What Animals Are Found In The Huron Lake Watershed

Lake Huron has the largest watershed expanse and the longest shoreline of all the Corking Lakes. Information technology is the 2d largest of the Great Lakes by surface area, third largest past volume, and the fifth largest lake in the world. Four interacting bodies of h2o make up Lake Huron; the Northward Aqueduct, Georgian Bay, Main Basin, and Saginaw Bay (Michigan). Lake Huron is unique amongst the Slap-up Lakes as information technology receives much of its h2o from two other large lakes; Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Each hour, approximately five.four billion litres of h2o flows from Lake Michigan through the Straits of Mackinac. Another 8 billion liters of water flows from Lake Superior through the St. Marys River. The watershed itself contributes well-nigh 10.four billion liters of water from the surrounding land and streams.

If you emptied the water in Lake Huron on to the land of its watershed, it would cover the state to a depth of over 25 meters (85 feet).

Lake Huron past the Numbers

• Surface surface area: 59,565 km²
• Volume: 3,538 km³
• Boilerplate depth: 59 m
• Retentiveness/replacement time: 22 years
• Shoreline length: six,164km
• Watershed surface area: 134,100 km²
• Ontario drainage basin area: 91,100 sq. km.

• Georgian Bay (fifteen,000 km²) and Saginaw Bay (2,771 km²) are two of the largest Great Lakes bays
• The St. Marys River (119.nine km) drops seven.0 m (23 ft)
• Georgian Bay was the first of the Great Lakes waters to exist discovered by French explorers.

The features and land use activities in the watershed differ significantly between the north and south and directly influence the water chemistry, water quantity, and overall h2o quality. The rocky shores associated with the Precambrian shield encompass the northern and eastern shores of Georgian Bay and the Northward Channel. Limestone dominates the shores of Manitoulin Island (the largest freshwater island in the world), the northern shore of the Bruce Peninsula and the north shore likewise as Lake Huron'southward mid-lake reefs. The Lake Huron basin is heavily forested in the north with some of the largest tracts of Great-Lakes St. Lawrence mixed-woods forest that provide disquisitional habitat to a various array of constitute communities and wildlife. Virtually of the xxx,000 islands that dot the lake are plant in the north and create circuitous shorelines with shallow warm waters that back up some of the almost abundant and pristine littoral wetlands in the Great Lakes Basin.

In the south, glacial deposits of sand, gravel, and till predominate. Much of the Bruce Peninsula and the southeast shore of the Main Basin are dominated by agricultural country apply (e.g., field crops) and back up many beef and dairy farms. Shorelines here are home to some of the longest freshwater beaches in the world (Wasaga and Sauble) with fragile dune systems and rare and endangered species. Important remnants of Carolinian woods are found in the southern-most portion of the watershed. The Carolinian ecozone contains 2,200 plant, lxx tree and 400 bird species too as a third of Canada's rare and endangered species; many of which are not found anywhere else in Canada. Over the past 250 years of development, the Carolinian forest has been reduced to a small portion of its original area.

Throughout the Canadian watershed, approximately 1,334 streams deed as conduits for drainage waters, nutrients, and sediment from the watershed to the lake. Major Canadian Rivers include the St. Marys, Spanish, French, Nottawasaga, Beaver, Sauble, Saugeen, Maitland, and Ausable. Common cold and warm headwater streams contribute to biodiversity and the health and office of Lake Huron. Rivers and streams are highly vulnerable to land use changes, re-applied science and in rural areas, livestock access.

What lies beneath Lake Huron is equally impressive. Thousands of shoals, knolls, and deep basins and channels are associated with glacial scouring activity. Scattered throughout the lake are hundreds of shipwrecks that reveal a rich maritime history; many of which are found in shallow waters of the Bruce Peninsula virtually Tobermory. These portals into Lake Huron's history invite residents and visitors to explore the diverse natural and cultural history of the lake.

Early on History & Settlement

Lake Huron's fundamental location within the Great Lakes has long made information technology an ideal location for man settlement and trade. Ethnic people served equally some of the earliest caretakers of the country and water of Lake Huron, interim on the conventionalities that water is life and part of an interconnected web that must be treated with the utmost respect and care. Evidence of a long Indigenous People'south history is found beneath Lake Huron on the Alpena-Amberley Ridge, where researchers discovered ancient caribou hunting structures used by inhabitants over 9000 years ago. The Anishinaabeg/Anishinabek people ("The Original People) take used their traditional territories for as long as xv,000 years; living and moving throughout the landscape that would have been considerably different than present day. In the southern portions of the watershed, the Wendat (Wendake, or Huron Nation) resided in large palisaded villages of x,000-30,000 inhabitants with sophisticated agricultural systems.

When the early French explorers, Samuel de Champlain and Étienne Brûlé, arrived on the shores of Georgian Bay in 1615, they named this vast water trunk 50a Mer Douce (the Sweetwater Sea). Brûlé traveled northward every bit far as the corking rapids of Sault Ste. Marie, where he found the well-established villages of the Anishinaabeg / Anishinabek people. To the s, the French came upon the land of the Wendat hemmed between Lake Simcoe and southern Georgian Bay. Information technology was here that French Jesuits established Sainte-Marie among the Hurons located near modernistic 24-hour interval Midland as the showtime European settlement and base of operations for French Jesuit missionaries in 1639. The mission was burned in 1649 and the Wendat dispersed post-obit disease, Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) aggression and war.

In the 1700s, French and Scottish fur traders married Indigenous women. Their descendants form a singled-out history, culture, language, and territory connected along the fur trade routes and waterways and this civilisation exists today as the Métis Nation.

Spread across Ontario, Indigenous culture, traditions, and values continue to link communities to these lands and waters. There are currently over 25 First Nation communities establish within the Ontario watershed of Lake Huron and several Métis Nations. Click the map to view Ontario'south First Nation communities, Tribal Councils, reserves, and country covered by specific treaties.

Early commercial activities in the due north were driven by the lumber industry which took reward of the plentiful supplies of spruce, pine, maple and oak which resulting in the development of sawmills, other businesses, and somewhen villages. With the arrival of the CPR in the late 1800'south, logging companies expanded north to harvest the vast pine forests surrounding Georgian Bay and the North Aqueduct. Dams were erected on many of the rivers then that the spring freshets would more readily motility the winter cut logs into the Lake. Nearly all of the forests have been cut at least once over the past 150 years, but as time passed, nature reclaimed what was lost resulting in forest encompass throughout much of the northern watershed.

In southern areas of the watershed, land clearing was the offset priority of early settlers. By the middle of the 19th century much of the forest and prairie soils suited to agriculture were plowed or intensively grazed. Agriculture became the primary activity with some of the most productive counties in Ontario found within the Lake Huron watershed. Many descendants of the original 19th century settlers proceed to farm.

Commercial fishing was i of the offset industries established in new littoral communities that sprang up every bit Europeans settled. The lake supported a commercial fishery which has produced annual catches as loftier equally 13000 metric tons. A dramatic pass up in landings of commercially valuable species and instability in fisheries resources has occurred since the 1940s with the accidental introduction of the sea lamprey, overfishing, deterioration of water quality, and an irresolute food web with invasive mussels, fish and invertebrate.

Economical Value

The Great Lakes are a 3700-kilometre (that'south 2300 miles) pathway into the heart of our continent. Our villages, towns, and cities were established on their shores, first past Indigenous peoples, and then by European settlers and those that followed them. And await what these lakes take enabled: industries, agronomics, and exports. Today, the Great Lakes region generates an estimated six trillion dollars in economic activeness each year.The natural resource found in and around Lake Huron contribute significantly and back up a strong regional economy in many ways:

• Recreational fishing expenditures in Ontario top $92 million (2015 data), claiming the championship for highest expenditures of all the Great Lakes. Commercial fishing revenues are estimated at $4.6 million;
• U.Due south. and Canadian shipping provides over 90,000 jobs and revenues of $13.4 billion (Can);
• Approximately 800,000 hectares of farmland are under production on vi,500 farms throughout southwestern Ontario's Lambton, Huron and Bruce counties. Almanac total farm receipts amount to only over $2 billion;
• Lake Huron is the second major fish producing Great Lake with whitefish, walleye, yellow perch, and ciscoes comprising the foundation of the commercial fishery. Approximately 4,500 tonnes of fish are produced by cage aquaculture with a farm-gate value of $23.2 million;
• The world's largest common salt mine is located at Goderich, Ontario;
• The northern watersheds abound with wood resource, generating over $230 one thousand thousand (CAN) in annual revenue (2011 data). One pulp and newspaper factory still operates at Espanola, Ontario;
• Across providing employment and economic benefits, the lake provides fundamental life sustaining services such as drinking water to approximately ane.iv one thousand thousand Ontarians.

These vital ecosystem services and economic activities are entirely dependent upon a healthy watershed and lake ecosystem; however, all economic activities on land by individuals, communities, and business sectors directly influence the water quality and future health of Lake Huron, therefore we need to balance social, economical and ecological needs.

Good for you Watershed, Healthy Lake, Salubrious Lives

Over the past 200 years, the Lake Huron watershed has experienced significant human development and ecological change. Near of the original mature forests accept been logged and replaced by younger stands of mixed hardwood and softwood forests. The southernmost portion of the watershed has experienced the greatest development due to the cultivation of rich soils, intense agriculture, population growth and urbanization. The landscape of the northern watershed has experienced less long-term development. Intermingled inside the northern forest, representing a pregnant percentage of the entire landscape, are freshwater aquatic systems (rivers, lakes and a diverseness of wetlands) that represent areas of loftier conservation value.

The entire watershed contains a diverse collection of habitat types across varying degrees of development, which if sustainably used and effectively conserved, will protect the ecological health and back up a rich variety of wild animals and ecological processes required to maintain h2o quality every bit it moves from the headwaters to the open up waters of the lake.

A healthy watershed and lake is important to everyone and everything that uses and needs water. Activities on land direct influence water quantity and water quality for future generations.

Headwaters

Surface drainage features, groundwater seeps, and springs are the origin of minor watercourses that form the basis of ecological integrity of our watersheds. Upland areas encompass the majority of the watershed land area. Well-functioning uplands let water to infiltrate into the soil, which minimizes stormwater runoff and reduces the probability of extreme flooding.

Forests

Of the 134,000 square kilometers that brand up the watershed, 40% is forested. The majority of the forested areas are Great Lakes St. Lawrence mixed-wood forests located in the northern reaches of the watershed where the landscape has transitioned to a mosaic of diverse forest community types post-obit early on settlement and intense logging. In the southernmost region of the watershed, small fragments of Carolinian woodlands back up the near various flora and fauna assemblage of the basin. All Lake Huron forests and small woodlands provide of import water quality functions such as shade that moderates stream temperature, habitat for wild fauna, and protection of source waters.

Lake Evidently Prairies

Much of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence mixed-wood plains have been converted to agriculture due to their rich soils. All the same, of import vestiges of prairies are notwithstanding found in the southern role of the watershed. The all-encompassing root systems of trees, shrubs and plants of these vegetation communities lock soil particles together, helping to prevent soil erosion and water pollution. These sites besides back up a number of amphibian and reptile species as well as several species of grassland songbirds.

Inland lakes

Lakes of all sizes are found throughout the watershed. The biggest inland lake is Lake Simcoe in Ontario. Inland lakes moderate the quantity of water moving through the watershed and provide critical flood prevention services and recreational opportunities.

Inland wetlands

Swamps, marshes, acidic bogs, and alkaline metal fens are all found inside the watershed. These wetlands filter and absorb nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen that can potentially stimulate algal blooms. Wetlands provide critical habitat, help maintain water quality, boring water move and minimize the impacts of flooding and pollution. The Minesing Wetland located betwixt western Barrie and southeast Georgian Bay is an internationally recognized inland wetland.

Streams

Every creek, stream, and river influences water quantity and quality. Uninterrupted connectedness betwixt the lake and headwater streams allows movement and spawning habitat for i-third of Smashing Lakes fishes.

Coastal shores

The geology of the coast changes equally you circumvolve the lake. In the southward, glacial deposits in coastal areas provide fine, white sand beaches and dunes. Natural and responsibly adult shorelines provide protection against erosion while also supporting h2o quality, a diversity of habitats and native species, and overall ecosystem health.

Coastal wetlands

Roughly 30% of Great Lakes littoral wetlands are found in Lake Huron, and particularly Georgian Bay. Hundreds of thousands of migratory and nesting birdlife, including at least 30 species of shorebirds, 27 species of ducks, geese and swans, and several species of terns and gulls rely on wetlands. Over 40 species of rare plants and five rare reptile species are found in the coastal wetlands of Lake Huron. Fifty-nine species of fish are establish in littoral wetlands and about 80% of Lake Huron fish species depend on littoral wetlands for some portion of their life cycles. Matchedash Bay located in southeastern Georgian Bay is also an internationally recognized freshwater coastal wetland.

Nearshore waters

The nearshore is the hydrological and ecological link betwixt watersheds and the open water. The shallow nearshore waters are a highly-productive environment. Near all species of Great Lakes fish use nearshore waters for one or more than critical life-stages or functions. Nearshore waters must exist restored and protected because urban and rural communities rely on this surface area for rubber drinking h2o, swimming fishing and canoeing, equally well as h2o withdrawals for industry and power generation.

Open waters

When the open waters of Lake Huron are salubrious, they support a robust and resilient economic system. Ongoing changes to the Lake Huron food web present new challenges for resource managers. Ecological changes that formerly occurred over decades take happened in just a few years.

The Country of Lake Huron

Lake Huron'southward ecosystem is in "fair" status and the trend is "unchanging", according to the 2016 State of Great Lakes highlights study summarizing overall assessments for 9 primary indicators. The Lake provides high quality drinking h2o and its all-encompassing beaches and nearshore areas provide excellent opportunities for swimming and recreation. Chemical pollutants have declined significantly since the 1970s; however, fish and wildlife consumption advisories remain to protect human health. The majority of nearshore waters are of high quality, but areas of the southeast shore, Saginaw Bay, and parts of eastern Georgian Bay experience periodic harmful or nuisance algal blooms. Nutrient and algae levels in the offshore are variable, but largely beneath targets. Zebra and Quagga Mussels are associated with turn down in nutrient levels and food availability to other aquatic organisms, increased water clarity, nuisance algae growth and are suspected to facilitate episodic botulism outbreaks in parts of the basin. Diporeia, a major food source for casualty fish, are declining, resulting in negative consequences for recreational and commercial fisheries. Withal, Walleye accept largely recovered in Michigan waters of Lake Huron and, in the absence of the invasive Alewife, Lake Trout populations are approaching reproduction targets.

Many sources of data were used to inform this assessment including:

• State of Great Lakes Indicator Reports (SOGL 2016);
• Proceedings from 2015 State of Lake Huron Coming together (LimnoTech, 2015);
• Lake Huron Binational Cooperative Science and Monitoring Synthesis (LimnoTech, 2015);
• The State of Lake Huron in 2010 report by the Slap-up Lakes Fishery Commission – Lake Huron Technical Committee;
• The Sweetwater Bounding main: An International Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for Lake Huron (Franks Taylor et al., 2010);

Top Five Environmental Threats and Direction Challenges

5 environmental threats with the broadest touch across Lake Huron and its watershed are the focus of resource management agencies in Canada and the United States. In addition to efforts focused on addressing these threats, managers are besides seeking opportunities to maintain and protect the integrity of areas not yet impacted by these environmental management challenges.

Chemical Contaminants

Water is our keystone resource and while chemical contaminants accept significantly decreased since the 1970s, there are some areas with degraded water quality which can issue in contaminant exposure to fish and wild animals. Consuming contaminated fish or wildlife threatens human health.

Additional Chemical Contaminants Resources

• Eating Ontario Fish (2017-18) Consult the Eating Ontario Fish Guide for fish consumption communication including how to identify the types and amounts of fish that are safe to eat.
• Lake Huron Lakewide Action and Management Plan Consult the 2017-2021 Lake Huron Lakewide Activity and Management Plan to learn more almost the current state of Lake Huron regarding fish and wild animals consumption and chemic contaminants.

 Nutrients and Algae

Some of the longest freshwater beaches are found in Lake Huron (Wasaga 14km and Sauble 11km) and many offering condom and high-quality swimming and recreational opportunities. While most beaches and nearshore areas of Lake Huron are not impacted by excessive nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) that lead to algal blooms and bacteria pollution, localized nutrient and bacterial pollution is an ongoing issue. Inputs from household septic systems, agricultural and urban runoff and other sources (including wildlife) contribute to regional water quality challenges.

Additional Nutrients and Algae Resources

• Lake Huron Lakewide Action and Management Plan Consult the 2017-2021 Lake Huron Lakewide Activeness and Management Plan to larn more nigh the current state of Lake Huron nutrients and algae.

 Loss of Habitats and Species

Lake Huron is an ecologically rich and globally significant ecosystem, but its biodiversity is at risk. Invasive species, climatic change, water pollution, rapid and poorly planned residential and industrial growth, contradistinct hydrology, and incompatible agricultural, fishery, and forestry practices are all having negative furnishings. Degradation and loss of historical habitat have been identified every bit major stressors to Lake Huron and its watershed, particularly in southern regions.

The Lake Huron Biodiversity Conservation Strategy is an international initiative designed to identify what actions are needed to protect and conserve the native biodiversity of Lake Huron. The most critical biodiversity threats and needs of the lake were adamant through a collaborative, science-based process. The recommended strategies are meant to restore and conserve a functioning ecosystem.

• Consult The Sweetwater Sea: An International Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for Lake Huron – Technical Written report.

Binational, regional and identify-based plans and ecological assessments are continuing to address threats to biodiversity, recommend conservation action, and implement projects to protect and restore Lake Huron habitat and native species.

Additional Habitats and Species Resources

• Lake Huron Lakewide Action and Direction Program Consult the 2017-2021 Lake Huron Lakewide Action and Management Plan to learn more about the current land of Lake Huron habitats and native species.

 Invasive Species

Ocean Lamprey, Dreissenid mussels (Zebra and Quagga), Round Goby, and Phragmites continue to cause economic and environmental harm, as well equally undermine efforts to restore and protect other aspects of ecosystem health and water quality. The about effective arroyo to reduce introduction and spread of new invasive species is prevention and targeting spreading pathways such every bit: ballast h2o, connecting waterways, illegal merchandise of banned species, and recreational activities such as the send of personal boats and watercraft.

Additional Invasive Species Resources

• Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) Larn about international invasive species efforts and threats via the Invasive Species Specialist Grouping which is office of the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
• Canadian Wildlife Service Access CWS's list of invasive plants in Canada, including their biological details, environmental impacts and possible control options.
• Swell Lakes Information Network Learn about invasive species item to the Great Lakes region. Access fact sheets and recent news articles virtually current and potential invaders.
• The Great Ships Initiative (GSI) Larn about the regional attempt devoted to ending the transport of invasive species via Great Lakes ships in the Bully Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System.
• Lake Huron Lakewide Action and Management Plan Consult the 2017-2021 Lake Huron Lakewide Activeness and Management Program to learn more well-nigh the current state of Lake Huron invasive species.

Climate Alter Impacts

Climate change impacts such as warming temperatures, astringent storm events, decreased ice coverage, and alterations to water levels are being observed across the Great Lakes basin. Climate change impacts physical, chemic and biological processes such as runoff and erosion patterns, nutrient cycling, and wetland development. Agreement how climate modify affects these processes now and in the future is important for making informed management decisions for the Great Lakes. Canada and the United States issue binational quarterly newsletters that focus on climate impacts and outlooks and a report entitled State of Climatic change Science in the Neat Lakes Basin: A Focus on Climatological, Hydrologic and Ecological Furnishings summarizes the land of climatic change impacts in the Slap-up Lakes bowl.

Additional Climate change Resources

• Environment Canada Learn more about the Kyoto Accord and other background information on climatic change
• Ontario Ministry of the Environment Learn how climatic change impacts everything; your conditions, your nutrient, your home, your hobbies – and what small actions you tin take to be part of the solution.

Other Concerns

Beyond the top v threats, Lake Huron watershed residents and visitors are also concerned nearly:

• water quantity, availability, and menstruation in streams and rivers and of import wetlands;
• small plastic particles chosen microplastics found accumulating in freshwater environments;
• new chemicals in our surroundings which may bear on fish, wild animals, and human health;
• diseases such every bit botulism in fish and birds;
• current state and future of species at adventure; and
• potential impacts of population growth and human development pressures.

Information technology is of import that anybody in the Lake Huron watershed sympathize and collectively address air, land, water and fish and wild animals related concerns.

Lake Huron Maps

Lake Huron Threats

© 2002-2022 Lake Huron Framework.

Source: https://lakehuroncommunityaction.ca/about-the-watershed/

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