Wetland coverage and type distributions vary systematically by ecoregion across the Great LakesBasin. Land use and subsequent changes in wetland type distributions also vary among ecoregions. Incidence of wetland disturbance varies significantly within eeoregions but tends to increase from north to south with intensity of land use. Although the nature of disturbance activities varies by predominant land-use type, mechanisms of impact and potential response endpoints appear to be similar across agricultural and urban areas. Based on the proportion of associated disturbance activities and proportion response endpoints affected, the highest ranking mechanisms of impact are sedimentation/turbidity, retention time, eutrophication, and changes in hydrologic liming. Disturbance activities here are defined as events that cause wetland structure or function to vary outside of a normal range, while stressors represent the individual internal or external agents (causes) that act singly or in combination to impair one or more wetland functions. Responses most likely associated with disturbance activities based on shared mechanisms of impact are 1) shifts in plant species composition, 2) reduction in wildlife production, 3) decreased local or regional biodiversity, 4) reduction in fish and/or other secondary production, 5) increased flood peaks/frequency, 6) increased aboveground production, 7) decreased water quality downstream, and 8) loss of aquatic plant species with high light compensation points. General strategies and goals for wetland restoration can be derived at the ecoregion scale using intbrmation on current and historic wetland extent and type distributions and the distribution of special-concern species dependent on specific wetland types or mosaics of habitat types. Restoration of floodcontrol and water-quality improvement functions will require estimates of wetland coverage relative to total land area or specific iand uses (e.g., deforestation, urbanization) at the watershed scale. The high incidence of disturbance activities in the more developed southern ecoregions of both Canada and the U.S. is reflected in the loss of species across all wetland types. The species data here suggest that an effective regional strategy must include restoration of a diversity of wetland types, including the rarer wetland types (wet meadows, fens), as well as forested swamps, which were extensive historically. The prevalence of anthropogenic stresses and openwater habitats likely contributes to the concentration of exotic species in inland wetlands of the southern Great Lakes ecoregions. Vegetation removal and site disturbance arc the bestdocumented causes for plant invasions, and encroachment activities are common in marshes and ponds of the southern ecoregions.

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There are ~250,000 lakes in Ontario that support important cultural, recreational, and economic fisheries. In 2005, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry adopted the Ecological Framework for Recreational Fisheries Management to tackle the heterogeneity of lake resources and angler mobility across the landscape, increase public participation in fisheries management, and streamline an ever‐growing list of regulations. The Broad‐Scale Monitoring Program for Inland Lakes began in 2008 to meet these goals. Essential elements of the program are: clear objectives, standardized sampling methods, operational implementation, diagnostic indicators, standardized reporting, a multidisciplinary team, and adaptive monitoring. Fishes, zooplankton, habitat, and angling activity are measured at each lake and provide the data needed to make evidence‐based fisheries management decisions. The data have benefited other provincial initiatives and provided significant contributions to the science of freshwater ecology. Recommendations are provided for other jurisdictions considering the implementation of a standardized broad‐scale monitoring program.

Ontario supports a vast fisheries resource with an abundance of lakes, rivers and streams. A landscape approach to management informed by a broad‐scale monitoring programme has been initiated to assess the status of fisheries within lakes. However, not all species are assessed by this programme, and there is no provincial monitoring of species inhabiting rivers and streams. As such, changes in the status of a species such as brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill), could be entirely missed. Brook trout is a highly valued and sought after species by anglers within the province, but there are concerns the species is declining. Given the paucity of broad, empirical data, the status and trends of brook trout across the province have been based on expert opinion at multiple local scales. In 2016, a online questionnaire was sent to brook trout experts to determine status, stressors, management approaches and assess risks (magnitude and probability) to lake and river/stream populations in different geographic areas of Ontario. A Bayesian network was used to analyse responses and develop a risk assessment based on expert opinion for brook trout at multiple scales within the province.

Brook trout are an iconic coldwater salmonid native to lakes and rivers in eastern North America (MacCrimmon & Campbell, 1969).They are often found in forested watersheds and seek cold, groundwater seep habitats in summer and for spawning in the fall (Haxton et al., 2020;Scott & Crossman, 1973). Due to their sensitivity to pollution, thermal regime alterations and fragmentation, they are a sentinel species in riverine assessments because their presence is an indicator of good ecosystem health (Barton et al., 1985). They are also one of the top three most sought-after recreational fish species in Quebec and eastern Canada (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2019).Nineteenth century journalists in Ontario referred to brook trout as "speckled beauties" and noted that they were found "[from] small rural streams to large northern rivers" (Knight, 2007). However, by 1879, Samuel Wilmot reported that brook trout were "exceedingly