooper

Emily Eberly

Grand Valley State University

Carl Ruetz III

Todd Redder

Donald Uzarski

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 11:45am EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

11:45am EDT

Mapping Multi-Decadal Coastal Wetland Responses to Shifting Lake Levels and Invasive Species Pressure

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:45am - 12:00pm EDT

Using a multi-season SAR-optical approach, we mapped historical changes in extents of invasive Phragmites australis and Typha spp. in wetland ecosystems of Lake Huron from circa 1998, 2010, and 2018. Field data on dominant vegetation cover, water depth, and presence of invasive plants from >500 locations were used to train supervised machine learning algorithm Random Forest. We applied hybrid change detection between the map years using radiometric and categorical data. Integrating radiometric change magnitude information, derived from a change vector analysis into traditional categorical change can improve accuracy by reducing commission error. Final hybrid-change layers were used to assess wetland change trends from 1998-2010 and 2010-2018 for the overlapping mapped extents and for coastal wetlands. Change results found from 1998 to 2010 there were decreases in most wetland types (> 8,000 ha) and high conversation to Phragmites (5000 ha increase). From 2010 to 2018, as water levels increased, the trend flipped with wetland areas increasing. Major trends included wetlands shifting type across hydrology zones (shrub to emergent, emergent to floating), wetland conversion to Phragmites, and Phragmites flooding out to open water. Linking our change analysis to the shifting zone of coastal influence allows us to more accurately quantify the gain, loss, and change dynamics in wetland ecotypes.

Speakers

Mike Battaglia

Dorthea Vander Bilt

Michigan Tech Research Institute

Laura Bourgeau-Chavez

Michigan Technological Research Institute

Rachel Gumpper

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:45am - 12:00pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

1:00pm EDT

The Bird-friendliness Index: Assessing wetland restoration impact on Great Lakes marshbirds

Wednesday October 28, 2026 1:00pm - 1:15pm EDT

Quantifying biodiversity outcomes remains one of the greatest challenges in evaluating wetland restoration success. The Bird-Friendliness Index (BFI) was developed as a practical biodiversity indicator that uses bird community composition to assess ecosystem condition by integrating bird abundance, conservation importance, and functional diversity into a standardized metric of habitat quality. Here, we demonstrate application of an adapted marshbird-focused BFI to evaluate wetland restoration outcomes across the Great Lakes region. We highlight two complementary use cases: (1) measuring marshbird response through time following Sustain Our Great Lakes (SOGL) restoration actions; and (2) comparing ecological condition among sites in the Calumet region (Indiana and Illinois). Across applications, the BFI provided an interpretable indicator of wetland bird community condition and allowed restoration outcomes to be evaluated beyond single-species responses. In the Calumet region, restored wetlands exhibited higher marshbird friendliness than sites not yet restored, and longitudinal analyses further illustrate how BFI trajectories can be used to demonstrate positive biodiversity change through time at SOGL-restored sites relative to broader regional variation.

Speakers

Jennifer Fuller

Nicole Michel

Sarah Saunders

Quantitative Ecologist, National Audubon Society

Wednesday October 28, 2026 1:00pm - 1:15pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

1:15pm EDT

Improved Great Lakes marsh bird monitoring using Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs)

Wednesday October 28, 2026 1:15pm - 1:30pm EDT

Marsh birds are important indicators of wetland health, many of which face decline due to wetland loss and degradation. Monitoring is therefore crucial for assessing wetland restoration success, but their secretive nature and inaccessible habitat present challenges. We evaluated whether autonomous recording units (ARUs) combined with deep neural network (DNN) sound recognition software can improve marsh bird detections and occupancy compared to traditional call-broadcast surveys. In collaboration with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and Indiana DNR (IN DNR), we collected and analyzed 60 ARU deployments at 16 sites and four states between 2022-2024, each paired with call-broadcast surveys using the Conway protocol. ARUs recorded for 46 days and recordings were classified using BirdNET Analyzer for 16 focal marsh bird species. We validated fifteen days of recordings for each species using classifier-guided listening. ARUs obtained higher richness than point counts in 65% of point-years and detected species of high conservation concern that point counts did not (e.g., King Rail). ARUs also yielded more detections for use in species-specific occupancy models than point counts due to the longer sampling period. Overall, our results indicate that ARUs can considerably improve marsh bird monitoring and strengthen our assessments of wetland restoration.

Speakers

Stephanie Beilke

Senior Manager, Conservation Science, Audubon Great Lakes

Jennifer F. Fuller

Project Coordinator, National Audubon Society

Andrew Gronewold

Sarah P. Saunders

Sam Schurkamp

Wednesday October 28, 2026 1:15pm - 1:30pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

1:30pm EDT

Dynamic stability in a Great Lakes coastal wetland: Cecil Bay MI, 1971-2020

Wednesday October 28, 2026 1:30pm - 1:45pm EDT

Great Lakes water-level fluctuations drive coastal wetland plant species composition and abundance. Receding levels stimulate seed-bank germination and increase plant diversity, while increasing levels drown flood-intolerant species, reducing diversity. While short-term studies have quantified aspects of these dynamics, long-term studies of natural wetlands undergoing multiple water-level cycles are necessary to clarify plant responses and provide a baseline for predicting future conditions. Nearly every year since 1971, students and researchers based at the University of Michigan Biological Station have collected vegetation and physical data from Cecil Bay, a Great Lakes coastal wetland in the Straits of Mackinac. We examined this unique 50-year vegetation dataset that includes multiple periods of high and low water-levels. We found that the entire marsh maintained a surprisingly stable breadth throughout the 50 years, with consistent emergent plant composition defining the outer wetland. Notably, the conventional models of vegetation change with water-level fluctuation underestimate the tolerance of rhizomatous emergent plants to long-term flooding, a capacity critical for maintaining Great Lakes coastal wetlands. We incorporated our findings into a new conceptual model of Great Lakes coastal wetland vegetation dynamics. This long-term study enhances understanding of the resilience of these remarkably dynamic ecosystems.

Speakers

Dennis A. Albert

Shane C. Lishawa

Loyola University Chicago

Brian G. Scholtens

Wednesday October 28, 2026 1:30pm - 1:45pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

1:45pm EDT

Identifying Ecologically Significant and At-Risk Coastal Wetlands of Lake Ontario

Wednesday October 28, 2026 1:45pm - 2:00pm EDT

Competing land-use demands along the Canadian Lake Ontario Coastal Margin necessitate a strategic approach to coastal wetland conservation, protection, and restoration. This study presents a prioritization assessment of 81 wetlands that can be used to identify coastal wetlands sites in most need of conservation action. Ecological significance and environmental pressure were evaluated by integrating spatial data from the Canadian Baseline Coastal Habitat Survey, Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program, and other available data for the Canadian shoreline of Lake Ontario. Climate change resilience was also assessed using a Coastal Wetland Response Model developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada. This assessment provides a science-based framework for identifying high-priority conservation targets and optimizing the allocation of limited conservation resources.

Speakers

Simon Denomme-Brown

Anders Holder

Canada Water Agency

Richard Kavanagh

Greg Mayne

Pavel Zaretsky

Wednesday October 28, 2026 1:45pm - 2:00pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

2:00pm EDT

What’s happening in there? Using aerial imagery from UAS to monitor coastal wetlands

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 2:15pm EDT

The interior of large coastal wetlands can be difficult to access, making monitoring the presence and extent of wetland vegetation communities/invasives in the wetland problematic. Collecting data on wetland vegetation community composition by way of transects across wetlands in boats or on foot can be challenging and may cause damage to sensitive vegetation or miss features/communities of interest. Small UAS (drones) offer a repeatable way to collect very high spatial resolution, multispectral aerial imagery, documenting presence/extent of species in a wetland without sending research staff into the wetland. UAS-acquired aerial imagery provides high spatial resolution (2 - 5 cm per pixel) imagery of a wetland, which can be collected as needed with no disturbance to sensitive plant communities. It simplifies the coordination of field crews with aerial imagery collection, allowing simultaneous collection of ground reference data and aerial imagery. Object-oriented image classification and expert photointerpretation techniques are applied to create a map of presence and extent of plant communities in the study areas. This presentation offers an application of UAS technology for monitoring plant communities at Little Portage River and Turtle Creek wetlands in the western basin of Lake Erie that are monitored by vegetation crews from the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program.

Speakers

Dr Richard Becker

Dr Lauren Brown

David Dean

The University of Toledo, H2Ohio WMP

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 2:15pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

2:15pm EDT

Great Lakes Geospatial Gaggle

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:15pm - 2:30pm EDT

Gain a comprehensive overview of the geospatial datasets, tools, and technical training resources developed and disseminated by NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and the Digital Coast. Key topics include the development of high-resolution land cover data through the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP), enhanced functionality within the Lake Level Viewer, and the current progress of the hardened shorelines inventory. The session will also examine projects funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative including the U.S. Collaborative Benthic Habitat Mapping Project and recent work on the Wild Rice Project.

Speakers

Brandon Krumwiede

Physical Scientist, NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Brandon Krumwiede is a Physical Scientist at NOAA's Office for Coastal Management in the Science and Geospatial Division. He currently serves as the Great Lakes Regional Geospatial Coordinator and is located in Minnesota. He has been with NOAA for over ten years working on GIS and... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

2:30pm EDT

Delineation of Critical Dunes in Michigan

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:30pm - 2:45pm EDT

The State of Michigan has long recognized the importance of protecting its freshwater sand dunes. In response to development pressures and the recognition of the need to protect especially important dunes, in 1989 the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) designated approximately 74,000 acres of critical dune areas (CDAs) throughout the state that require special protections. From 2024-2026, EGLE contracted with GEI Consultants, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan Technological University, and Michigan State University to update the 1989 CDA atlas. The effort combined desktop reviews and field-based assessments to designate new CDAs, de-designate existing CDAs that no longer meet designation criteria, or correct CDA boundaries based on geomorphological and ecological conditions. This presentation will provide an overview of the methodology used to holistically assess the morphology, coastal processes, impacts, and ecology of Michigan’s sand dunes.

Speakers

Tyler Bassett

Michigan Natural Features Inventory

Zach Chamberlin

Brian Majka

GEI Consultants

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics

2:45pm EDT

Monitoring surface water, inundation and ground water elevation across the Great Lakes Basin

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:45pm - 3:00pm EDT

The overall state of surface water and groundwater systems in the Great Lakes Basin (GLB) remains insufficiently understood to accurately predict water storage and flow across the region. A USGS assessment of GLB science needs (Carl et al. 2021) concluded that limited groundwater quantity and quality information is available to support water-resource management, and that groundwater’s role in the Great Lakes system is largely unknown. Climate change is increasing hydrologic variability, while demands for water for drinking, agriculture, and industry continue to grow. Improving estimates of water storage and movement from the land to the coasts is therefore essential. As part of a broader effort to develop an integrated surface-groundwater hydrologic model for the GLB, this work focuses on monitoring inundation and groundwater dynamics using satellite remote sensing. We present a novel approach for measuring inundation and estimating groundwater level fluctuations across the basin every 12 days using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations. Surface water and wetland extent derived from Sentinel-1 SAR growing-season data (April–October, 2016–2025) are mapped and combined with high-resolution LiDAR elevation models in a wetland connectivity framework to infer groundwater elevations. The resulting surface water, inundation and elevation datasets are openly available through a web viewer to support coastal monitoring and GLB hydrologic model development and calibration.

Speakers

Andrea Albright

Rabecca Bakker

Michigan Tech Research Institute

Michael Billmire

Laura Bourgeau-Chavez

Michigan Technological Research Institute

Jeremy Graham

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
Huron

Ecosystem Monitoring and Metrics