What is LEEMP?

A Brief History of the Lake Erie Ecological Modelling Project

The Lake Erie Ecological Modelling Project (LEEMP) was an initiative of IJC's Lake Erie Task Force with the assistance of a binational project management team consisting of David Dilks and Sally Leppard of the LURA Group, Toronto, and Joseph Koonce and Ana Locci of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland. The purpose of the initiative was

1. to develop a comprehensive model which would enhance understanding of changes taking place in the Lake Erie ecosystem;
2. to provide a functional tool to inform resource management decision-making for Lake Erie; and
3. to add to the IJC's ability to evaluate progress under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

A timeline of project activities includes:

• July 2003

• Start of a joint research program between Johns Hopkins University and Case Western Reserve University funded by the U.S. EPA, "Development of a regional-scale model for the management of multiple-stressors in the Lake Erie ecosystem" (EPA STAR Project G2M10518). The objective of this research is to develop a regional-scale, stressor-response model for the management of the Lake Erie ecosystem. Stressors addressed will include effects of land use changes and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) targets for nutrients, habitat alteration, and natural flow regime modification at the scale of individual watersheds coupled with wholelake ecosystem effects of invasion of exotic species and fisheries exploitation. Model predictions will focus on effects of stressors on production and abundance of Lake Erie fish populations as indicators of the health of the Lake Erie ecosystem and will be incorporated into a multiobjective decision making tool for use by Lake Erie water quality and fisheries managers along with other resource planners.
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• June 2002

• Start of a 15-month research project funded by Ohio DNR's Coastal Management Assistance Grants Program to develop a GIS mapping protocol to obtain a habitat supply inventory for fish habitat in coastal and lake accessible tributary reaches in the Lake Erie Basin. The goal of the project is to develop GIS databases and models needed to integrate watershed and coastal zone planning with the management of Lake Erie fisheries resources to preserve essential coastal fish habitat.
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• September 2000

• Completion of U.S. EPA project (Final Report).
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• October 1996

• Start of a joint research program between Johns Hopkins University and Case Western Reserve University funded by the U.S. EPA, "Modeling and Multiobjective Risk Decision Tools for Assessment and Management of Great Lakes Ecosystems" (EPA/ORD/NCERQA/8723R). Research support permitted further development of LEEM to address concerns of the Lake Erie LaMP and related management issues of Lake Erie fish managers. The goal of this work was to enable a more general ecological risk assessment of climate change and habitat alterations on the Lake Erie ecosystem.

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• September 1996

• Completion of the Lake Erie Task Force 1995/1996 Priority with joint hosting by IJC and Environment Canada of the Lake Erie Modeling Summit in Windsor, Ontario. LEEM and other Lake Erie modeling initiatives were reported and discussed in the context of the needs of the Lake Erie LaMP.

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• July 1996

• Release of Version 0.2 of LEEM which included modifications suggested from the February workshop and availability of options to explore whole lake, western, and eastern basin versions of the input data sets.

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• February 1996

•  With an extension of its mandate in the 1995/1996 Priorities of IJC, the Lake Erie Task Force convened a model testing workshop in Cleveland to consolidate testing of the prototype to produce a second iteration in model development. The workshop brought together a small group of modelers and managers who were willing to share their experiences in testing the model and to try various modifications of model structure to assess its range of capabilities.

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• September 1995

• The Lake Erie Task Force arranged demonstration of the prototype at the Duluth Biennial Meeting of the International Joint Commission and proposed to continue this 1994/1995 Priority into the 1995/1996 cycle of IJC Priorities.

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• April 1995

• The Lake Erie Task Force held a Model Evaluation Workshop in Windsor, Ontario, to promote interactive evaluation of the prototype and to identify needs for further model development. IJC also distributed copies of the prototype to obtain additional critical evaluation.

• January 1995

• The Lake Erie Task Force initiated LEEMP, and over a three-month period, the modeling team in consultation with a Core Advisory Group of Lake Erie Managers, consisting of fish and water quality managers, developed a prototype of a comprehensive model of the Lake Erie ecosystem (LEEM). The Core Advisory Group provided ongoing advice, guidance, and data to facilitate model development and to provide critical feedback on the scope and level of resolution of the model.