[cseb national] EBR: Environmental Objectives for Lake Huron


EBR Registry Number: PB05E3001 Type of Posting: Policy Ministry: Natural Resources Status of Posting: Proposal Date Proposal Loaded: 2005/03/16 Comment Period: 30 day(s)

Written submissions may be made between March 16, 2005 and April 15, 2005.






NOTICE OF PROPOSAL FOR POLICY

© Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2005

This notice was published to the Environmental Registry on March 16, 2005.

This notice was republished February 13, 2006 to advise the public that there has been no change to the status of this proposal and it is still being considered. An update is anticipated in Fall 2006. No additional opportunity for comment is being provided for at this time.






Proposal Title:

Environmental Objectives for Lake Huron





Short Description:

To better facilitate the cooperative management of fisheries resources in the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) proposed A Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries (GLFC 1994). Included in the Joint Plan was a directive for all Lake Committees to develop Fish Community Objectives for each lake. The Fish Community Objectives would describe a “desirable” fish community based upon accepted ecological concepts and guiding principles. To further facilitate and support these efforts, development of Environmental Objectives describing the biological, chemical and physical needs of desired fish communities was also considered a critical step in the successful implementation of the Joint Plan. The revised Joint Plan (GLFC 1997) further reaffirmed and expanded on the need for developing Environmental Objectives.

The Fish Community Objectives for Lake Huron were completed in 1995 (DesJardine et al. 1995). With funding from the GLFC, the development of Environmental Objectives for Lake Huron was initiated in 2002. The task of developing Environmental Objectives for Lake Huron was delegated by the Lake Huron Committee to the Environmental Objectives Working Group of the Lake Huron Technical Committee. The Environmental Objectives Working Group, comprised of provincial, state, tribal and federal agency representatives, was responsible for coordinating the Environmental Objectives development process. Using a series of expert workshops and working group sessions, a draft Environmental Objectives for Lake Huron report was completed in January of 2004.

The draft Environmental Objectives for Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay and the North Channel, summarize the major environmental impediments to achieving Fish Community Objectives. In many cases desirable endpoints for environmental conditions are not quantified due to a lack of information or incomplete knowledge of environment/fish community relationships. However, the identification of environmental factors affecting fish community structure and function will provide awareness and direction for future inquiries into environmental impacts. A total of four environmental objectives were identified: spawning and nursery habitats, shoreline processes, food-web structure and exotics, and water quality. Each draft environmental objective was accompanied with background information, description of issues, a summary of historic and current information, a selection of priority management areas, and information needs as well as recommendations for future actions.

The draft Environmental Objectives report was approved by the Lake Huron Committee in March of 2004 in its draft form. The Lake Huron Committee recommended that the draft Environmental Objectives report undergo public consultation and review by both state and provincial jurisdictions prior to the approval of a final document.





Purpose of the Proposal:

To initiate the process of identifying and addressing environmental impediments to achieving Fish Community Objectives for Lake Huron.





Other Relevant Information:

The web-links which appear below provide additional information on the following:

- Great Lakes Fishery Commission website - Draft Environmental Objectives for Lake Huron
- Great Lakes Fishery Commission website - Fish Community Objectives for Lake Huron
- Great Lakes Fishery Commission website - Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries






Other Public Consultation:

The Environmental Objectives Working Group drew upon the expertise of agency representatives that are directly involved with fisheries management. However, since the Environmental Objectives involve an ecosystem approach, the participation of other agencies, organizations and individual ecosystem specialists have played a critical supporting and advisory role. Further review by additional resource agency representatives and stakeholders will be required before the draft Environmental Objectives are finalized.

The Lake Huron Binational partnership, comprised of representatives from environmental, natural resources and research agencies, have reviewed the draft Environmental Objectives and supported the production of an Environmental Objectives fact sheet for Lake Huron. This fact sheet provides an overview of the draft Environmental Objectives with additional information on the availability of other environmental information for the Lake Huron basin. A copy of the fact sheet can be obtained from the MNR Upper Great Lakes Management Unit, Lake Huron Office, upon request.

The public is invited to review and submit their comments on the draft Environmental Objectives for Lake Huron.





Comments should be directed to the following Contact Person:

Arunas Liskauskas, Management Biologist
MNR Upper Great Lakes Management Unit, Lake Huron Office
1450 Seventh Avenue East
Owen Sound, Ontario, N4K 2Z1
PHONE: (519) 371-5927  FAX: (519) 371-5844





Additional material in support of this notice is available by clicking the following hyperlink(s):

http://www.glfc.org/research/reports/Liskauskas.pdf
http://www.glfc.org/pubs/SpecialPubs/Sp95_1.pdf
http://www.glfc.org/fishmgmt/coor_mgt.asp
All comments will be considered as part of the decision-making by the Ministry if they:
are submitted in writing;
reference the EBR Registry number; and
are received by the Contact person within the specified comment period.


Please Note: No acknowledgment or individual response will be provided to those who comment. All comments and submissions received will become part of the public record.
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