Great Lakes: A Resource Under Threat

Canoeing and other recreational activities bring millions of tourism dollars to the Great Lakes each year. © TNC Our Impact People have lived in the Great Lakes region for about 9,000 years. Beginning about 150 years ago, people began making dramatic changes to natural areas. Learn More... Diversity of Life in The Great Lakes Organizations Taking Action   Zebra mussels are perhaps the most famous non-native species impacting the Great Lakes. © Detroit River Center for Great Lakes & Aquatic Sciences

A Vital Resource for People

People living in the Great Lakes basin are inextricably connected to the natural abundance around them. They depend on healthy ecosystems for fresh drinking water, food, flood and drought mitigation, and natural resources that support industry, jobs, shipping and tourism.

The basin’s many habitats enrich the quality of life for millions of people:

• about 37 million people live in basin, and more than 26 million of these people rely on the lakes for drinking water;
• catches for commercial fishing average about 110 million pounds each year;
• lakes and waterways transport goods from the basin to the markets of the world;
• tourists spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year in the basin;
• more than 60 million people annually visit the many parks that dot the lakes’ shores; and
• one-third of the land in the basin is used for agriculture.

Because people are an integral part of nature, it’s important to find solutions that balance society’s needs with ecological concerns. The Conservancy believes that by working together we can conserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life in the Great Lakes.

Threats to The Great Lakes

There is evidence of growing ecological problems in algal blooms, fish consumption advisories and beach closings. These warning signs appear in the water, but the problems begin on the land. A continued loss of habitat and natural systems—wetlands and forests, for example—will cause irreparable damage to Great Lakes biodiversity. And the loss of that biodiversity will mean the loss of the Great Lakes as we know them.

Great Lakes biodiversity suffers increasing pressures from:

• incompatible land use practices;
• changes in water flow patterns;
• harmful, non-native species;
• incompatible resource extraction; and
• climate change.