Why we need better Stewardship of Lake Winnipeg

Almost everyone has heard of the huge increase in algal blooms on Lake Winnipeg during the last twenty years. Most people have heard about the problems with E. coli bacteria at various Lake Winnipeg beaches. But, this graph from the Lake Winnipeg Foundation's poster display at the recent conference on Lake Winnipeg (see also http://www.manitobaliberals.ca/2006/10/lake-winnipeg-and-lake-winnipeg.html ) shows very clearly how Lake Winnipeg compares to the other very large lakes of the world. Lake Winnipeg is very clearly the most eutrophic lake with the most chlorophyll-a of any lake in this category. None of the other big lakes even come close to Lake Winnipeg.