Why Natural Shorelines? Michigan's inland lakes need them!
The loss of natural shorelines is the biggest threat to the overall health of Michigan Lakes.
The National Lake Assessment (NLA) results indicate that inland lakes across the nation need better care. Overall, the water quality in Michigan's inland lakes is really good. However, the Michigan results of the National Lake Assessment indicate that, lakeshore habitat and physical lakeshore complexity are major stressors for Michigan lakes with over 50% having poor lake habitat complexity. This means our lakes are losing too much natural vegetation both on the land and in the water. |
50% of inland lakes have POOR nearshore habitat! |
A shoreline without development.
Native plants along lake shores are in the right place from nature's perspective. If you look at a lake that has little to no development the shoreline will typically have three (3) tiers of vegetation: 1) Trees (canopy) 2) Shrubs 3) Plants (in the lake and on the land) |