Margaret Frendt
Research Mentor(s): Alison Bressler
Mentor Department: Graham Sustainability Institute
Authors: Margot Frendt, Alison Bressler
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 74
Abstract
Phosphorus pollution is a high-stakes, multi-level issue in Lake Erie driven by land use in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Ontario, Canada. As an issue that spans individual farms, industries, municipalities, and legislatures, increased ecological understanding and social cooperation is necessary to find creative solutions. Here, I explore how stakeholders in Michigan’s Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) have worked together with state agencies through the WLEB Community Advisory Group to address this issue. To understand the group’s impact on government actions, I ask: How impactful was the WLEB Advisory Group in influencing the content of Michigan’s revised Domestic Action Plan (DAP) for reducing phosphorus pollution? I used qualitative methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the Advisory Group’s feedback on the DAP by comparing the proposed changes with actualized revisions in the final version of the DAP. Significant changes include language alterations, figure updates, and clarification of important concepts including the 40% phosphorus reduction goal, manure management, and adaptive management. This process of soliciting Advisory Group feedback on the DAP, and then responding to their suggestions, demonstrates how community members can play an active role in state level adaptive management.
