Legacy Key Indicator Reports

Detroit River-Western Lake Erie Basin Indicator Project


This page lists recently updated key indicator reports for the Detroit River-Western Lake Erie Basin Indicator Project. The indicators on this page are grouped into three categories that illustrate causal relationships. Current key indicator reports can be found HERE.

Pressure Indicators


Pressure indicators describe direct and indirect pressures, including human activities, that impact the environment. They are driving forces of environmental change such as increased resource use, transportation patterns, pollutant emissions, sprawl, population growth, or the rate at which contaminants and invasive species are being introduced. Pressure indicators measure the factors that cause changes in the ecosystem.

Click on the links below to learn more about individual pressure indicators.

State Indicators


State indicators describe the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the natural world, and human health and welfare. Through monitoring of state indicators we can measure how ecosystem conditions change. State indicators may be levels of air or water quality, contaminants in fish, wildlife population levels, or diseases in animals or humans. State indicators also give a measure of current ecosystem status to use as a reference when assessing the impact of future activities. State indicators measure impacts of pressure indicators.

Click on the links below to learn more about individual state indicators.

Response Indicators


Response indicators describe societal actions in policy or behavior undertaken to improve and protect the ecosystem. These actions can originate from groups, individuals, corporations, or government policies that ultimately improve ecosystem conditions. Response indicators may be pollution regulations and control measures, habitat rehabilitation and restoration, use of clean technologies, and other activities that improve the health of the ecosystem. Others specifically reverse the negative driving forces of pressure indicators like resource use, transportation, pollution, land use, or population.

Click on the links below to learn more about individual response indicators.