Lake Erie Binational Site

Lakewide Management Plans

Lake Erie Binational Site

December 2009 - Status of Nutrients in the Lake Erie Basin
(PDF 1.47Mb, 42 pages)
Lake Erie LaMP 2008
Lake Erie LaMP 2004 Update
Lake Erie LaMP 2003 Update
(PDF 1.7Mb, 8 pages)
Lake Erie LaMP 2002 Update
Lake Erie LaMP 2000

About one-third of the total population of the Great Lakes basin resides within the Lake Erie watershed. In total, approximately twelve million people live in the watershed, including seventeen metropolitan areas with more than 50,000 residents. The lake provides drinking water for about eleven million of these inhabitants. The general trend over the past ten years has been population growth in the urban areas, while the population in rural areas has been decreasing.

During the 1960s water quality issues in the Great Lakes first became a concern to the general public. Lake Erie was perceived to be "dying" as excessive phosphorus entering the lake resulting in eutrophic conditions. By the late 1960s, Canadian and American regulatory agencies were in agreement that limiting phosphorus loads was the key to controlling excessive algal growth and that a coordinated lakewide approach was necessary to deal with the phosphorus issue. Open lake phosphorus concentrations declined due to the joint efforts made. These controls represented an unprecedented success in producing environmental results through international cooperation.

In 1987 the governments of Canada and the United States made a commitment, as part of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), to develop a Lakewide Management Plan for the Great Lakes. The Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) for Lake Erie is coordinated by federal, state and provincial government agencies in the two countries. Under the guidance of these agencies, the LaMP unites a network of stakeholders in actions to restore and protect the Lake Erie ecosystem. The LaMP provides an opportunity to link their efforts - working towards a common goal - restoring Lake Erie for future generations.

Lake Erie LaMP
Status Report
The Lake Erie LaMP
General information about the LaMP including a Glossary of Common Terms and Acronyms.
Binational Organization
Information about the LaMP structure including jurisdictions represented, the Management Committee, the Work Group and subcommittees reporting to the Work Group
Binational Public Forum
The Lake Erie Binational Public Forum provides input on the Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP).
Beneficial Use Impairment Assessment (BUIA) and BUIA reports
Getting Involved
Information on how you can become involved in the Lake Erie LaMP.
Publications
A collection of products of the Lake Erie LaMP including reports, fact sheets and articles prepared for distribution to newsletters and the media.
Other Links
Easy access to other sites relevant to the Lake Erie LaMP.