National Park Service

Description

The nourishment of nearshore habitats along Lake Michigan requires the development of quantitative criteria for measurement of soil and sediment quality for restoration of native biological diversity. Beach habitats are important for aquatic life and are integral to providing proper spawning habitats and nursery conditions for early life stages. Several protocols have been developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1994); however, these methods are developed to determine the suitability of substrates for nourishment rather than advocating natural sediment grain sizes that would restore the natural aquatic and nearshore habitats promoting sustainable native biological diversity. The current study builds from the characterization protocols developed by EPA and the USACE by providing a linkage between beach nourishment primary functions and definition of reference quality to promote sustainable native biological diversity. In order to effectively plan for beach nourishment, substrate characteristics, sediment chemistry and toxicity, and the proper substrate grain size, compaction, porosity, and nutrient composition needs to be determined for offshore and inshore habitats. In addition, fish assemblages will be surveyed over spring (March-June), summer (June –September) and fall (September-December) periods. This information will be used to evaluate native fish assemblage use of nearshore habitats along the national lakeshore, and will contribute to the restoration of the native fish biodiversity along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. This project is funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Who can apply

• Others

Contact

Tonya Bradley <br/>Contract Specialist <br/>Phone 402-661-1656
tonya_bradley@nps.gov