A critical component of the Lake Michigan Potential Damages Study will be an assessment of the social, environmental and economic impacts that could potentially occur along the shoreline under different water level scenarios.

Investigation of social impacts will focus primarily on:

• An update of current land use management and shoreline management practices along the shoreline; and
• An assessment of alternative land use and shoreline management options that may be available.

Investigation of environmental impacts will focus on:

• Impacts to archaeological and special natural features;
• Impacts to habitat biodiversity;
• Impacts to fisheries;
• Impacts to threatened and endangered species.

Investigation of economic impacts will focus on:

• Estimates of residential property losses by water level scenario;
• Estimates of commercial-industrial-institutional losses by water level scenario;
• Estimates of community-based property losses by water level scenario;
• Estimates of recreational boating and sports fishery losses by water level scenario;
• Estimates of the impacts and costs of dredging and channel maintenance;
• Estimates of future structural shoreline protection trends and costs;
• Estimates of the future damage costs avoided through construction of shore protection structures.

A large amount of the information on social and environmental impacts will be drawn from studies carried out during the 1986-1993 IJC Great Lakes Water Level Reference Study. This will be supplemented by anecdotal and in-person interview data collected through discussions with county, municipal and other government agency personnel during the summers of 1997 and 1998 and Focus Group information collected during 1999.

Economic impact data will also be drawn from the previous IJC study, but will be revised to reflect output from the potential damages model being developed as part of this study.

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