Detroit River and Western Lake Erie: Restoring to the Future Karen Rodriguez U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office 312-353-2690 [email protected]
Jan 02, 2016
Detroit River and Western Lake Erie:
Restoring to the Future
Detroit River and Western Lake Erie:
Restoring to the Future
Karen Rodriguez
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
312-353-2690
Karen Rodriguez
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
312-353-2690
This country is so temperate, so fertile, so beautiful, that it may be called the earthly paradise of North America.
Antoine de Cadillac 1702Antoine de Cadillac 1702
This country is so temperate, so fertile, so beautiful, that it may be called the earthly paradise of North America.
Antoine de Cadillac 1702Antoine de Cadillac 1702
We—human beings—are part of 'biodiversity.' We are
dependent on the whole food chain down below us
Darrell Merrell, heirloom vegetable farmer
The Great Lakes contain
6 Quadrillion gallons of water
The Great Lakes contain
6 Quadrillion gallons of water
18% of world’s and 95% of North America’s fresh surface water
18% of world’s and 95% of North America’s fresh surface water
Daily,56 billion gallons
of water are used by municipalities,
agriculture, and industry
Daily,56 billion gallons
of water are used by municipalities,
agriculture, and industry
42 million people depend on the Great
Lakes for their drinking water
42 million people depend on the Great
Lakes for their drinking water
World’s largest collection
of freshwater sand dunes
World’s largest collection
of freshwater sand dunes
Persistent harmful chemicals have been an enduring legacy for at least a hundred years, posing a threat to human and wildlife health
Persistent harmful chemicals have been an enduring legacy for at least a hundred years, posing a threat to human and wildlife health
Invasive nuisance species are disrupting the food web and causing billions of dollars in damage to infrastructures such as water intakes. It appears the fishery is being affected
Invasive nuisance species are disrupting the food web and causing billions of dollars in damage to infrastructures such as water intakes. It appears the fishery is being affected
Destruction of habitats such as wetlands and river corridors, is resulting in diminished ecosystem services
Destruction of habitats such as wetlands and river corridors, is resulting in diminished ecosystem services
Great Lakes Regional Collaboration
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
Great Lakes Regional Collaboration
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
Ecosystem services are the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that are part of them, help sustain and fulfill human life.
State-of-the-Art Approaches for Assessment of Great Lakes Nearshore
and Large River Fish Habitat
• Rivers—lack of real time monitoring; channel habitat data; large river floodplains
• Nearshore—no comprehensive survey of bathymetry, substrate and vegetation; no uniform classification system across the basin
Habitat Modification• Rehabilitation emphasizes the reparation of ecosystem
processes, productivity and services, not pre-existing integrity
• Reclamation, usually applied to mining, is the stabilization of the terrain, assurance of public safety, aesthetic improvement, and usually a return of the land to what, within the regional context, is considered to be a useful purpose
• Mitigation is an action that is intended to compensate environmental damage
• Creation is conducted as mitigation on terrain that is entirely devoid of vegetation
• Ecological engineering involves manipulation of natural materials, living organisms and the physical-chemical environment to achieve specific human goals and solve technical problems
• Ecological restoration is the process of assisting with the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed
• Ecological restoration is the process of assisting with the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed
What is ecological restoration?What is ecological restoration?
Habitat restoration timelineHabitat restoration timeline• Sources controlled• Sites restored• On a trajectory to full
recovery
• Sources controlled• Sites restored• On a trajectory to full
recovery
Full recoveryFull recovery
Long term monitoringLong term monitoringRestoration activities
Restoration activities
On the road to recoveryOn the road to recoveryTrajectory Trajectory
What interventions are employed in ecological restoration?
What interventions are employed in ecological restoration?
• Interventions employed in ecological restoration vary widely among projects and programs
– Removal or modification of a specific disturbance
– Deliberate reintroduction of native species
– Facilitate the resumption of those processes which will return the ecosystem to its intended trajectory
• Interventions employed in ecological restoration vary widely among projects and programs
– Removal or modification of a specific disturbance
– Deliberate reintroduction of native species
– Facilitate the resumption of those processes which will return the ecosystem to its intended trajectory
• Ecological restoration may include the recovery of indigenous ecological management practices, including support for the cultural survival of indigenous people and their languages as living libraries of ecological knowledge
• What makes ecological restoration especially inspiring is that cultural practices and ecological processes can be mutually reinforcing
• Ecological restoration may include the recovery of indigenous ecological management practices, including support for the cultural survival of indigenous people and their languages as living libraries of ecological knowledge
• What makes ecological restoration especially inspiring is that cultural practices and ecological processes can be mutually reinforcing
Indigenous ecological managementIndigenous ecological management
What is meant by “recovery” in ecological restoration?
What is meant by “recovery” in ecological restoration?
• An ecosystem has recovered - and is restored - when it contains sufficient biotic and abiotic resources to continue its development without further assistance or subsidy
• An ecosystem has recovered - and is restored - when it contains sufficient biotic and abiotic resources to continue its development without further assistance or subsidy
Ft. Erie, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority Ft. Erie, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
BeforeBefore AfterAfter
Degenerating System
Conventional Practice ‘One step better than breaking the law’ (Croxton)
Regenerating System
More energy required Less stable
Less energy required More stable
Green LEED, Green Globe, GB tool, etc.
Sustainable Natural – 100% less bad’ (McDonough)Technologies
Techniques
Fragmented
Monoculture
Restorative Humans doing things to nature – assisting the evolution of sub-
systems
Regenerative Humans participating as
nature – Co-evolution of the Whole System
Living Systems Understanding
Whole Systems
Relationships
Understanding
Diversity
Reciprocity
Trajectory of Environmental Design (Reed, 2006; Modified by Bowers, 2007)
Restoring to the future requires:
• Understanding ecosystems• Development and use of appropriate tools• Linking ecological restoration and economic
development• Sharing information• Partnerships
The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river
Ross Perot
Alan Levere, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
A river is the report card for its watershed
When we save a river, we save a major part of an ecosystem, and we save ourselves as well because of our dependence—physical, economic, spiritual—on the water and its community of life
Tim Palmer, The Wild and Scenic Rivers of America
Thank you to the following for use of their photographs:
Suzan Cambell
Mary Bohling
David Howell
Brenda Jones
Molly Thompson
Paul Labus
Ben Legler
Thank you to the following for use of their photographs:
Suzan Cambell
Mary Bohling
David Howell
Brenda Jones
Molly Thompson
Paul Labus
Ben Legler
Karen RodriguezU.S. Environmental Protection AgencyGreat Lakes National Program Office312-353-2690; [email protected]