Great Lakes Mesoscale convective complexs or MCCs can cause damage to wide swaths of forest and shatter glass in city buildings. These storms mainly occur during the night, and the systems sometimes have small embedded tornadoes, but more often straight-line winds accompanied by intense lightning. Historically, the Great Lakes, in addition to their lake ecology, were surrounded by various forest ecoregions (except in a relatively small area of southeast Lake Michigan where savanna or prairie occasionally intruded). Logging, urbanization, and agriculture uses have changed that relationship. In the early 21st century, Lake Superior's shores are 91% forested, Lake Huron 68%, Lake Ontario
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers Resources Agreement and the Governors endorsed the companion Great Lakes Compact. This Compact was enacted into United States law in 2008 following approval by the state legislatures and the United States Congress. The organization's goals are to enhance competitiveness, grow the regional economy and create jobs. Ongoing initiatives include: The organization’s goal is to restore and protect the region’s waters. Ongoing initiatives include: Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers The Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers is a North American organization led by the government chief executives from the Canadian provinces Ontario and Québec