Board recognized March, 2009

Each year, millions of anglers fish on over 40,000 inland lakes across the Upper Midwest, seeking recreation, food, and the opportunity to catch “the big one”. These lakes, which were naturally formed by glaciers, are essential in supporting biodiversity, including the many threatened and endangered species that live in them. Fish populations in Midwest glacial lakes are dependent upon the healthy habitats that lakes provide, allowing them to grow, reproduce, and thrive. Stress from human development along lake shorelines, water quality decline driven by development and agriculture in watersheds, changing climate, invasive species, and many other factors threaten these fish populations. The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership was created in 2009 to coordinate and improve the conservation of fish habitat in the over 40,000 lakes across the Upper Midwest.
The MGLP’s partners work together to protect, rehabilitate, and enhance sustainable fish habitats in glacial lakes of the Midwest United States for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. MGLP partners include the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; the United States Forest Service; the state natural resource agencies in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; national nonprofit organizations such as The Nature Conservancy; universities; and stakeholder organizations.

The MGLP accomplishes its conservation measures through four overarching strategies, which are:
• Conduct scientific assessments to determine the condition and threats to fish habitats.
• Enable partners to complete on-the-ground habitat conservation projects through grant funding provided by the partnership.
• Conduct education and outreach to improve understanding and spark action resulting in fish habitat conservation.
• Provide a forum for those seeking inland lake fish habitat conservation to share strategies and resources.

To learn more about the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership, visit the partnership website and sign up for our ~quarterly newsletter.

Contact

Joe Nohner
Coordinator
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
NohnerJ@michigan.gov