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

On October 16 and 17, 2018, nearly 60 scientists and managers met at a workshop in Milwaukee, WI to discuss research needs for Lake Michigan. The workshop, sponsored by the International Joint Commission through its Science Advisory Board Research Coordination Committee and organized by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, was part of the Cooperative Science Monitoring Initiative (CSMI). The main purpose of the meeting was to kick off discussions about research priorities to be considered during the 2020 CSMI intensive field year on Lake Michigan. This document summarizes the meeting proceedings.

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.

The role of the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) is to provide enhanced monitoring and research activities that provide relevant information to address the science priorities of the Lake Partnerships (established under the Lakewide Management Annex of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement) across the Laurentian Great Lakes. The Lake Michigan Partnership, a collaborative team of natural resource managers led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with participation from federal, state, tribal, and local governments or agencies, uses the information collected through CSMI to help develop long term ecosystem-based management strategies for protecting and restoring Lake Michigan’s water quality. On a practical level, CSMI is an intensive effort to collect information on the health of each lake, rotating to one Great Lake each year. In 2015, it was Lake Michigan’s turn. This is an executive summary of the 2015 research results and the associated white paper containing more specific information.

What are the most critical concerns facing Lake Michigan? The Great Lakes Regional Research and Information Network (GLRRIN) Lake Michigan team set out to answer this question by bringing together more than 50 government and academic researchers over several meetings to share what’s known, what isn’t, and what information would be most valuable to inform resource managers and others interested in the health of the lake.

Angler Archive provides easy access to long-term recreational fishing data collected in southern Lake Michigan. These data have been provided by the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) and Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). The Angler Archive allows you to explore trends in three recreational fisheries from the mid 1980s, filter and compare data by factors such as month, site, and target species, visualize the data in a number of different ways, and export charts and data table.

  For more detailed information, visit Angler Archive

The Great Lakes Sea Grant Social Science Network (GLSGSSN) evaluated the impact based warning (IBW) product throughout the National Weather Service (NWS) Central Region in 2013. The evaluation study builds off previous work commissioned by the NWS (Galluppi et al. 2013). Galluppi’s study assessed the product in 2012, when five Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) piloted the IBW product. The study we conducted reveals the product’s effectiveness throughout the NWS Central Region, which includes 38 WFOs. Our evaluation data was collected using focus groups, interviews, and surveys of NWS weather forecasters, emergency managers, and broadcast media to assess the product’s effectiveness.