Archive: Southern Lake Erie Focus Area
Last updated: May 21, 2001
Background
The Southern Lake Erie Focus Area includes the 11th largest freshwater lake in the world and a drainage basin of 20,122 square miles. The region extends from the mouth of the Detroit River in southeastern Michigan to the outflow of Lake Erie at the Niagara River in western New York. Land use is predominantly agricultural (70 percent) and urban (11 percent). With a population of about 5.5 million, population density and growth in the Lake Erie Basin are among the highest in the Great Lakes Basin. The region is a center for commerce, industry, and agriculture in the Midwest. The Lake Erie Region leads the Great Lakes Region in water withdrawals for manufacturing, power production, and other consumptive uses, as well as in the value of the harvest from sport and commercial fisheries. Lake Erie ports are a vital shipping link for major commodities including coal, iron ore, limestone, metal products, sand and gravel, grains and soybeans.
Activities
Support for agricultural best- management programs and urban smart growth initiatives are among the key activities of the Southern Lake Erie Focus Area Group. For example, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), State, and local agencies have been working together to reduce the amount of sediment dredged from the Maumee River and Lake Erie through the use of soil erosion- controls on farm fields and along streams. In northeast Ohio, USEPA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Office of Congressman Dennis Kucinich helped plan a Sustainable Communities 2000 Symposium in Cleveland. The goals of the symposium were to begin the process of strategic planning for sustainable growth. Federal agency support for projects undertaken by the American Heritage River Navigator for the Cuyahoga River is helping to promote projects that benefit the river and local communities.
On-The-Ground Project
Maintenance of navigation in Toledo Harbor requires the dredging of approximately 800,000 tons of sediment each year at an average annual cost of about $2.2 million.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a goal of reducing the quantity of sediment dredged from Toledo Harbor by 15 percent to extend the useful life of currently active confined disposal facilities.
Partners
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Forest Service, other governmental agencies, state and local agencies, and the public.
For More Information
Donna Myers, Focus Area Team Leader U.S. Geological Survey Columbus, Ohio Phone: 614/ 430- 7715 email: dnmyers@ usgs. gov