Lake Michigan, by volume, is the second largest Great Lake and the only one located wholly within the United States. The northern part is in the colder, less-developed upper Great Lakes region. It is sparsely populated, except for the Fox River Valley, and is primarily covered with mixed wood forest. The more temperate southern basin of Lake Michigan is the most urbanized area in the Great Lakes system; it contains the Milwaukee and Chicago metropolitan areas.
Geophysical Lake Michigan

• Lakewide Management Plans
• Other Plans and Reports
• Lake Michigan Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs)

Lakewide Management Plans (LAMPs)

In 1987 the governments of Canada and the United States made a commitment, as part of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to develop a Lakewide Management Plan for the Great Lakes which is coordinated by federal, state and provincial government agencies. The LaMP unites a network of stakeholders in actions to restore and protect the Lake Michigan ecosystem.

• Lake Michigan Lakewide Action and Management Plan Annual Report 2014 Exit
• Lake Michigan Lakewide Action and Management Plan Annual Report 2013 Exit

Other Reports and Planning Documents

• Environmental Sensitivity Index - Maps for the Lake Michigan Shorelines of Indiana and Illinois
• Lake Michigan Mass Balance Project (LMMB)
• Habitat and Land Use Management Toolbox (PDF) (25 pp, 461 K, About PDF)
• Lake Michigan Intensive Survey 1976-1977 Management Report (PDF)(67 pp, 951 K, About PDF)
• Zooplankton Community Composition in the Nearshore Waters of Southern Lake Michigan - July 1982 (PDF) (138 pp, 156 MB, About PDF)

Lake Michigan Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs)

1. Green Bay Fox River AOC - Wisconsin
2. Grand Calumet River AOC - Indiana
3. Kalamazoo River AOC - Michigan
4. Manistique River AOC - Michigan
5. Menominee River AOC - Michigan
6. Milwaukee Estuary AOC - Wisconsin
7. Muskegon Lake AOC - Michigan
8. Sheboygan River AOC - Michigan
9. Waukegan Harbor AOC - Wisconsin
10. White Lake AOC - Michigan - DELISTED