Science and monitoring guide recovery of fisheries in the St. Clair-Detroit River system

Session: Great Lakes Fish Habitat Priorities Development, Implementation, and Adaptive Management (3)

Edward Roseman, USGS-Great Lakes Science Center, [email protected]
James Boase, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, [email protected]
Justin Chiotti, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, [email protected]
Robin DeBruyne, Univ. of Toledo / USGS Great Lakes Sci. Ctr, [email protected]
Richard Drouin, MNRF, [email protected]
Roger Knight, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, [email protected]
Todd Wills, Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources, [email protected]

Abstract

The St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS) contains the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River connecting Lake Huron to Lake Erie in the densely populated Detroit/Windsor metropolitan areas. Losses of fish habitat and other perturbations resulted in the designation of portions of the SCDRS as Great Lakes Areas of Concern with loss of fish habitat and degradation of fish populations identified as  Beneficial Use Impairments.  Efforts to remediate and delist this BUI have focused on restoring habitat for native fishes and overall aquatic ecosystem health. To date, investigations have focused on site-specific effectiveness of restored habitats with only a few long-term aquatic community assessments. While these investigations have done well to provide site-specific validation of the success of individual restoration projects, they lack a credible long-term measure of fish population trajectory in response to habitat improvements. As part of a collaborative initiative, we implemented a scientific strategy for coordinated research and monitoring that incorporates a long-term vision for ecosystem recovery to measure the response of the system to restoration. Our approach capitalizes on the collective impact concept to measure progress and make efficient use of resources available for restoration.