Science in action: examples from Lake Simcoe and the Great Lakes

Session: 22. - How to Talk Science so Policy will Listen, and Listen so Science will Talk?

Jennifer Winter, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Env. Monitoring & Reporting Branch, [email protected]
Michelle Palmer, Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, [email protected]
Carolyn Switzer, Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, [email protected]
Mary Thorburn, ON Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, [email protected]

Abstract

As government scientists we strive to contribute to informed environmental management and policy decisions. Scientific research and monitoring play a particularly integral role in informing the actions we take to protect our water. Our recent Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe Protection Acts support an ecosystem and adaptive management approach. Through legislation and associated strategies and plans, they mandate the continuation or enhancement of monitoring programs and the promotion and implementation of research projects that build upon existing science to continually inform management decisions. The resultant collaborative and adaptive approaches to monitoring, research and management have been extremely productive, and a number of achievements have been made. In Lake Simcoe, for example, we’ve seen improvements in deepwater dissolved oxygen and the coldwater fish community. However continued work is needed in the face of ongoing and new stressors. In this presentation, we will provide examples of successes in the use of science to inform policy and management decisions for Lake Simcoe and the Great Lakes, and highlight lessons learned.

1. Keyword
decision making

2. Keyword
Lake Simcoe

3. Keyword
watersheds