Book Description

"In October 1994, the governments of the United States and Canada convened the first State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC '94). The conference was designed to further the purpose of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada, which aims to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. Background papers prepared for the conference and discussions that occurred at SOLEC '94 are summarized in a document prepared by the U.S. and Canadian governments titled "State of the Great Lakes 1995" (EC and EPA 1995). A second, follow-up conference (SOLEC '96) scheduled for fall 1996 is designed to focus more intensively on the status of the Great Lakes coastal ecosystem, which includes the coastal shorelands, coastal wetlands, and coastal or nearshore waters. A major objective of SOLEC '96 is to examine the effects of human activity--and particularly land use practices--on the coastal ecosystem. The present paper is designed to provide background information that will facilitate discussion of the status of the nearshore waters element of Great Lakes coastal ecosystems"--Introd., p. 5.