A Lake in the Balance: Environmental Issues in the Lake Superior Basin

Lake Superior is a lake steeped in legend. Tall tales rise from her misty past and span the centuries: from the accounts of the Red Men, who literally stepped out of prehistory to pull Brule's canoe from the icy lake in 1622 - to the wreck of Mesquite whose "final port of call" was the jagged spine of the Keweenaw in December of 1989. Many people consider Lake Superior a pristine place. They see its wild beauty and its ocean-like expansiveness. They sense its latent power. These very attributes have placed the lake in ecological peril. This inland sea is still relatively clean and its watershed sparsely populated. Therefore, Lake Superior has not received necessary attention. Population, development pressure, habitat destruction, introduction of exotic species, and accumulation of toxic chemicals are still increasing throughout the system. The· purpose of this thesis is to help raise the general public's level of understanding of Lake Superior and the environmental issues facing the Lake Superior basin. This objective was accomplished by the development and distribution of a slide-tape program called "A Lake In The Balance." The program is accompanied by a studyguide that expands on the issues presented in the slide program. The intent of the program is to raise the level of concern over the environmental health of Lake Superior. The program also aspires to motivate people to take an active role in the environmental future of Superior, thereby assuring that this lake will remain everything its name suggests