The Lower Great Lakes Region: An Introduction to Ecological Corridors

The following Preliminary Report serves as an introduction to Ecological Corridors, particularly with respect to the Lower Great Lakes Region. In the Lower Great Lakes Region, industrial agriculture dominates a once forested and wet landscape. In addition, suburban settlements extend into forests and wetlands, and onto farms and fields at the periphery of towns and cities. The result is a fragmented landscape with human settlement and infrastructure exporting significant quantities of sediment, chemical pollutants, and other externalities into waterways, the air and soil. Consequently, the landscape capacity to sustain diverse plant, animal, and aquatic species is struggling and shrinking. Corridors are able to repair fragmented landscapes. Thousands of acres of potentially high quality habitats exist in roadsides, windbreaks, riparian areas, grassed waterways, and other types of landscapes. Opportunities exist in every state to plan, design and manage corridors that optimize multiple environmental, social and economic benefits. A diverse and connected landscape provides opportunity to enhance existing agricultural and urban settlements and to create new and mutually beneficial relationships with wildlife habitats and natural ecologies.