Lake Superior
Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP)

The Lake Superior basin is one of the most pristine and unique ecosystems in North America. Containing the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in the world, Lake Superior has some of the most breathtaking scenery in the Great Lakes, serving as a backdrop to a wide range of recreational and outdoor activities enjoyed by people from all over the world. Sparsely populated even today, Lake Superior has not experienced the same level of development, urbanization or pollution as the other Great Lakes. Because of this uniqueness, the International Joint Commission recommended in 1990 that Lake Superior be designated as a demonstration area where discharges and emissions of toxic substances that are long-lived in the environment and build up in the bodies of humans and wildlife, would not be permitted.

In response, Canada and the United States developed A Binational Program to Restore and Protect the Lake Superior Basin (LSBP) in 1991. The LSBP, comprised of a Zero Discharge Demonstration Program and a broader ecosystem program, has focused on the entire ecosystem of Lake Superior, its air, land, water and human and wildlife. Government and tribal agencies and interested groups from Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario and Wisconsin, along with both federal governments, have taken steps to protect this great legacy for generations to come. This shared partnership has served as a model the world over for cooperative binational resource management.

Cooperation under the LSBP will result in restored degraded areas and protection of this unique headwater lake through activities such as pollution prevention, enhanced regulatory measures and cleanup programs. With citizen and stakeholder partners, most notably the Lake Superior Binational Forum, objectives have been identified and a vision established for the cleanup and protection of the lake. The governments have funded pollution prevention activities, research to characterize the lake ecosystem and identify the sources of pollutants and their effect on life, and projects to clean up, restore and protect habitat.

	The Lake Superior Binational Program General Information about the LSBP.
	Binational Organization Information about the LSBP structure including jurisdictions represented, the Task Force, the Work Group and committees reporting to the Work Group.
	Binational Forum General Information about the Binational Forum including a link to the Forum Web site.
	Publications A collection of products of the Lake Superior Binational Program.
	Getting Involved Information on how you can become involved in the Lake Binational Program.
	Links Easy access to other sites relevant to the Lake Superior Binational Program.
	Links to Partner Agency Sites Some reports that are not available on Binational.Net are available on individual partner agency sites.