Lakes are losing ice cover at unprecedented rates. With reduced ice cover, lakes may stratify earlier which can lead to elevated water temperatures, primary production, and likelihood of algal blooms, some of which may be toxic. Mitigation of greenhouse gases is essential to preserving this ecological, cultural, and economically important resource.

Multiple activities within watershed boundaries impact the quality of freshwater systems and this presentation examines stakeholders' perspectives of governance in the Iowa Great Lakes region. Conservationists' perspectives on the region's environmental pressures, barriers they encounter, and solutions within this system are discussed.