The Lake Huron Centre For Coastal Conservation

New / Updated

Phragmites and Coastal Environments - final report 2012
The invasive European Reed (aka Common Reed) has been taking over Lake Huron beaches. Over a six-month intensive investigation, we map the occurrence of this plant species along the shores of Lake Huron and set priorities for control efforts in an effort to 'take back our beaches'.

2011 Year In Review
Office Opens in Goderich - Kincardine Coastal Stewardship Plan - Phragmites research - Dune restoration planting - more >

Kincardine Coastal Stewardship Plan Kincardine's coast is made up of three main coastal types, each of which are globally rare. From Dune Grasslands to Cobble Beaches to Coastal Meadow Marshes, these special ecosystems give Kincardine's coast a unique character. As demands on the coast increase, protecting the health of these ecosystems will become more challenging.

Healthy Lake Huron Newsletter, Summer 2011 - This Issue: Project Highlights for All Five Priority Subwatersheds; Farmers Putting Environmental Farm Plans to Work; First Nation Protects Water; Local Health Unit Helps Beach Users; New Huron County Septic System Maintenance Program; Community Resource Planning Guides Available; Why is Too Much Phosphorus an Issue?

Algae and Water Quality - Walking the Green Mile - One of the things we least like when we go for a swim in the lake is coming out with green slime clinging to our hair. Algae is a regular occurrence on the Great Lakes. Too much algae on our beaches and nearshore waters, though, usually indicates a problem with the local ecology.

LHCCC Dune Planting Guide 2010 The Centre has produced this guide for native planting and naturalization in dune grassland areas of Lake Huron's coast, in partnership with University of Guelph's School of Landscape Architecture. It suggests what plants to use, and what to avoid. Contact the Centre for more information on dune conservation. 57 pages (3 MB)

Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup Data Report for Lake Huron - (2004-2009) It's no 'day at the beach' when you have to navigate garbage left behind by thoughtless beachgoers, or trash washed up from other places. But that's what happens year after year. Now we have some numbers to put to it. The Centre analysed five years of data from a volunteer cleanup program. Here's the report.

Coastal Plant Guide 2010 This plants catalogue for Lake Huron beaches was prepared to assist people in identifying native coastal plants, and the non-native invasive plants that have emerged on beaches in recent years. For selective downloading, this guide has been broken into seven .PDF files.

Occurrence Report: Plastic Pellets Washing up on Lake Huron Beaches (Oct.2010) Millions of tiny plastic white pellets washed up on beaches between Forest and north of Kincardine north during the fall of 2010. Similar occurrences were recorded in the Kincardine area in 2007 and 2009. 9 pages (974kb)

Lake Huron Biodiversity Strategy 2010 The SweetWater Sea - Strategies for Conserving Lake Huron Biodiversity. The Lake Huron Biodiversity Conservation Strategy is the product of a two-year planning process involving nearly 400 individuals from more than 100 agencies and organizations from around the Lake Huron basin. 9 pages (1.86MB)

Is The Coast Clear? - 2010 Our premier conference - "Is the Coast Clear?" - is a biennial event held on even years. This year's conference was attended by about 170 people, including First Nations people, landowners, politicians, agency staff, academics and students. More >>

LH3C: Position Statement regarding Offshore Wind Proposals on Lake Huron 6 pages (301kb)

Oliphant: Coastal Stewardship Plan - June 2010 A number of rare species and several Species at Risk make Oliphant's coast their home. These plants and animals, and their habitats are affected. The disturbances caused by these impacts pose another threat: vulnerability to infestation from non-native, invasive species. 95 pages (2.02 MB)

The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation was founded in 1998 with the goals of protecting and restoring Lake Huron's coastal environment and promoting a healthy coastal ecosystem.

While many environmental advocacy groups address local issues within the region, the Coastal Centre is the only grassroots organization focused on protecting the coastal environment lake-wide.

We also recognize that our work has to include the economic and social dimensions of sustainability. We believe that our coastal communities cannot have a healthy economy unless they have a healthy environment.

Coastal Centre is hiring!
Summer Intern Position
<click here>

1 day remains until ...

Friday, May 18, 2012

"Is the Coast Clear?" 2012
A One-day Conference on Lake Huron's Coastal Environment

Gift Giving Catalogue

The Coastal Centre is giving you the opportunity to purchase a gift on behalf of a loved one that will ultimately benefit the health of Lake Huron. This gift giving catalogue is filled with gift ideas ideal for everyone on your gift list. Don't limit yourself to the holiday season; these gifts can be purchased for events such as anniversaries, house warming celebrations, weddings, birthdays and thank you gifts.

Our Priorities
The quality of our near-shore coastal waters and estuaries has become a point of great concern to the Lake Huron community in recent years.		The biological diversity of Lake Huron's coast is being compromised by over-development, fragmentation of forest areas, the spread of alien invasive species, and damage to sensitive coastal environments.
Climate change has far reaching implications for the Lake Huron environment. All of us who work, rest or play along the Lake Huron coast will be affected.		Coastal processes like water level fluctuations, flooding, erosion, coastal wetland processes, and beach and dune systems, are vital to the ecology of Lake Huron.

Closer to Home

We help local groups with environmental issues in their own communities. By helping people link with groups along other parts of the lake, the Centre serves as a vital bridge between local issues and the larger bio-region:

All our programs are rooted in a firm commitment to open dialogue and respectful listening, building effective partnerships, and making stewardship and sustainability real in our daily lives.
We seek agreement on a positive vision and collaboration; where that isn't possible, we maintain respectful relationships from which these can emerge in the future.
All of our work is about caring for our coastal environment in practical ways that can improve the health of the lake, its coastlands and its people. We take the big issues that affect our region and bring them to life at the local grassroots level.

The Coastal Centre is a registered not-for-profit, charitable organization dedicated to the conservation of Lake Huron's natural shoreline environment. The Coastal Centre functions as the local coastal management resource team for lakeshore communities, partnering conservation authorities, government agencies and the public.

Coastal Stewardship since 1998 For more than a decade, the Coastal Centre has been working to restore and protect Lake Huron’s coastal environment, believing that the sustainability of the region’s coastal communities relies on a healthy coastal ecosystem.

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The Coastal Centre gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation in awarding a $140,000 grant over three years (2012-2014) to expand the Centre's Education and Stewardship Outreach programs along Lake Huron.