The Great Lakes – A Freshwater Coastal Environment

ParkTotal Area -

hectares (acres)

Coastal ZoneCoastal Area

- hectares (acres)

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

28,086 (69,372)

0.25 mi10,899

(26,932)

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

6,073 (15,000)

100 yards 241 (597)

Isle Royale National Park231,494

(571,790)4.5 mi

175,576 (433,857)

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

28,906 (71,397)

0.25 mi2,458

(60,783)

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

28,821 (71,189)

0.25 mi4,249

(10,502)

Total Benthic Area Great Lakes Parks

   193,423 (532,671)

Benthic Habitat in Great Lakes Parks

Other Water-Based Parks

• Voyageur’s National Park, 30,154 ha of lake area

• Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, 421 km of river length

• Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, 123 km of river length

• Other Midwest Region Parks?

Benthic Habitat Mapping Needs

• Bathymetry• Geology• Substrate• Aquatic Macrophytes• Diatoms, Plankton• Water Column Dynamics – Stratification,

Currents, Estuaries• Shipwrecks and other archeological sites

• Lake trout spawning reefs• Near shore fish habitat• Beach/sand/longshore drift• Lake currents• Erosion/sedimentation • Geology/Limnology• Lake circulation• Sediment transport

Benthic Habitat Analysis

Park Specific Needs

• Highest priority – Cladophora algae/Driessena Mussel – Bathymetry will be available later this year for the Manitou Islands. Nearshore nutrient/carbon cycles related to quagga mussel, Dreissena bugensis , zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha

• Nearshore fish inventory – APIS, PIRO, ISRO, cooperative agreements with USGS and USFWS

• Lake Trout Spawning Reefs – Study Distinct Genetic Populations

• Mapping of coastal areas is currently underway on the Great Lakes

• Coverage includes 1km lakeward, 500m landward of shoreline

• 5m bathymetric, 1m terrestrial DEM, depth to roughly 2.5x secchi disk depth

• National I&M Program has contributed $860,000 to provide complete coverage of waters within NPS jurisdiction

• All data will be available by Spring 2009

USACE CHARTS Program – LiDAR Bathymetry

Bathymetric LiDAR mapping completed for NPS areas in 2007, data available later this summer

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 70% Complete

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Manitou Islands completed

Analysis of LiDAR Bathymetry

• Map Products • Substrate – Ground Truthing• Landform Assessment• Geologic Structure• Shoreline• Fish Habitat• Plant Communities