Our Great Lakes

Natural Resources Canada

Natural Resources Canada specializes in the sustainable development and use of Canada's natural resources; energy, minerals and metals, forests and earth sciences. We examine issues from both a national and international perspective, using our expertise in science and technology, policy and programs. How we manage our land and resources today will determine the quality of life for Canadians now and in the future.

As partners in the Government of Canada's Great Lakes Action Plan, Natural Resources Canada contributes valuable scientific information and advice on groundwater resources, lake-bed geology, the impact of forest practices on biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems, and the effects of environmental factors on the health of forests.

Groundwater Resources and Lake-Bed Geology

Understanding groundwater is essential to making informed decisions about the future of the Great Lakes. Natural Resources Canada's Earth Sciences Sector provides geoscientific support for public policy decisions. Its Oak Ridges Moraine project, in place since 1993, creates three-dimensional maps to improve our understanding of surface and ground water interaction and flow. Similar mapping is being carried out on lake bottoms. These studies provide essential data for water resource assessment, management, and the possible future impact of changing land use and climate.

This crucial research will provide methodologies for gaining Great Lakes-wide knowledge of the supply and flux of surface-groundwater, which will help enable Great Lakes Basin inhabitants to make balanced decisions about this natural resource.

These projects are undertaken in close cooperation with the activities of the Ontario Ministries of Environment, Natural Resources, and Municipal Affairs and Housing, as well as the Parks Canada Agency, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada, the IJC and the US Geological Survey.

Impacts of Forestry Practices on Biodiversity

Natural Resources Canada's Forest Sector – the Canadian Forest Service – promotes both the sustainable development of Canada's forests, and the international competitiveness of the forest industry. Its Impacts of Forestry Practices on Biodiversity project, presupposes the inseparability of water quality and healthy forest ecosystems. The study examines the following:

• Marten populations in boreal forests
• The biodiversity of old growth White Pine forests
• Red Crossbills as landscape indicators of old-growth
• Managing forest regeneration for Bicknell's Thrush
• Macrofungi and insects in old growth White Pine forests
• Distribution of forest birds in Ontario
• Biodiversity in Jack Pine ecosystems

This important research is helping to conserve biologically important habitats, by identifying how forestry practices change the structure and composition of forest ecosystems and how practices can be improved to maintain biodiversity.

Turkey Lakes Watershed Research

This exciting research, begun in 1979, assesses and manages ecosystem health in the Turkey Lakes Watershed – an area of hardwood forests whose streams flow into Lake Superior. Natural Resources Canada funds the project at a cost of around $750 000 per year.

The project includes the following components:

• Atmospheric inputs, stream flow and stream chemistry in the watershed
• Post-harvest vegetation succession in three lumber harvesting systems, plus controls
• Changes in stream diversity after harvesting
• Impacts of harvesting, acid rain and climate change on forest ecosystem and water quality

Through cooperation and communication with other Government of Canada and Ontario Government partners, citizens groups and industry, Natural Resources Canada is working hard to prevent further degradation taking place in the Great Lakes Basin.