Monitoring Program Overview

Vitial Signs Monitoring Plan [3mb PDF File]

The primary goal of the monitoring program is to provide managers of the Great Lakes national parks with scientifically defensible data on the status and trends of a core set of ecological indicators known as Vital Signs. These vital signs were identified through a formal three-year process that included network staff, park staff, and outside scientists (report). The Network’s goals, ecological setting, list of indicators, and implementation schedule is documented in a long-term ecological monitoring plan [3mb PDF File].

The Great Lakes Network is taking a holistic approach by monitoring a diverse set of eight focal indicators (illustration) which:

• Span the major ecosystems (terrestrial, aquatic, atmospheric);
• Include bird, amphibian, and diatom communities that integrate across systems;
• Track climate and land-use which are major ecosystem drivers; and
• Provide data on regionally-significant processes such as air and water pollution, climate change, and biomagnification of persistent contaminants.