Identifying and mapping essential habitat for fish and freshwater turtles in coastal wetlands of Georgian Bay

五大湖沿岸沼泽养育了大量水生和半水生物种，这些物种利用它们进行繁殖、觅食和越冬。在乔治亚湾东部的休伦湖，那里的许多沿海沼泽仍然相对不受人类干扰，沿海湿地的完整性受到了十多年来前所未有的持续低水位时期的威胁。最近，这些滨海湿地的开发压力也有所增加，因为季节性和常年住宅对滨水物业的需求不断上升。显然，开发压力太大，无法阻止公共和私人土地上至少部分湿地的改变。一个更有效的保育策略是确定和保护必要的核心栖息地和连接走廊，留出非必要的湿地栖息地以供兼容发展。这样的栖息地排名系统更有可能被政界人士和商业利益集团所接受。

Great Lakes coastal marshes support a large number of aquatic and semi-aquatic species that use them for breeding, feeding and overwintering. In eastern Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, where many coastal marshes are still relatively free from human disturbance, the integrity of coastal wetlands has been threatened by an unprecedented period of sustained low water levels for over a decade. Recently, developmental pressure on these coastal wetlands has also increased because of rising demand for water-front property for seasonal and year-round residences. It is clear that development pressure is too strong to prevent alteration of at least some wetlands on public and private lands. A more effective conservation strategy is to identify and protect essential core habitat and connecting corridors, leaving non-essential wetland habitat available for compatible development. Such a system of habitat ranking is more likely to be embraced by politicians and business interests.