Scientists Say Action Needed to Reverse Great Lakes Breakdown 

The "immune" system of the Great Lakes is breaking down and the ecosystem is in danger of collapse, according to a new report released by the region’s leading scientists. 

The paper reports that the Great Lakes buffering capacity is breaking down, rendering ineffective the self-regulating system of the lakes to protect themselves and recover from new stresses like pollution and invasive species. The paper, “Prescription for Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection and Restoration: Avoiding the Tipping Point of Irreversible Changes,” claims that despite progress in some areas, the Great Lakes are exhibiting a number of disturbing symptoms that led the scientists to conclude they may be on the verge of a breakdown. Some of these problems include: the increasing number of beach closings caused by bacteria contamination, the rapid disappearance of diporeia – a key fish food - that has severely disrupted the food chain, the resurgence of the Lake Erie “dead zone,” and the widespread and sudden decline in native fish such as yellow perch. http://www.restorethelakes.org/mediaadvisory.html 

In mid-December, the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) published the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy that will serve as a blueprint for prioritizing future actions to restore and enhance the lakes. The GLRC signed a resolution to accelerate cleanup of contaminated sediment, return another 200,000 acres of wetlands to ecological health in equal partnership with the states, reduce the spread of invasive species and make beaches cleaner.  http://www.glrc.us/strategy.html