Do you remember ice-fishing as a child? Does your business depend on reliable ice cover for skaters, snowmobilers, or other winter recreators? Weigh in on what Great Lakes ice means to you — and how things are changing as ice cover dwindles.
A graduate student team at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (UM SEAS) is running a survey to collect opinions and experiences to show how ice cover change is reshaping communities and individual lives in the Great Lakes region.
Great Lakes scientists have been collecting environmental data about ice conditions for decades. Now, the students are collaborating with staff at the NOAA-funded Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) and Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) to spearhead the first study of social impacts of Great Lakes ice decline.
The survey is open to anyone in the region who interacts with ice. Respondents can enter a drawing for a $100 gift card. The survey will remain open through August 10, 2025.
Findings from the survey will be available to the public to support local communities, researchers, and policymakers in developing adaptation strategies and in preserving the cultural and economic relationships tied to changing ice cover.
