Helping Canadians Adapt to Climate Change in the Great Lakes Coastal Zone

As global warming increases, Great Lakes coastal communities will be subjected to significant climatic changes driven by increasing temperature, changing precipitation and wind patterns, and a potential increase in the frequency of severe events such as windstorms and ice storms. Climate change will impact all life in every ecosystem, and people who live and work in these systems will need to adapt in a variety of ways. In response, a number of agencies and organizations have partnered to assist Great Lakes coastal communities in their efforts to identify and assess adaptation options. To date, workshops have been completed in Belleville (Lake Ontario) and Parry Sound (Lake Huron). This paper reviews some of the known and potential impacts that will result in or near Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Lake Ontario and in Sturgeon Bay, Lake Huron, and proposes a checklist of actions that could provide the basis for an adaptation protocol.