The Great Lakes – A Freshwater Coastal Environment

Park Total Area - hectares (acres) Coastal Zone Coastal Area - hectares (acres) Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 28,086 (69,372) 0.25 mi 10,899 (26,932) Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore 6,073 (15,000) 100 yards241 (597) Isle Royale National Park 231,494 (571,790) 4.5 mi 175,576 (433,857) Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore 28,906 (71,397) 0.25 mi 2,458 (60,783) Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 28,821 (71,189) 0.25 mi 4,249 (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