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.

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.

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 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

The Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) is a binational effort that coordinates monitoring and research efforts on each Great Lake over a five-year cycle to improve understanding of aquatic ecosystems. CSMI field sampling is guided by priorities identified in Lakewide Action and Management Plans (LaMPs) and the results inform the development of future management programs. This document highlights the work intended to be conducted during the 2015 CSMI field year on Lake Michigan.

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.