We’ve heard of the dangers associated with introducing Asian carp to the Great Lakes.
But a group of scientists is finding there are more and more dangers putting the Lake Huron ecosystem under stress.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada has issued a new report called “The Sweetwater Sea: Strategies for Conserving Lake Huron Biodiversity.”
Conservation Science Manager Dan Kraus says if the recommendations made in the report aren’t done within the next 10 to 15 years, we may lose the chance to preserve our lake.
Kraus says stopping the introduction of Asian Carp and other invasive species is a first step.
He says to do that, there needs to be better controls over ships coming from foreign waters, and better planning guidelines are needed on how we manage our coast.
Kraus says the top areas of concern are the Bruce Peninsula and the southeast shores of Lake Huron, because of the numerous threats to the high level of fish and wildlife diversity.
Kraus says an uncontrollable factor is climate change — but not just because it could affect the lake levels.
He says we are getting more severe storms more often, almost every five to ten years, and that causes pieces of the land to wash into the lake, affecting water and beach quality.
One solution is to put buffers around lakes and streams to stop this from happening.
The report has taken two years to compile, and it has been a collaborative effort between many conservation, environmental, agricultural, and aboriginal groups.
