Resources

For migratory birds, stopover sites provide essential food resources during a part of the life-cycle when at least some species suffer relatively high mortality. Stopover habitat has been neglected in many conservation efforts to protect migratory birds, in part because habitats are used for a short time and use can vary depending on many factors that are independent of the characteristics of the site, such as weather conditions during migration. This short and variable window of habitat use makes the process of identifying important areas to protect very challenging.

Bathymetry of the Great Lakes has been compiled as a component of a NOAA project to rescue Great Lakes lake floor geological and geophysical data and make it more accessible to the public. The project is a cooperative effort between investigators at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) was compiled utilizing the entire historic sounding database.

The Minnesota Department of Health provides GIS shapefiles on drinking water protection area, as well sampling results of manganese, radionuclides, nitrates.

The Minnesota Source Water Assessment Program allows users to access Source Water Assessment reports for Minnesota communities.

Great Lakes coastal wetlands can be separated into three specific systems based on their dominant hydrologic source and current hydrologic connectivity to the lake. These systems are different than those defined by the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). NWI defines three systems, Lacustrine, Riverine, and Palustrine.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) is a bi-national treaty designed to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Waters of the Great Lakes. Lakewide Management Plans (LAMPs) result from Annex 2 of the 2012 GLWQA to contribute to the achievement of the and Specific Objective of this Agreement by assessing the status of each Great Lake, and by addressing environmental stressors that adversely affect the Waters of the Great Lakes which are best addressed on a lakewide scale through an ecosystem approach.

Western Lake Erie is the shallowest, warmest and most biodiverse region in the Great Lakes. Though highly valued for its diversity, world-renowned fishing and migratory bird- watching opportunities, long-term conservation efforts are challenged by coastal development, impaired hydrologic connectivity, phosphorus inputs, and invasive species. This vision document outlines locations in the Western Lake Erie basin where focused conservation investments can optimize benefits to people and nature.

Working with partners, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service uses a range of conservation tools to "recover" endangered and threatened species to ensure that they are secure members of their ecosystems. These tools include restoring and acquiring habitat, removing introduced animal predators or invasive plant species, conducting surveys, monitoring individual populations, and breeding species in captivity and releasing them into their historic range.

eCoastal Tools is a user-friendly toolbox that provides an interface for retrieving and analyzing data for coastal engineering projects. The eCoastal ArcMap toolbars include the following product features: Survey Tools, Profile Loader, and Sediment Budget Analysis System.