The role of monitoring data in coastal wetland restoration: Case studies from Duluth and Green Bay

Session: Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands: Innovative Research to Improve Restoration (1)

Valerie Brady, Natural Resource Research Inst., University of Minnesota Duluth, vbrady@d.umn.edu
Matthew Cooper, Northland College, Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, mcooper@northland.edu
Gerald Niemi, University of Minnesota-Duluth, gniemi@d.umn.edu
Holly Wellard Kelly, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, hwellard@d.umn.edu
Josh Dumke, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, jddumke@d.umn.edu
Nicholas Danz, University of Wisconsin-Su, ndanz@uwsuper.edu
Robert Howe, UW-Green Bay, hower@uwgb.edu

Abstract

In 2011 the USEPA began funding the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program (CWMP) to routinely determine the biotic condition of Great Lakes coastal wetlands. This consortium of research teams surveys birds, fish, macroinvertebrates, plants and water quality in 1000 coastal wetlands basin-wide in each five-year cycle. These data are being used as a baseline to prioritize wetlands for restoration, set restoration targets, evaluate restoration outcomes, and to detect new forms of degradation.  We highlight this work through case studies in the St. Louis River estuary, Lake Superior, and Green Bay, Lake Michigan. The St. Louis River Area of Concern is on track for removal from this “most polluted” list by 2025 and the restoration team is working on a number of degraded locations within the estuary. Their “remediation-to-restoration” strategy specifies that remediation (e.g., cleanup of toxics) leads seamlessly into restoration at each location (e.g., returning a site to a wetland state). At Green Bay sites, restoration goals include control of Phragmites, exclusion of carp, promotion of shorebird nesting, and promotion of northern pike spawning. Despite these varied objectives, all are using the basin-wide monitoring program to support restoration planning, set restoration targets, and/or evaluate restoration outcomes.