Huron-Erie Corridor: Engaging stakeholders at the science-management interface

Session: Great Lakes Tributaries: Connecting Land and Lakes (3)

Jennifer Read, University of Michigan Water Center, [email protected]
Lynn Vaccaro, University of Michigan Water Center, [email protected]
Donald Scavia, University of Michigan, [email protected]
Robert Goodspeed, University of Michigan, [email protected]

Abstract

Many research efforts are addressing Lake Erie’s chronic algae and hypoxia problems. The impact of policy-relevant research will depend on how well research teams understand the policy drivers and integrate stakeholder concerns. Since January 2016 a multi-disciplinary team has worked with a large, bi-national and multi-sectoral advisory group to characterize and assess the Huron-Erie Corridor/Detroit River watershed nutrient load to Lake Erie, and consider options to address it. The advisory group includes representation from federal, state/provincial and local agencies, members of the agricultural and environmental NGO communities, and a variety of technical experts, most of whom are engaged in developing policy or management strategies for addressing Lake Erie nutrient pollution. Advisory group input and feedback has shaped every aspect of our project from identification and refinement of research questions; to providing data, ground-truthing model input and outputs; and advising on land use and other management strategies to test. We will provide an overview of the advisory group engagement process, describe how the group’s input informed the next four papers in this mini-session, and wrap up with a reflection on the value of this kind of engaged research from the perspectives of Advisory Group and research team members.