Investigators

• J. David Allan, University of Michigan
• Sigrid Smith, University of Michigan
• Peter McIntyre, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Project summary

In Phase I of the Great Lakes Environmental Assessment and Mapping Project (GLEAM), a diverse team of researchers evaluated multiple stressors affecting the Great Lakes ecosystem. They merged spatial data layers representing all major categories of stressors to the Great Lakes into a single map of cumulative stress, which can be used to assess stressor impacts at locations with significant human benefits and to evaluate conservation and restoration opportunities.

In GLEAM Phase II, the project team will:

• Incorporate additional stressor layers into the cumulative map, providing a more complete assessment of stressors affecting the Great Lakes.
• Develop lake-specific assessments of stressors, enabling resource managers to visualize stressors at more relevant scales.
• Develop a portfolio of candidate restoration areas based on multiple characteristics of the cumulative analysis, providing a new guidance tool to help focus restoration efforts through a well-vetted, transparent and repeatable process.
• Evaluate interactions among stressors that may amplify or mitigate their influence, improving understanding about how these interactions change both restoration site recommendations and restoration outcomes.

Mapping Ecosystem Services and Economic Data to Inform Restoration Priorities in the Great Lakes