LAKE SUPERIOR SHORELINE VEGETATION AND EROSION: AN ECOLOGICAL SURVEY

Abstract

Shoreline erosion along the Great Lakes continues to be a major economic and environmental concern. Of the nearly 5900 km. of shore- line, approximately 60% is erodible glacial clays, sands, or gravels. Fifty percent of these erodible shores have been developed as residential or commercial-industrial sites (Quisenberry, 1976}. The Wisconsin shorelines of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan have extensive zones of highly erodible materials. Sydor (1976) estimated 2.3 x 106 metric tons of soil is eroded from the glacial-lacustrine red clay shore­ line of Douglas County, Wisconsin alone. Hess (1973) estimated 8 x 106 metric tons are lost annually from the Wisconsin shores of Lake Superior. The chief monetary loss (reaching $15 million in Wisconsin in 19721 occurs from the irretrievable loss of land and the devaluation of real estate with the encroachment of the waterfront.