Use of aerial photographs to measure the historical areal extent of lake Erie coastal wetlands

Aerial photographs were used to measure historical areas of wetlands at Pointe Mouillee in Monroe County, Michigan, and these results were compared with Lake Erie water levels. Measurements indicated a decrease of 836.4 hectares in total wetlands between 1935 and 1980. This was a reduction of 80 percent in the total area of wetlands that existed previous to the 1940 period. The majority of wetland losses occurred between 1940 and 1950, and may be partially attributed to the construction of dams across the Huron River prior to 1950.