The role of the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) is to direct enhanced monitoring and research activities across each of the Laurentian Great Lakes to provide relevant information to address the science priorities of each Lake Partnership (established under the Lakewide Management Annex of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement). CSMI is an intensive effort to collect information on the health of one Great Lake each year, cycling through the lakes on a five-year period. In 2020/2021, it was Lake Michigan’s turn (over a two-year period due to COVID). This is an executive summary of the 2020/2021 research results and the associated white paper containing more specific information.

This document summarizes work completed by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) during the summer and fall of 2023 in support of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) Annex 2 Lake Michigan Partnership. Specifically, IISG is supporting the Lake Michigan Partnership’s activities to determine science priorities for the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) 2025 Field Year on Lake Michigan. The work described herein was sponsored by the International Joint Commission and comprised a 2-day in-person workshop plus a follow-up, online survey. Information contained in this report is intended as guidance only. While it is primarily written to help the Lake Michigan Partnership as the group sets research priorities for the 2025 intensive field year, other researchers and entities studying Lake Michigan might find the document useful.

This is an annual summary of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant success stories.

Flip through the magazine: https://issuu.com/iiseagrant/docs/thehelm-2021

The Lake Michigan Partnership Working Group, which comprises representatives from federal, state, and tribal agencies in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, identified 14 research priorities for the 2020 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) Field Year on Lake Michigan. The worldwide COVID‐19 pandemic delayed most sampling plans in 2020; however, CSMI‐related sampling plans have been generated for Lakes Michigan and Superior in 2021. This document describes planned activities for Lake Michigan, to be completed by scientists from the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (NOAA‐GLERL), the US Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center (USGS‐GLSC), the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes National Program Office and Office of Research and Development (EPA‐ GLNPO and EPA‐ORD, respectively), and university partners.

This is a quick summary of IISG’s opportunities and resources to help teachers and other educators increase their Great Lakes literacy, and ultimately that of their students.

Summaries of climate events on a quarterly basis throughout the Great Lakes basin as well as an outlook for the next season. The most current report, as well as previous report,s are available on the website for the Midwest Regional Climate Center, located at https://mrcc.illinois.edu/pubs/pubsGreatLakes.jsp.

The Lake Guardian is an EPA research vessel that sails the Great Lakes. This brochure provides stats on the ship, explains the variety of research that happens aboard, and highlights the equipment that scientists use to test these waters.

A printer-friendly version of this document is available at https://iiseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Lake-Guardian-US-Letter-Size-Print.pdf.

This story map relays key findings from the 2015 Lake Michigan field year of the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative. This digital, multi-media outreach tool is intended to convey research results to broad audiences including anglers, boaters, conservation groups, and other Lake Michigan stakeholders.

For more detailed information, visit Lake Michigan Health: A Deeper Dive

The CSMI Visual Asset Library is a catalog of 56 graphic elements that can be downloaded and used to create scientific visuals and illustrations. These graphics were originally created to illustrate the changing Lake Michigan food web as part of the outreach efforts for the 2015 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is making these available to the public as a resource of scientifically accurate, professionally-designed food web assets that may be used to enhance reports, presentations, and any other activities intended to communicate Lake Michigan food web characteristics.

There are 2 parts to this product entry: a .pdf overview which shows examples of all the design elements available in the set, and a .zip file of the actual visual assets.

Download Visual Assets Library Collection Guide