A biodiversity conservation strategy for Lake Huron

Lake Huron is the fourth largest lake in the world, and has the world’s longest freshwater coastline and collection of freshwater islands.  Numerous globally rare ecosystems, natural communities, and species are associated with Lake Huron.  Experts from agencies, organizations, and academic institutions from the U.S. and Canada were engaged through a series of workshops to inform a comprehensive biodiversity conservation strategy for Lake Huron.  The Conservation Action Planning process was used to develop this strategy using expert input and analysis of the best available information.  The conservation strategy identified focal conservation features that represent the biodiversity of Lake Huron and the status, or viability, of these features.  Across these features, the most significant threats to Lake Huron biodiversity include invasive species, development, climate change, dams, and incompatible agricultural practices.  We report strategies that have been identified to address threats and enhance the viability of the biodiversity features, and recommend how these strategies should be applied in the basin.  We describe the structure of the plan, how the plan will be disseminated, and our vision for implementation.