The southeastern coast of Lake Huron is home to thousands of permanent and seasonal residents. Millions of visitors each year interact with the lake through fishing, swimming, boating and other recreational activities. Our coastal communities recognize Lake Huron as being key to their economic development. While most beaches are safe for recreational use , many are not free from water quality advisories and multiple types of nuisance algae Sand beaches dunes and cobble shores are coastal ecosystems that provide valuable ecosystem services, and support many rare species on Lake Huron Sand beach and dune habitats are the most popular area for visitors and residents on Lake Huron’s shoreline. Beaches provide an opportunity for tourism and enjoyment but are rare and fragile ecosystems covering only 2-3% of Lake Hurons shoreline. Lake Huron’s sand beaches are dynamic environments growing and shrinking depending on the changing water levels in our Great Lake. Although a popular place to build cottages and homes continued development is leading to habitat loss for endangered species. Sand dunes are active, forming parallel to the shoreline growing and receding with lake levels winds, and vegetation cover. Ecosystem services provided by healthy, mature dunes include erosion protection from storm surges, habitat for rare species, water filtration, and buffers for waves and wind. Coastal dune systems are considered to be among the most fragile ecological features in North America. Great Lakes dune systems in Ontario due to their extreme rarity and ecological fragility have been suggested to be of national significance. Healthy sand beach and dune environments provide critical nesting habitat for endangered species such as the Piping Plover which are tremendously sensitive to habitat change Sand beach and dune environments are at risk from development, pollution, destruction of dunes, removal of natural vegetation, and invasive species. However, they can be preserved and enhanced using inexpensive, simple methods. Installing sand fencing parallel to the shoreline from fall to spring months to capture sand and build dunes, and planting native species including dune grass to stabilize and hold sediment in place, will prevent high lake levels from creeping further inland affecting properties and infrastructure adjacent to the shore. To reduce pollution, a beach-cleanup will remove litter and plastic off beaches stops entanglement and ingestion by animals and improves the experiences of beach visitors. To find out more, go to lakehuron.ca Cobble shorelines are unique habitats for their visual appeal their ecology, and coastal processes forming these areas. Cobble shorelines made of limestone rock are rare geologic features only occurring in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Cobble beaches are distinguished from others by having less than 5% vegetation cover. When vegetation can become established, limestone cobbles create a calcium rich environment. Cobble beach shorelines are home to small invertebrates like crayfish, mayfly and stonefly, bird species like gulls, Caspian Terns, and killdeer and reptile species such as water snakes and turtles. Cobble beaches are seasonal spawning and migration areas for larger fish such as Whitefish and Lake Trout. Increased visitation and removal of vegetation wrack line debris, and the cobbles themselves disturbs the ecology and food web of cobble beaches. Wash-ups of garbage and littering by visitors is another disturbance troubling cobble beaches and most coastal shorelines on Lake Huron. Cobble shorelines are more permeable than other beaches and do not store pollutants for as long as other coastal habitats but they become storage areas for garbage and litter that often fall between the cobbles and are forgotten. Six threats that most heavily impact the health of cobble beaches include: plastic pollution, vehicle use, invasive species, removal of natural material, development and alteration. Cobble beaches can be preserved and enhanced by reducing nutrients, pollutants, and garbage entering these ecosystems. Beach Clean-ups are a fun, easy and inexpensive way to keep these threats in check and keep our shoreline healthy.