Regional River Management: Recent developments in the Great Lakes Basin M. J. Wiley & M. Omair School of Natural Resources and Environment University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Why are we here? To learn about research and conservation activities in the Gangan Basin To explore possibilities of collaborative research focusing on River Ecosystem Management

Crop Developed Forest Shrubland Grassland Barren Land cover within 5km of the river Percent Ganga Watershed St. Lawrence Watershed Land cover within 5km of the river Percent Crop Developed Forest Shrubland Grassland Barren

Regional River Management: Recent developments in the Great Lakes Basin 1.Ecosystem Management Approach : Collaborative, Interdisciplinary, Cross-institutional 2.Classification frameworks for regional Ecological Inventory, Modeling & Assessment The ecological complexity of large river systems and the many, inter-related impacts of our own societies on this ecology, make practical management and restoration activities in large rivers

Ecosystem Management Approach: Cross-institutional, interdisciplinary research Collaborative, Stake-holder sensitive Planning and Management {Bi-lateral treaties and management activities (Canada-U.S.)} Inter-University science supported by state agencies and private foundations Inter-State collaborations with Federal support: Fisheries Agencies MI,WI,IL, USGS Great Lakes Aquatic Geographic Analysis Program (AGAP) Strong involvement of local Citizens, NGO’s, and other stakeholders Laurentian (Great Lakes) and Gangan Basin Researchers? Some examples:

2. Ecological Classification frameworks for regional Ecological Inventory, Modeling and Assessment Michigan Rivers Inventory VSEC units MAP 280 main stem river segments and tributary units [mri-vsec v1.0]

What is Ecological Classification? Hydrologic character Biological character Chemical character Identifying the “fundamental units of nature” (Tansley 1935) Geomorphic character Integrated multi-factor [Ecological] Character of a River Segment

Structural Ecosystem Units The relatively homogeneous river segments we encounter having distinctive biology, temperature, chemistry, etc.; Valley Segment Ecological Unit = Biogeocoenose = Ecosystem type these are local structural expressions of functional watershed units structural and functional units of river ecosystems Functional Ecosystem Units Watersheds { = Landscape (Regional) ecosystems? }

Raisin River mainstem units

Au Sable River mainstem units

Lake Michigan Tributary Systems Basin-wide hydrologic assessment of classification units useful for regional fisheries resource And water quality planning Example applications: regional inventory

Example application: River Otter (Kotanchik 1997) MDNR Trapping record PCB threshold Hg threshold

Otter and contaminant data aligned on MRI-VSEC segments Otters present high trapping success PCB contaminated Hg contaminated both

Logistic modeling of Otter distribution Logistic Regression Results Prediction success: 83% Primary predictors: - Extreme hydrologies - PCB contamination - Urban development - Ag development + conifer forests Using moderls to plan restoration

Landcover alterations pose a major threat to aquatic ecosystems in the Great Lakes Basin Modeling timelines for 3-State EPA-STAR project. GIS maps based on original GLO surveys, Current Air photo, and Neural Net (LTM) projections for the future.

Our goal is to use MREMS to evaluate the risks and benefits of alternate land and water management strategies in a spatially explicit way. A 2002 conference with regional Stakeholders developed specific management scenarios for evaluation. Issues of concern identified by stakeholders in Muskegon River Partnership meetings include: (1) Negative effects of development and urbanization; (2) Increasing bank erosion and sedimentation (3) Impacts of power and recreational impoundments Integrated, GIS-linked Computer modeling provides one tool for regional river-based planning and management: Muskegon River example

MREMS VSEC Modeling framework Valley Segment Ecological Classification Unit (Seelbach et al. 1997) All modeling input & output is referenced to the VSEC channel units map and can be displayed in GIS format

An illustration, from the current Muskegon River study, of our method for linking valley scale ecological classification (VSEC) units to landscape sensitive models. A.. Sample sites are used to represent the entire VSEC unit they occur in, based on the mapping objective of ecological homogeneity. B.VSEC unit ID # is used to geo-reference and query the associated catchment, buffers, site databases etc. C. Query results are used as inputs for regional models of relevant processes as illustrated here for soluble phosphate load. All segments are processed simultaneously in a matrix modeling environment. Once modeling is completed predicted results are mapped back into the GIS using the VSEC spatial framework. Coupled to changing input data sources on landcover distributions, this process can generate both forecasts and hind-casts of ecological status.

past present future River classification based assessment and modeling techniques retain high spatial resolution across large regional assessments, and are being used by The Nature Conservancy to map the entire Great Lakes Basin for conservation planning; by the USGS Aquatic GAP Program for the Great Lakes Basin; also in a new Three-State Regional Assessment Project; and in Muskegon River Basin Initiative. Soluble P per day at high flow (g/d)

The same modeling approaches can be used to organize and interpret biological resource inventories and to identify future risks to river biodiversity

Why are we here? To learn about research and management activities in the Gangan Basin To explore possibilities of collaborative research on River ecosystem management

Generalized Methodology Inventory and Data compilation Landscape analysis leading to regional modeling Ecological Classification Modeling of reference condition Status Assessment Risk Assessment

An illustration, from the current Muskegon River study, of our method for linking valley scale ecological classification (VSEC) units to landscape sensitive models. A.. Sample sites are used to represent the entire VSEC unit they occur in, based on the mapping objective of ecological homogeneity. B.VSEC unit ID # is used to geo-reference and query the associated catchment, buffers, site databases etc. C. Query results are used as inputs for regional models of relevant processes as illustrated here for soluble phosphate load. All segments are processed simultaneously in a matrix modeling environment. Once modeling is completed predicted results are mapped back into the GIS using the VSEC spatial framework. Coupled to changing input data sources on landcover distributions, this process can generate both forecasts and hind-casts of ecological status.