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SUMMARY ~ <br />toration plans and programs. States should consider establishing <br />trust funds for environmental restoration and protection. The Clean <br />Lakes Program (CLP) administered by EPA has been the most reli- <br />able source of grant support for lake restoration efforts. This program <br />should receive stable administrative support and increased funding <br />from Congress. The 1991 appropriation for the CLP was $8 million. <br />Although this amount will help to maintain or initiate a few lake <br />restoration programs, it is inadequate for the large task of lake resto- <br />ration facing the country. This program's mandate should be broad- <br />ened to include all aspects of lake ecosystems, including habitat res- <br />toration, elimination of undesirable species, and restoration of native <br />species. <br />Knowledge of the current ecological condition of the nation's lakes <br />is grossly inadequate, and a national assessment of lakes is necessary <br />to determine the severity and extent of damage and to measure changes <br />in their status. The CLP should increase support of research and <br />development of effective tools for restoration, and should continue <br />guiding states in developing lake restoration programs. <br />The federal government should support research and development <br />for demonstration watershed-scale restorations that integrate lake, <br />stream, and wetland components. Research could be coordinated <br />under an interagency program, such as the Federal Coordinating Council <br />for Science, Engineering, and Technology, to coordinate the selection, <br />planning, and evaluation of demonstration projects. Although many <br />techniques are available to restore lakes, further development is re- <br />quired to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. The research <br />and development programs in lake restoration should take an experi- <br />mental approach, emphasizing controlled manipulation of whole-lake <br />ecosystems or large in-lake enclosures. <br />Research and development programs in applied limnology are needed <br />to study <br />• improved techniques for littoral zone and aquatic macrophyte <br />management; <br />• biomanipulation (food web management); <br />• contaminant cleanup in lakes, especially for mercury and poly- <br />chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); <br />• the relationships between loadings of stress-causing substances <br />and responses of lakes; <br />• paleolimnological approaches to restoration; and <br />• prediction of lake trophic state from nutrient loading relation- <br />ships. <br />