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Fact SheetAn International Partnership to Restore and Protect Lake Ontario through a Lakewide Management PlanLake Ontario:Lake Ontario is a precious resource for many reasons. The Lake Ontario watershed is home to many people who depend on it for drinking water, swimming, boating and fishing as well as to enjoy the natural areas and wildlife in and around the lake. Our economy is affected by Lake Ontario since industries depend on the lake for transportation, resources and tourism opportunities. Over the past 150 years, human interactions have affected the Lake Ontario ecosystem. Our actions have resulted in bottom sediments contaminated by toxic chemicals, loss of fish and wildlife populations and habitat, and the introduction of exotic species such as the zebra mussel. However, times have changed and so has our awareness of the importance of this resource to our health and well-being, and to that of future generations. During the last 25 years progress has been nade including reducing the amounts of nutrients and toxic chemicals entering the lake. These improvements have lead to the return of water birds, osprey and bald eagles to the shores of Lake Ontario. The governments of Canada, the United States, Ontario and New York are developing a Lake Ontario Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) to facilitate continued progress in restoring and protecting Lake Ontario. What is a LaMP?The Lake Ontario LaMP will serve as a plan of action to restore and protect Lake Ontario's waters and shores. The LaMP will address four specific problems in Lake Ontario: restrictions on eating some fish and wildlife; wildlife populations affected by toxic chemicals; reproductive problems of bird/animals; and loss of fish and iwldlife habitat. The Lake Ontario LaMP provides a way to better coordinate the work of the agencies involved. The LaMP also presents the opportunity to establish and strengthen partnerships between private and public efforts to improve the Lake Ontario ecosystem. The LaMP will be developed in the following four stages: 1) problem definition; 2) development of a pollution reduction plan; 3) selection of remedial activities and 4) implementation and monitoring for successful results. LaMP Goals:The LaMP will assist in reaching the following goals so that future generations can enjoy and benefit from this valuable resource:
International Cooperation:The 1987 amendments to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement committed the governments of Canada and the United States to develop LaMPs for the Great Lakes. The government partners involved in managing the Lake Ontario LaMP are Canada, the United States, Ontario and New York State. Governments are not, however, the only ones involved in this process. It will take public involvement and public action to accomplish the goals for Lake Ontario. Become Involved:Public Involvement is the key to the success of the LaMP process. It leads to decisions which incorporate the concerns of a variety of stakeholders. With input from the public, governments can be more confident that they are implementing programs which the public supports and the public is more willing to support the programs being implemented. Implementation is not only a government responsibility - it is a partnership between government, private sector and the public. Public participation leads to a greater awareness to be environmentally responsible and it is this awareness that is required to make the changes necessary to restore and protect Lake Ontario. You too can be a part of this process. In your community, you can take action to protect and clean up your local environment. As well, you can learn more about Lake Ontario and the LaMP. You can attend workshops and/or public meetings and you can review and comment on technical reports, updates and other documents. Keep informed by being on our mailing list. For more information, contact: Pamela Finlayson Michael Basile | ||
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URL: http://binational.net/lakeontario_struc_e.html |
