Each vision statement has equal priority and should be interpreted in context with the other two. Associated with each vision statement are milestones that describe measurable key events that will occur by certain dates if the Commission is successfully achieving its Strategic Vision. An intensive assessment and evaluation of progress towards achievement of the Strategic Vision will be conducted twice by the Commission and completed by April 15, 1995, and April 15, 2001.
The vision statements are:
These
and many other events were so profound that they have challenged and broadened
the thinking of fishery experts. Successful fish management of the Great
Lakes is now viewed as an activity focussed on the lakes as ecosystems.
As a result, effective management requires the coordination and integration
of efforts of many governmental agencies. Fishery-management decision makers
now must consider the potential effects on the whole system rather than
only the effects within jurisdictional boundaries.
The authors of the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries recognized more than 35 years ago that joint and coordinated efforts by the United States and Canada were essential to sustain fishery productivity in the Great Lakes. Signed in 1954, the Convention established the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to effect five general duties (from the Convention):
(a) to formulate a research program or programs designed to determine the need for measures to make possible the maximum sustained productivity of any stock of fish in the Convention Area which, in the opinion of the Commission, is of common concern to the fisheries of the United States of America and Canada and to determine what measures are best adapted for such purpose;
(b) to coordinate research made pursuant to such programs and, if necessary, to undertake such research itself;
(c) to recommend appropriate measures to the Contracting Parties on the basis of the findings of such research programs;
(d) to formulate and implement a comprehensive program for the purpose of eradicating or minimizing the sea lamprey populations in the Convention Area; and
(e) to publish or authorize the publication of scientific and other information obtained by the Commission in the performance of its duties.
The Commission remains committed to accomplishing these duties.
Changes in cultural values over the past 35 years have paralleled the rapid ecological changes within the Great Lakes. These societal changes shape the type of strategies and actions the Commission may consider to fulfill the general duties described in the Convention.
Evidence for these cultural changes include:
Changes
in cultural values and adoption of the Joint Plan have complicated the
character of the Commission's work from its early years. Partnerships among
agencies and with the public have become a requirement to meet the challenges
of managing the Great Lakes as whole ecosystems. In the future, these partnerships
will likely mean increased sharing of program elements of Great Lakes management.
This complexity has caused the Commission to review current programs and
to sharpen its focus on the future. The Commission's development and adoption
of this Strategic Vision for the Decade of the 1990s are a result of that
process.
The primary audiences for this document are the Commission's cooperator agencies and institutions, the Parties to the Convention, and the Commission itself. This document serves to communicate to federal, provincial, state, and tribal natural-resources agencies the intent and purpose of Commission actions and programs. The Strategic Vision will assist these agencies in understanding the reasons behind the decisions made by the Commission. This document also offers a clear, concise statement to the Parties to the Convention (the two federal governments) as to where the Commission believes the Great Lakes fisheries and their management should be moving.
This strategic document describes what the Commission desires as a future state for the Great Lakes. The document does not include an operational plan that explains the type of actions the Commission will use or encourage to achieve this Strategic Vision. Actions taken by the Commission will vary depending on the particular vision statement. For example, the Commission will function primarily as a leader and facilitator among natural-resources agencies to accomplish the ecosystem and partnership vision statements. The commission will especially need to rely heavily on the cooperation and coordination efforts of other natural-resources agencies. This approach is in contrast to the more direct role the Commission exercises with the sea lamprey management program. The Commission has direct authority over certain program elements as mandated by the Convention, but cooperation with other agencies remains essential in carrying out these responsibilities.
The greatest value of this document will be to the Commission
itself. First, the Strategic Vision will assist in decision making. As
an issue is discussed by the Commission, the key question to be answered
will be "Will a proposed decision impede or enhance the Commission's progress
towards achievement of milestones and the vision statements?" Every decision
to be made by the Commission can be judged in this way. Second, as a result
of using a uniform set of decision criteria, the Commission's programs
will be consistent, complementary, and not contradictory. The Strategic
Vision offers a framework to ensure that decisions, often of an incremental
nature, are logically connected and support achievement of goals. The vision
statements, coupled with measurable milestones, will ease evaluation of
Commission programs. Regular evaluation will provide essential feedback
of information to guide program redirection or correction. The Commission
will conduct and report on progress towards achievement of the Strategic
Vision by May 15, 1995, and May 15, 2001. In addition, the Secretariat
of the Commission shall provide annual progress reports to the Commission
on achievement.
The ecosystem approach to decision making recognizes the interconnection of air, land, and water of the Great Lakes basin and its inhabitants. All components of the ecosystem (such as nutrients, primary production, forage fish, predatory fish, habitat, chemical contaminants, climate, and human use) interact with each other and therefore must be considered in terms of their system-level effects. This approach is consistent with the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries.
The ecosystem approach is well suited to address complex
problems with extensive linkages such as introductions of unwanted non-native
species, toxic chemicals in fish, and nonpoint pollution sources. The ecosystem
approach also broadens the Commission's concept of "beneficiaries of management"
from commercial fishermen and recreational anglers to stakeholders (clients
plus potentially all others in the Great Lakes basin and some beyond).
The three vision statements that follow were developed based on this concept.