The Lake Erie Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They began play in the 2007–08 AHL season at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The team is an affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL.

History[link]

The Lake Erie Monsters began with the revival of the dormant Utah Grizzlies franchise purchased by an Cleveland ownership group led by Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA basketball team and Quicken Loans on May 16, 2006. The team was relocated to Cleveland to replace the former Cleveland American Hockey League tenant, the Cleveland Barons, who had moved to Massachusetts to compete as the Worcester Sharks following the 2005–06 season.^[1] With the Quicken Loans Arena established as the team's home venue the Colorado Avalanche were announced as the franchise's primary NHL affiliate with a five-year agreement on December 17, 2006.^[2]

On January 25, 2007, the franchise was announced by Dan Gilbert as the Lake Erie Monsters, referring to Bessie, a creature of local folklore. The name was chosen from researching focus groups around the Cleveland area and the logo incorporated the Geographical connection in the Region with Lake Erie.^[3] With the team colors of Wine, Black, White, Yellow and Blue, the Monsters secondary logo was chosen instead to feature on the front jerseys.^[4]

Former NHL player, Joe Sacco who had been coaching within the Avalanche's affiliate organizations for the past three-years, was named as the Monsters first head coach and was joined by former Avalanche and NHL defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre as an assistant on May 7, 2007.^[5]

With Lake Erie placed to compete in the North Division of the American Hockey League.^[6] The Monsters opened their inaugural 2007–08 campaign at home against the Grand Rapids Griffins on October 6, 2007.^[7]

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (February 2012)

On November 11, 2010, it was announced that the Avalanche and Monsters agreed on a multi-year extension to their current agreement.^[8] The terms of this extension were not disclosed as per NHL/AHL policy.

This market was previously served by:

• Cleveland Indians (1929–1934) IHL*
• Cleveland Falcons (1934–1936) IHL*
• Cleveland Falcons (1936–1937) AHL*
• Cleveland Barons (1937–1972) AHL*
• Cleveland Crusaders (1972–1976) WHA
• Cleveland Barons (NHL) (1976–1978) NHL
• Cleveland Lumberjacks (1992–2001) IHL
• Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) AHL

(*) - same team

Season-by-season results[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

At the end of the 2010-11 season the Monsters made it into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. After gaining a 3-1 game lead over the Manitoba Moose they lost in game 7 4-1 and lost the round.

Current roster[link]

Updated March 22, 2012.^[9]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
58	Canada !	Bordeleau, PatrickPatrick Bordeleau	6.0 !LW	L	26	2009	Montreal, Quebec	Avalanche
3	United States !	Brennan, MikeMike Brennan	2.0 !D	R	26	2010	Smithtown, New York	Monsters
47	Canada !	Brophey, EvanEvan Brophey	4.0 !C	L	25	2011	Kitchener, Ontario	Avalanche
31	Canada !	Cann, TrevorTrevor Cann	1.0 !G	L	23	2009	Oakville, Ontario	Avalanche
2	Canada !	Chouinard, JoelJoel Chouinard	2.0 !D	L	22	2010	Sherbrooke, Quebec	Avalanche
16	United States !	Cohen, ZachZach Cohen	6.0 !LW	L	25	2010	Schaumburg, Illinois	Avalanche
12	Canada !	Connolly, MikeMike Connolly	4.0 !C	L	22	2012	Calgary, Alberta	Avalanche
30	Canada !	Desjardins, CedrickCedrick Desjardins	1.0 !G	R	26	2011	Edmundston, New Brunswick	Avalanche
24	Canada !	Gaunce, CameronCameron Gaunce	2.0 !D	L	22	2010	Sudbury, Ontario	Avalanche
40	United States !	Goers, BarryBarry Goers	2.0 !D	R	26	2012	Ivyland, Pennsylvania	PTO
38	Canada !	Hishon, JoeyJoey Hishon	4.0 !C	L	20	2011	Stratford, Ontario	Avalanche
8	Canada !	Hunter, EricEric Hunter	4.0 !C	L	25	2011	Winnipeg, Manitoba	PTO
4	Canada !	Liffiton, DavidDavid Liffiton (C)	2.0 !D	L	27	2010	Windsor, Ontario	Avalanche
14	United States !	MacArthur, PeterPeter MacArthur	6.0 !LW	L	27	2012	Clifton Park, New York	PTO
42	Canada !	Malone, BradBrad Malone	4.0 !C	L	23	2011	Miramichi, New Brunswick	Avalanche
20	United States !	Mauldin, GregGreg Mauldin (A)	6.0 !LW	R	30	2010	Holliston, Massachusetts	Avalanche
43	United States !	Mercier, JustinJustin Mercier	4.0 !C	L	25	2009	Erie, Pennsylvania	Avalanche
1	Canada !	Pickard, CalvinCalvin Pickard	1.0 !G	L	20	2011	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Avalanche
36	United States !	Richmond, DannyDanny Richmond	2.0 !D	L	27	2012	Chicago, Illinois	Avalanche
34	United States !	Rissmiller, PatrickPatrick Rissmiller	4.0 !C	L	33	2011	Belmont, Massachusetts	Avalanche
29	United States !	Stoa, RyanRyan Stoa	6.0 !LW	L	25	2009	Bloomington, Minnesota	Avalanche
46	Canada !	Strong, DeanDean Strong	4.0 !C	R	26	2011	Mississauga, Ontario	Monsters
7	Canada !	Van Der Gulik, DavidDavid Van Der Gulik (A)	7.0 !RW	L	29	2010	Abbotsford, British Columbia	Avalanche
45	United States !	Walker, LukeLuke Walker	7.0 !RW	L	22	2010	New Haven, Connecticut	Avalanche
17	Canada !	Wilson, BenBen Wilson	4.0 !C	R	21	2011	Calgary, Alberta	Monsters

Team records[link]

• Franchise First Game: October 6, 2007. Grand Rapids Griffins 3, Lake Erie Monsters 2
• Franchise First Win: October 20, 2007. Lake Erie Monsters 3, Syracuse Crunch 2.
• Franchise First Goal: October 6, 2007. Grand Rapids Griffins 3, Lake Erie Monsters 2. Goal scored by Matt Hussey
• Franchise First Shutout: November 15, 2007. Jason Bacashihua. Lake Erie Monsters 2, Quad City Flames 0.
• Franchise First Hat Trick: November 17, 2007. Chris Stewart. Lake Erie Monsters 5, Toronto Marlies 3.
• Franchise Most Goals in a Game: December 3, 2010. 4-Patrick Rissmiller. Lake Erie Monsters 6, Chicago Wolves 3.
• Franchise Most Wins in a Season: 44 (2010–11)
• Franchise Most Points in a Season: 96 (2010–11)
• Franchise Most Games Won in a Row: 8 (2010–11)

Single season[link]

Goals: 26 Brian Willsie (2009–10), Matt Ford (2010–11)

Assists: 50 T.J. Hensick (2009–10)

Points: 70 T.J. Hensick (2009–10), Ben Walter (2010–11)

Penalty Minutes: 213 Mitch Love (2007–08)

Wins: 23 Jason Bacashihua (2010–11)

GAA: 2.11 Cédrick Desjardins (2011–12)

SV%: .932 Cédrick Desjardins (2011–12)

Shutouts: 8 Tyler Weiman (2008–09)

• Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender

Career[link]

Career Goals: 55 Ryan Stoa

Career Assists: 92 T.J. Hensick

Career Points: 131 T.J. Hensick

Career Penalty Minutes: 344 Patrick Bordeleau

Career Goaltending Wins: 51 Tyler Weiman

Career Shutouts: 13 Tyler Weiman

Career Games: 220 Justin Mercier

Playoffs[link]

Franchise First Playoff Game: April 16, 2011. Lake Erie Monsters 6, Manitoba Moose 4.

Franchise First Playoff Goal: April 16, 2011. Lake Erie Monsters 6, Manitoba Moose 4. Goal scored by Matthew Ford.

Franchise First Playoff Win: April 16, 2011. Lake Erie Monsters 6, Manitoba Moose 4.

Radio and TV[link]

The Monsters' flagship radio stations are WKNR AM 850 (which has been on board since the beginning of the franchise) and WHKW AM 1220. When on AM 1220, the games will be also be heard on Youngstown sister station WHKZ AM 1440 (which simulcasts the bulk of WHKW's schedule). Each station will air 38 games. Prior to 2010-2011, all games were heard on WKNR, but a number of games were aired on tape delay because of conflicts with other programming. The dual flagship arrangement allows for all 76 games to be aired live. Doug Plagens is the radio voice of the team. For select daytime games, WKNR will slide the game over to sister station WWGK AM 1540.

On the TV side, fifteen games will be televised, with the games spilt between FS Ohio (10 games), and Cleveland My Network TV affiliate WUAB channel 43 (5 games). Doug Plagens is the play by play voice, along with former Cleveland Lumberjacks star Jock Callander serving as analyst and WKNR evening co-host Kenny Roda as locker room reporter. When a Monsters game is televised, the broadcast will be simulcast on the radio.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lake Erie Monsters

• Official Website

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Lake Erie
From a high bluff near Leamington, Ontario
Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes.
Location	North America
Group	Great Lakes
Coordinates	42°12′N 81°12′W / 42.2°N 81.2°W / 42.2; -81.2Coordinates: 42°12′N 81°12′W / 42.2°N 81.2°W / 42.2; -81.2
Primary inflows	Detroit River
Primary outflows	Niagara River
Catchment area	l
Basin countries	Canada United States
Max. length	241 mi (388 km)
Max. width	57 mi (92 km)
Surface area	9,940 sq mi (25,744 km2)[1]
Average depth	62 ft (19 m)
Max. depth	210 ft (64 m)[1]
Water volume	116 cu mi (480 km3)
Residence time	2.6 years
Shore length1	850 mi (1,370 km)
Surface elevation	571 ft (174 m)[1]
Islands	24+ (see list)
Settlements	Buffalo, New York Erie, Pennsylvania Toledo, Ohio Cleveland, Ohio
References	[1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Erie^[2] ( /ˈɪri/; French: Lac Érié) is the fourth largest lake (by surface area) of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally.^[3] It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes^[4][5] and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario, on the south by the U.S. states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and on the west by the state of Michigan. The lake is named after the Erie tribe of Native Americans who lived along its southern shore.^[4] The outflow from the lake provides hydroelectric power to Canada and the U.S. as it spins huge turbines at Niagara Falls.^[6]

Geography[link]

Satellite image of Lake Erie in 2007

Geographic features[link]

Lake Erie (42.2° N, 81.2° W) has a mean elevation of 571 feet (174 m)^[1] above sea level. It has a surface area of 9,940 square miles (25,745 km²)^[1] with a length of 241 miles (388 km) and breadth of 57 miles (92 km) at its widest points.

It is the shallowest of the Great Lakes with an average depth of 62 feet (19 m) and a maximum depth of 210 feet (64 m).^[1] For comparison, Lake Superior has an average depth of 483 feet (147 m), a volume of 2,900 cubic miles (12,100 km³) and shoreline of 2,726 miles (4,385 km). Because it is the shallowest, it is also the warmest of the Great Lakes,^[7] and in 1999 this almost became a problem for two nuclear power plants which require cool lake water to keep their reactors cool.^[8] The warm summer of 1999 caused lake temperatures to come close to the 85-degree-Fahrenheit (29°C) limit necessary to keep the plants cool.^[8] The shallowest section of Lake Erie is the western basin where depths average only 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 m); as a result, "the slightest breeze can kick up lively waves," according to a New York Times reporter in 2004.^[9] The "waves build very quickly", according to other accounts.^[10][11] Sometimes fierce waves springing up unexpectedly have led to dramatic rescues; in one instance, a Cleveland resident trying to measure the dock near his house became trapped but was rescued by a fire department diver from Avon Lake, Ohio:

The Niagara River empties Lake Erie into Lake Ontario. This water has just passed over Niagara Falls.

This area is also known as the "thunderstorm capital of Canada" with "breathtaking" lightning displays.^[11] Lake Erie is primarily fed by the Detroit River (from Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair) and drains via the Niagara River and Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario. Navigation downstream is provided by the Welland Canal, part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Other major contributors to Lake Erie include the Grand River, the Huron River, the Maumee River, the Sandusky River, the Buffalo River, and the Cuyahoga River.

Point Pelee National Park, the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland, is located on a peninsula extending into the lake. Several islands are found in the western end of the lake; these belong to Ohio except for Pelee Island and eight neighboring islands, which are part of Ontario. Major cities along the lake include Buffalo, New York; Erie, Pennsylvania; Toledo, Ohio; Port Stanley, Ontario; Monroe, Michigan; Sandusky, Ohio; and Cleveland, Ohio. The drainage basin covers 30,140 square miles (78,000 km²).

The lake is also an international boundary between the United States and Canada. The close proximity of both countries as well as the lake's flatness has caused occasional confusion with cell phone billing, since a call may be believed to have been made internationally, depending on the strength of the signal, and billed accordingly.^[13]

Partial map of the Lake Erie Islands

Islands[link]

Islands tend to be located in the western side of the lake and total thirty-one in number (13 in Canada, 18 in the U.S.). The island-village of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island attracts young crowds who sometimes wear "red bucket hats" and are prone to "break off cartwheels in the park" and general merriment.^[14] Kelleys Island was depicted by the Chicago Tribune as having charms that were "more subtle" than Put-in-Bay, and offers amenities such as beach lounging, hiking, biking, and "marveling at deep glacial grooves left in limestone."^[14] Pelee Island is the largest of Erie's islands, accessible by ferry from Leamington, Ontario and Sandusky, Ohio. The island has a "fragile and unique ecosystem" with plants rarely found in Canada, such as wild hyacinth, yellow horse gentian (Triosteum angustifolium), and prickly pear cactus, as well as two endangered snakes, the blue racer and the Lake Erie water snake. Songbirds migrate to Pelee in spring, and monarch butterflies stop over during the fall.^[15]

Water levels[link]

Lake Erie has a lake retention time of 2.6 years,^[16] the shortest of all the Great Lakes.^[17] This means that the lake water is renewed from upstream sources every three years. The lake's area is 470,000 acres (190,000 ha) of surface water.^[18] Lake Erie's water level fluctuates with the seasons as in the other Great Lakes. Generally, the lowest levels are in January and February, and the highest in June or July, although there have been exceptions. The average yearly level varies depending on long-term precipitation. Short-term level changes are often caused by seiches that are particularly high when southwesterly winds blow across the length of the lake during storms. These cause water to pile up at the eastern end of the lake. Storm driven seiches can cause damage onshore. During one storm in November 2003, the water level at Buffalo rose by 7 feet (2.1 m) with waves of 10–15 feet (3–4.5 m) for a rise of 22 feet (6.7 m).^[19] Meanwhile, at the western end of the lake, Toledo experienced a similar drop in water level. Lake water is used for drinking purposes.^[20]

• Historic High Water. The lake fluctuates from month to month with the highest lake levels in October and November. The normal highwater mark is 2.00 feet (0.61 m) above datum (569.2 ft or 173.5 m). In the summer of 1986, Lake Erie reached its highest level at 5.08 feet (1.55 m) above datum.^[21] The high water records were set from 1986 (April) through January 1987. Levels ranged from 4.33 to 5.08 feet (1.32–1.55 m) above Chart Datum.^[21]

• Historic Low Water. Lake Erie experiences its lowest levels in the winter. The normal low-water mark is 1.50 feet (0.46 m) below datum (569.2 ft or 173.5 m). In the winter of 1934, Lake Erie reached its lowest level at 1.50 feet (0.46 m) below datum.^[21] Monthly low water records were set from July 1934 through June 1935. During this twelve month period water levels ranged from 1.50 feet (0.46 m) to the Chart Datum.^[21]

Geology[link]

Sandy bluffs along Lake Erie in Erie County, Pennsylvania

Lake Erie in its current form is less than 4,000 years old, a short amount of time geologically speaking. Before this, the land on which the lake now sits has gone through several complex stages. A large lowland basin formed over two million years ago as a result of an eastern flowing river that existed well before the Pleistocene ice ages. This ancient drainage system was destroyed by the first major glacier in the area, while at the same time deepening and enlarging the lowland allowing water to settle and form a lake. The glaciers were able to carve away more land on the eastern side of the lowland because the bedrock is made of shale which is much softer than the carbonate rocks on the western side. Thus, the eastern side of the modern lake is much deeper than the western portion which averages only 25 feet (7.6 m) deep. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes because the ice was so thin and lacked erosion power when it reached that far south.

As many as three glaciers advanced and retreated over the land causing temporary lakes to form in the time periods in between each of them. Because each lake had a different volume of water their shorelines rested at differing elevations. The last of these lakes to form, Lake Warren, existed between about 13,000 and 12,000 years ago. It was deeper than the current Lake Erie, so its shoreline existed about eight miles (13 km) inland from the modern one. The shorelines of these lakes left behind high ground sand ridges that cut through swamps and were used as trails for Indians and later, pioneers. These trails became primitive roads which were eventually paved. U.S. Route 30 west of Delphos and U.S. Route 20 west of Norwalk and east of Cleveland were formed in this manner. One can still see some of these ancient sand dunes that formed in the Oak Openings Region in Northwestern Ohio. There, the sandy dry lake bed soil was not enough to support large trees with the exception of a few species of oaks, forming a rare oak savanna.^[22]

History[link]

Native Americans[link]

At the time of European contact, there were several groups of Iroquoian cultures living around the shores of the eastern end of the lake. The Erie tribe (from whom the lake takes its name) lived along the southern edge, while the Neutrals (also known as Attawandaron) lived along the northern shore. Near Port Stanley, there is an Indian village dating from the 16th century known as the Southwold Earthworks where as many as 800 Neutral Indians once lived; the archaeological remains include double earth walls winding around the grass–covered perimeter.^[15] Europeans named the tribe the Neutral Indians since these people refused to fight with other tribes.^[15] Both tribes were conquered and assimilated by their hostile eastern neighbors, the Iroquois Confederacy between A.D. 1651 and 1657, in what is referred to as part of the Beaver Wars.^[23]

For decades after those wars, the land around eastern Lake Erie was claimed and utilized by the Iroquois as a hunting ground. As the power of the Iroquois waned during the last quarter of the 17th century, several other, mainly Anishinaabe Native American tribes, displaced them from the territories they claimed on the north shore of the lake.^[24] There was a legend of an Indian woman named Huldah who, despairing over her lost British lover, hurled herself from a high rock from Pelee Island.^[10]

European exploration and settlement[link]

The steamship Walk in Water, built in Buffalo, was the first steamship on Lake Erie. Picture circa 1816.

In 1669, the Frenchman Louis Jolliet was the first documented European to sight Lake Erie, although there is speculation that Étienne Brûlé may have come across it in 1615.^[25] Lake Erie was the last of the Great Lakes to be explored by Europeans, since the Iroquois who occupied the Niagara River area were in conflict with the French, and they did not allow explorers or traders to pass through. Explorers followed rivers out of Lake Ontario and portaged directly into Lake Huron. British authorities in Canada were nervous about possible expansion by American settlers across Lake Erie, so Colonel Talbot developed the Talbot Trail in 1809 as a way to stimulate settlement to the area; Talbot recruited settlers from Ireland and Scotland and there are numerous places named after him, such as Port Talbot and the Talbot River and Talbotville in southern Ontario.^[15]

Commander Perry's message after the Battle of Lake Erie: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." This 1865 painting by William H. Powell shows Perry transferring to a different ship during the battle.

During the War of 1812, Oliver Hazard Perry captured an entire British fleet in 1813^[26] near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, despite having inferior numbers.^[27] American soldiers swept through the Ontario area around Port Rowan burning towns and villages, but spared a gristmill owned by a Canadian mason named John Backhouse, according to one report.^[15] Generally, however, despite the two exceptions being the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 which involved conflicts between the U.S. and Great Britain, relations between the U.S. and Canada have been remarkably friendly with an "unfortified boundary" and an agreement "that has kept all fleets of war off the Great Lakes."^[28]

In 1837, rebellions broke about between Canadian settlers and the British Colonial government, primarily over political reforms and land allocation issues. Some of the rebels stationed themselves in the U.S. and crossed the ice from Sandusky Bay to Pelee Island wearing "tattered overcoats and worn-out boots", and carrying muskets, pitchforks, and swords,^[10] but the islanders had already fled.^[10] Later, there was a battle on the ice with the Royal 32nd regiment, with the rebels being driven to retreat.^[10]

Settlers established commercial fisheries on the north coast of the lake around the 1850s.^[29] An important business was fishing.^[16] In the pre-Civil War years, railways sprouted everywhere, and around 1852 there were railways circling the lake.^[30] Maritime traffic picked up, although the lake was usually closed because of ice from December to early April, and ships had to wait for the ice to clear before proceeding.^[31] Since slavery had been abolished in Canada in 1833, but was still legal in southern states of the U.S., a Lake Erie crossing was sometimes required for fugitive slaves seeking freedom:

Merchant shippers lacked modern radar and weather forecasting, so vessels were often caught up in intense gales:

There were reports of disasters usually from sea captains passing information to reporters; in 1868, the captain of the Grace Whitney saw a sunken vessel "three men clinging to the masthead" but he could not help because of the gale and high seas.^[34]

A balloonist named John Steiner of Philadelphia made an ambitious trip across the lake in 1857.^[35] He was described in the New York Times as an eronaut or aeronaut; powered boats were called propellers; and fast was deemed railroad speed. Here's an account of the day-long voyage over the lake:

In 1885, lake winds were so strong that water levels dropped substantially, sometimes by as much as two feet, so that at ports such as Toledo, watercraft could not load coal or depart the port.^[36]

During the history of the lake as a fishery, there has been marked battling by opposing interest groups. Here's an 1895 newspaper account in which critics of commercial fishing issued dire predictions and calling for government action to solve the problem:

View from the Peace Memorial at Put-in-Bay, Ohio

Predictions of the lake being over-fished in 1895 were premature, since the fishery has survived commercial and sport fishing, pollution in the middle of the 20th century, invasive species and other ailments, but state and provincial governments, as well as national governments, have played a greater role as time went by. Business boomed; in 1901, the Carnegie Company proposed building a new harbor near Erie in Elk Creek to accommodate shipments from its tube-plant site nearby.^[38] In 1913, a memorial to Commodore Perry was built on Put-in-Bay island featuring a Doric column.^[28]

During the Prohibition years from 1919 to 1933, a "great deal of alcohol crossed Erie"^[10] along with "mobster corpses" dumped into the Detroit River which sometimes washed up on the beaches of Pelee Island.^[39] According to one account, Al Capone hid a "fortune" in the walls of the Middle Island luxury club, but no money was found in it until 2007 when the building no longer stood.^[10] The club had a basement casino with poker tables and slot machines.^[10]

During the 20th century, commercial fishing was prevalent, but so was the boom in manufacturing industry around the lake, and often rivers and streams were used as sewers to flush untreated sewage which ended up in the lake.^[40] Sometimes poorly constructed sanitary systems meant that when old mains broke, raw sewage would spill directly into the Cuyahoga and into the lake.^[40] A report in Time Magazine in 1969 described the lake as a "gigantic cesspool" since only 3 of 62 beaches were rated "completely safe for swimming".^[40]

By 1975 the popular commercial fish blue pike had been declared extinct, although the declaration may have been premature.^[41] By the 1980s, there were about 130 fishing vessels with about 3,000 workers,^[29] but commercial fishing was declining rapidly, particularly from the American side.

Great Lakes Compact[link]

In 2005, the Great Lakes States of Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Canadian Province of Ontario endorsed the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Compact (Compact). The Compact was signed into law by President George W. Bush in September 2008. An international water rights policy overseen by the Great Lakes Commission, the Compact aims to prevent diversion of water from Great Lakes to distant states, as well as to set standards for use and conservation. It has support from both political parties, including United States Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) and Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-MI), but is not popular in the southwestern states due to frequent drought conditions and water scarcity.

Lake environment[link]

Weather[link]

Lake Erie in winter[link]

Cold air travels over warm lake water. The air becomes warmer, moister, less dense, so that it rises; when it passes over land, the reduced airspace causes the air to "pile up" resulting in "frictional convergence." This lifts the air even further to where it cools, turning into droplets or snowflakes. The result is enhanced snowfall.^[42]

Tornadoes rarely happen around the immediate Great Lakes region, although this one happened in 1953 in Erie, Michigan near Lake Erie.

Lake Erie in winter

Like the other Great Lakes, Erie produces lake effect snow when the first cold winds of winter pass over the warm waters. When the difference in temperature between the relatively warm surface water and the colder air reaches a threshold value of 18 to 23 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 12.8°C), then "lake-effect snow becomes possible:"^[42]

What causes heavy lake-effect snow is when cold air travels 60 miles (97 km) or longer over a large unfrozen lake.^[42] Lake-effect snow makes Buffalo and Erie the eleventh and thirteenth snowiest places in the entire United States respectively, according to data collected from the National Climatic Data Center.^[43] Since winds blow primarily west–to–east along the main axis of the lake, lake effect snow effects are more pronounced on the eastern parts of the lake such as cities such as Buffalo and Erie. Buffalo typically gets 95 inches (240 cm) of snow each winter, and sometimes ten feet (3 m) of snow;^[44] the snowiest city is Syracuse, New York, which gets lake effect precipitation from Lake Ontario as well as Lake Erie.^[45] A storm around Christmas in 2001 pounded Buffalo with seven feet of snow.^[45]

Lake Erie in winter.

The lake effect ends or its effect is reduced, however, when the lake freezes over. In January 2011, for example, residents of Cleveland were glad when Lake Erie was "90 percent frozen" since it meant that the area had "made it over the hump" in terms of enduring repeated snowfalls which required much shoveling.^[46] Being the shallowest of the Great Lakes, it is the most likely to freeze and frequently does.^[47] On February 16, 2010, meteorologists reported that the lake had frozen over marking the first time the lake had completely frozen over since the winter of 1995–1996.^[48] In contrast, Lake Michigan has never completely frozen over since the warmer and deeper portion is in the south, although it came close to being totally frozen during three harsh winters over the past century.^[49] When the lake freezes over, this usually shuts down the lake effect snowfall.^[50] In past years, lake ice was so thick that it was possible to drive over it or go sailing on iceboats; but in the first decade of the 21st century, the ice has not been thick enough for such activities.^[39] Many lake residents take advantage of the ice and travel; some drive to Canada and back.^[51] Here's one account of ice life around Put-in-Bay:

Windy conditions[link]

Strong winds have caused lake currents to shift sediment on the bottom, leading to "wickedly shifting sandbars" which have been a source of shipwrecks.^[39] But winds can have a peaceful purpose as well; there have been proposals to place electricity–producing wind turbines in windy and shallow points in the lake and along the coast, both in the United States and Canada. In 2010, there were plans for GE to develop five wind turbines to generate 20 megawatts of power by 2012 with plans to generate 1,000 megawatts by 2020; one proposal called for "gearless turbines" with 176-long blades helped along with magnets.^[52][53] A nonprofit development group near Cleveland was developing plans to construct hundreds of turbines in the lake.^[54] A plan by Samsung to build an offshore wind farm on the north shore of the lake, from Port Maitland to Nanticoke for a distance of 15.5 miles (25 km),^[55] but the plan has been met with opposition from residents for a number of reasons. Canadians near Leamington and Kingsville have organized protest groups to thwart attempts to bring wind turbines to the lake; reasons against the turbines include spoiling lake views as well as the NIMBY phenomenon, as well as possible adverse effects regarding drinking water and commercial fishing.^[56] Plans to install turbines in Pigeon Bay, south of Leamington were met with opposition as well.^[57][58] The notion that bird and bat migration may be hurt by the wind turbines has been used to argue against the wind turbines: a reporter in The Globe and Mail wrote "Given the tendency of turbines to make mincemeat of things airborne, it doesn’t require great imagination to figure out what would happen."^[56] There were descriptions of wind turbines built in a farm near the lake shore:

Microclimates[link]

The lake is also responsible for microclimates that are important to agriculture. Along its north shore is one of the richest areas of Canada's fruit and vegetable production; this southernmost tip, particularly in the area around Leamington, is known as Canada's "tomato capital".^[56] The area around Port Rowan in Ontario has special trees which grow because of the "tempering effect of the lake", and species include tulip trees, flowering dogwood, sassafras and sour gum.^[15] In this area there are many greenhouses which produce a "variety of tropical plants rarely cultivated so far north", including some species of cacti, because of the lake's tempering effect.^[15] Along the southeastern shore in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York is an important grape growing region, as are the islands in the lake. Apple orchards are abundant in northeast Ohio to western New York.

Long term weather patterns[link]

There are conflicting reports about the overall effect of global warming on the Great Lakes region, including Lake Erie. One account suggests that climate change is causing greater evaporation of lake water, leading to warmer temperatures as well as ice in winter which is less thick or nonexistent, fueling concerns that "Erie appears to be shrinking" and is the most likely candidate among the five Great Lakes to "turn into a festering mud puddle."^[39] In 2010, the Windsor Star reported that the lake experienced "record-breaking temperatures" reaching 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27°C) in mid-August and compared the lake to a "bath tub".^[60] But the long term weather patterns are subject to controversy.

Ecosystems[link]

A coal-fired power plant in Avon Lake, Ohio located on Lake Erie.

Lake Erie has a complex ecosystem with many species in constant interaction. Human activity, such as pollution and maritime ship traffic, can affect this environment in numerous ways. The interactions between the new species can sometimes have beneficial effects, as well as harmful effects. Some introductions have been seen as beneficial such as the introduction of Pacific salmon.^[39] Occasionally there have been mass die-offs of certain species of fish, sometimes for reasons unknown, such as many numbers of rainbow smelt in May 2010.^[61]

Invasive species[link]

The lake has been plagued with a number of invasive species, including Zebra^[39] and quagga mussels, the goby and the grass carp. One estimate was that there have been 180 invasive species in the Great Lakes, some having traveled in ballast water in international ships.^[62] Zebra mussels and gobies have been credited with the increased population and size of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie.^[63] In 2008 there were concerns that the "newest invader swarming in the Great Lakes", which was the "bloody-red shrimp", might harm fish populations and promote algae blooms.^[64]

Environmentalists and biologists study lake conditions, such as the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island near Put-in-Bay which is the oldest "freshwater biological field station" and campus of Ohio State University.^[62] In addition, the Great Lakes Institute of the University of Windsor has experts who study issues such as lake sediment pollution and the flow of contaminants such as phosphorus.^[62]

Eutrophication and the infamous dead zone[link]

The green scum shown in this image taken in October 2011 is the worst algae bloom Lake Erie has experienced in decades.

An ongoing concern is that "nutrient overloading from fertilizers, human and animal waste", known as eutrophication, in which additional nitrogen and phosphorus enter the lake, will cause plant life to "run wild and multiply like crazy".^[65] Since there are fewer wetlands, which are like "Nature's kidneys" by filtering nutrients, as well as greater "channelization of waterways", nutrients in water can cause algal blooms to sprout as well as "low-oxygen dead zones" in a complex interaction of natural forces.^[65]

There is a dead zone within the middle of the lake although its exact location varies. Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been studying the lake's blue-green algae blooms, and trying to find ways to predict when they are spreading or where they might hit landfall; typically the blooms arrive late each summer.^[66] One account suggests that the seasonal algae blooms in Lake Erie were possibly caused by "runoff from cities, fertilizers, zebra mussels, and livestock near water."^[66] A second report focuses on the zebra mussels as being the cause of "big oxygen-poor dead zones" since they filter so much sediment that they have resulted in the growth of algae.^[39] One report suggests the oxygen-poor zone began about 1993 in the lake's central basin and becomes more pronounced during summer months, but it is somewhat of a mystery why this happens.^[67] Some scientists speculate that the dead zone is a naturally occurring phenomenon.^[62] Another report cited Ohio's Maumee River as the main source of polluted runoff of phosphorus from industries, municipalities, tributaries and agriculture, and in 2008, satellite images showed the algal bloom heading towards Pelee Island, and possibly heading to Lake Erie's central basin.^[62] There have been two-year $2 million studies trying to understand the "growing zone" which was described as a "10-foot-thick layer of cold water at the bottom", 55 feet (17 m) in one area, which stretches "100 miles across the lake's center".^[67] It kills fish and microscopic creatures of the lake's food chain and fouls the water, and may cause further problems in later years for sport and commercial fishing.^[67]

Snakes[link]

Northern Watersnake, Nerodia sipedon, is nonvenomous.

The Lake Erie water snake, a subspecies of the northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), lives in the vicinity of Ohio's Put-in-Bay Harbor, and had been put on the threatened species list.^[68] A threatened species is one which may soon become an endangered species.^[69] By 2010, the water snake population was over 12,000 snakes.^[68] While they have a non-venomous bite, they are a key predator in the lake's aquatic ecosystem since they feed on mudpuppies and walleye and smallmouth bass.^[68] The snake was helpful in keeping the population of goby fish in check.^[68] They mate from late May through early June and can be found in large mating balls with one female bunched with several males.^[69]

Asian carp[link]

There was concern that Asian carp might enter the Great Lakes region and alter the ecosystem negatively.^[29] They have been described as "greedy giants that suck plankton from the water with the brutal efficiency of vacuum cleaners" and scientists worry that they may unravel the "aquatic food web" by crowding out other species.^[29]

Snakehead fish[link]

There was concern in 2007 that Snakehead fish could get into the Great Lakes area.^[70] A YouTube video mentioned in a newspaper account has a man claiming that the fish could "bite your entire hand off", and officials warn that if the fish invades, it could "decimate the aquatic food chain".^[70] The fish can reach 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) in length and "survive out of water for four days" and "has a mouth full of teeth that can sheer fish in half" and can "eat ducks and small mammals."^[70]

Snakehead fish.

Agriculture and life around the lake[link]

In 1999, Doppler radar weather sensors detected millions of mayflies heading for Presque Isle in blue and green splotches on the radar in clouds measuring ten miles (16 km) long.^[71] These insects were a sign of Lake Erie's move back to health, since the mayflies require clean water to thrive.^[71] Biologist Masteller of Penn State Erie declared the bugs to be a "nice nuisance" since they signified the lake's return to health after forty years of absence.^[71] Each is an inch and a half long; the three main species of mayflies are Ephemera simulans, Hexagenia rigida and Hexagenia limbata.^[71] The insects mate over a 72-hour period from June through September; they fly in masses up to the shore, mate in the air, then females lay up to 8,000 eggs each over the water; the eggs sink back down and the cycle repeats.^[71] Sometimes the clouds of mayflies have caused power outages^[72] as well as causing roads to become slippery with squashed insects.^[71] Since zebra mussels filter extra nutrients from the lake, it allows the mayfly larve to thrive.^[72]

The Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) on Lake Erie.

There have been incidents of birds being poisoned by a nerve toxin named botulism, apparently ingested after eating fish infected with type E botulism, in 2000,^[73] and in 2002.^[74] Birds affected included grebes, common and red-breasted mergansers, loons, diving ducks, ring-billed gulls and herring gulls.^[73] One account suggests that bird populations are in trouble, notably the woodland warbler, which had population declines around 60 percent in 2008.^[39] Possible causes for declines in bird populations are farming practices, loss of habitats, soil depletion and erosion, and toxic chemicals.^[39] In 2006, there were concerns of possible bird flu after two wild swans on the lake were found diseased, but it was learned that they did not contain the deadly H5N1 virus.^[75] There were sightings of a magnificent frigatebird, a tropical bird with a two-metre wingspan, over the lake in 2008.^[76]

Water quality issues and restoration[link]

Lake Erie infamously became very polluted in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of the quantity of heavy industry situated in cities on its shores, with reports of bacteria-laden beaches and fish contaminated by industrial waste.^[77] In the 1970s, patches of the lake were declared dead because of industrial waste as well as sewage from runoffs; as New York Times reporter Denny Lee wrote in 2004, "The lake, after all, is where the Rust Belt meets the water."^[9]

The water quality deteriorated partially due to increasing levels of the nutrient phosphorus^[62] in both the water and lake bottom sediments. The resultant high nitrogen levels in the water caused eutrophication, which resulted in algal blooms and Algae masses^[78] and fish kills increasingly fouled the shoreline during this period. There were incidents of the oily surfaces of tributary rivers emptying into Lake Erie catching fire: in 1969, Cleveland's Cuyahoga River erupted in flames,^[78] chronicled in a Time Magazine article which lamented a tendency to use rivers flowing through major cities as "convenient, free sewers";^[40] the Detroit River caught fire on another occasion.^[39] The outlook was gloomy:

These events embarrassed officials and spurred local officials, including Cleveland's director of public utilities, Ben Stefanski, to pursue a massive effort to "scrub the Cuyahoga"; the effort cost $100 billion in bonds, according to one estimate.^[40] New sewer lines were built.^[40] Clevelanders approved a bond issue by 2 to 1 to seriously upgrade Cleveland's sewage system.^[40] Federal officials acted as well; the United States Congress passed the Clean Water Act of 1972.^[78][79] In that year, the United States and Canada established water pollution limits in an International Water Quality Agreement. The controls were effective, but it took several decades to take effect; by 1999, there were signs that large numbers of mayflies were spotted on the lake after a forty-year absence signalling a return to health.^[9][71] The clearing of the water column is also partly due to the introduction and rapid spread of zebra mussels from Europe, which had the effect of covering "the basin floor like shag carpeting" with each creature filtering "a liter of fresh water a day," helping to restore the lake to a cleaner state.^[9] The 1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement also significantly reduced the dumping and runoff of phosphorus into the lake. The lake has since become clean enough to allow sunlight to infiltrate its water and produce algae and sea weed, but a dead zone persists in the central Lake Erie Basin during the late summer. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has studied this cyclic phenomenon since 2005.^[80] There have been instances of beach closings at Presque Isle off the coast of northwestern Pennsylvania because of unexplained E. Coli contaminations,^[81] possibly caused by storm water overflows after heavy downpours, but overall the lake's water quality has improved substantially since the late 1950s.

Sunset from Cleveland pier.

Since the 1970s environmental regulation has led to a great increase in water quality and the return of economically important fish species such as walleye and other biological life.^[82] There was substantial evidence that the new controls had substantially reduced levels of DDT in the water by 1979.^[20] Cleanup efforts were described in 1979 as a notable environmental success story, suggesting that the cumulative effect of legislation, studies, and bans had reversed the effects of pollution:^[20]