Download the Factsheet
Coastal terrestrial biodiversity in relation to regional ecological and social values
The coastal terrestrial system includes the area within roughly 2km of the Lake Erie shoreline; this area is critical habitat for migratory shorebirds, rare plants, reptiles and amphibians, including the eastern white-fringed orchid (Platanthera leucophaea), eastern fox snake (Pantherophis gloydi), and elusive clubtail (Stylurus notatus). This system is composed of small and isolated communities of forested wetland, emergent marsh, beach-dune systems, oak savanna communities, alvar (limestone bedrock) communities and upland forest. The beaches and aesthetic value of the coastal terrestrial system make it important for residential, industrial, and recreational uses. Swimmers frequent its beaches, and its aesthetics add value to coastal property and to tourism along the coast. However, development, shoreline hardening, and other human activities threaten the species and communities of this system with habitat loss and fragmentation. The WLECCV seeks to identify opportunities for conservation to benefit both the natural coastal habitat and the people that depend on it.
Coastal terrestrial biodiversity significance data layer
The
Lake Erie Biodiversity Conservation Strategy (LEBCS) established a goal of having 40 percent of the coastal terrestrial system in natural landcover by 2030. This data layer is an index that ranks the biodiversity significance of coastal terrestrial habitats along the Western Lake Erie coast – including islands – in order to inform stakeholders of the most valuable areas for conservation and restoration. Similar to an index used in the LEBCS, this index was calculated by combining these seven factors: coastal shoreline complexity, richness of globally imperiled species and natural communities , frequency of globally imperiled species and natural communities, total area of natural land cover types, and richness of these natural land cover types.