State agencies update plan to combat harmful algal blooms in the Western Lake Erie Basin

LANSING, Michigan – The State of Michigan today released an update to its Domestic Action Plan (DAP) for combatting harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie.

The DAP contains measures to reduce phosphorus runoff into the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) that drives algal blooms by a sustained 40% from a 2008 baseline. The Michigan departments of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE); Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD); and Natural Resources (DNR) review and revise the DAP regularly based on progress and changing needs in the region.

“Challenges remain for keeping nutrients from farmland from entering western Lake Erie,” said MDARD Director Tim Boring. “Under the updated Domestic Action Plan, MDARD is partnering with the scientific and farming communities in a more proactive way to monitor water quality, understand soil health, and implement regenerative agriculture practices that keep nutrients on fields and out of waterways.”

“Functioning wetlands act as natural filters, intercepting nutrients from fields and streams before they enter Lake Erie,” said DNR Director Scott Bowen. “The DNR’s continued investment in wetland restoration, enhancement, and protection, especially in areas with high nutrient loads, can put natural processes to work to improve water quality in the basin.”

“From regenerative agriculture to enhanced water quality monitoring, this plan continues momentum toward healthier, cleaner lakes and streams,” said EGLE Director Phil Roos. “There is no one silver bullet that solves Lake Erie’s nutrient issues, but taken together, these efforts are substantial.”

The new DAP will be on the agenda for discussion at Michigan’s 2025 State of the Western Lake Erie Basin Conference, hosted by EGLE in partnership with MDARD, DNR, and the University of Michigan Water Center.

The June 26 conference at the Adrian Tobias Center in Adrian will draw conservation districts, watershed councils, local and state officials, researchers, farmers, and community members to focus on nutrient reduction goals and tracking progress.

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient to grow crops. It’s applied to farmland through fertilizers and manure. Phosphorus can leave farms and enter waterways during rain events or floods and ultimately enter Lake Erie, where it causes algal blooms each summer.

The DAP update is a status report on progress made since the release of the previous action plan.

Key strategies highlighted in the DAP include:

• EGLE’s continued work with WLEB communities to tighten sewage treatment facility permits.
• EGLE’s implementation of a new Soil Health Investment Program in partnership with the conservation districts in Hillsdale, Lenawee, Monroe and Washtenaw counties focusing on precision nutrient management and supporting strategic watershed management planning and implementation efforts.
• EGLE’s collaboration with MDARD and partners to develop agricultural conservation practice implementation strategies to reduce phosphorus loads.
• MDARD’s support of new innovative approaches and partnerships with a focus on regenerative agriculture principles and practices.
• MDARD’s partnership with the Alliance for the Great Lakes, LimnoTech, and Michigan State University’s Institute of Water Research (MSU-IWR) on a major expansion of the water quality monitoring network.
• MDARD’s funding of the Great Lakes Watershed Management System – Nutrient Tracking Dashboard. This online platform, developed in partnership with MSU-IWR, tracks conservation practices and water quality outcomes, providing greater transparency and accountability to the public.
• MDARD’s funding of the WLEB Performance-based Conservation Adoption Program. This new partnership with MSU-IWR, the MSU Center for Regenerative Agriculture, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and others will allocate funding on the basis of the nutrient loss reductions achieved by the implementation of conservation practices. In 2017, MSU piloted this approach in the River Raisin Watershed and found it to be seven times more cost effective than traditional efforts to reduce phosphorus runoff.
• The departments’ partnership with the University of Michigan Water Center to form the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) Community Advisory Group and Science Panel to develop projects, identify policy and research gaps, and design an adaptive strategy to move the state toward its phosphorus management goals.
• Use of state and federal American Rescue Act funding by the DNR, conservation group Ducks Unlimited, and partners to restore more than 300 acres of wetlands in the Stony Creek and South Branch River Raisin subwatersheds to capture nutrient runoff from fields and improve local water quality conditions.

For more information on what Michigan is doing in the Western Lake Erie Basin or to view the DAP update, visit Michigan.gov/MDARD-WLEB.