Where should I relocate in the Great Lakes region?

There are several parts of this activity. All are available on this page with active links to the Internet. They may also be printed out from the pdf files linked to the page. The sections are:

• Reading Great Lakes maps [preparation for your consulting job]
• List of clients seeking to relocate to the Great Lakes region
• Worksheet for your relocation recommendations

The Adobe Acrobat reader (for opening .pdf files) can be downloaded (free) at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Answer each of the following questions by looking at the maps provided.  The headings on each section indicate the map you should be using. These maps will also be used for the Where should I relocate? activity.
 
 
 

Land Use, Fisheries, and Erosion
 
 

1.What would be the best lake to live on if you like being secluded in a forest?

2.Which lake has the most Alewife fish and which country commercially fishes it?

3.In Lake Erie, after what year did Canada significantly increase its fish catch overall?

4.What lake really is not used much for fishing?  On average, how many tons of fish are caught each year in that lake versus the lake that is most fished?

5.The north side of what lake is suffering from moderate to severe erosion?
 
 

Waterborne Commerce

1.Why are the pie charts all different sizes?  What does this show?

2.What are TWO cities in Canada that ship cement?

3.Is more cargo being navigated from Lake Superior to Lake Ontario or from Lake Ontario to Lake Superior?  How do you know this?

4.What lake is both the highest in elevation and the deepest?

5.Through what would have to navigate to get from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario?
 
 

Recreation

1.What lake has the most number of days you could catch salmon?

2.What lake would you least want to travel to if you want to boat along its shore?

3.List THREE types of protected areas around Lake Huron.

4.Which city would you want to live in if you wanted lots of skiing options nearby?

Chicago          Duluth             Kingston

5.What trail would you take to go from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie?

Employment and Industry Structure

1.Look at the pie charts.  What THREE industries seem to be prominent in almost all of the cities?

2.What do red circles tell you?

3.Toledo (13) and the Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, Green Bay, Sheboygan area (3) have approximately the same populations.  Why is the lighter red, center circle bigger in 3 than in 13?  What does this mean?
 
 
 

Transportation

1.Would you have to pay to drive on a road taking you from Chicago to Cleveland?

2.Approximately how many miles of railroad track were laid to connect Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie?

3.Around what lake would you find the most nuclear power generators?

4.From which source, oil or gas, would you say most of the Great Lakes region receives its power?

Your group represents the Relocation Travel Agency.  “Clients” have come to you with requirements for a place to live, work and relax in the Great Lakes region because they have the opportunity to relocate.  Using the factors that are important to them [their Objectives] and the maps provided, make a suggestion to your “clients” about where they might want to relocate.  Your agency may determine that there is more than one place a client could move.  It is good to offer them choices, but be prepared to suggest what the consequences are for making the alternative choices!  Write any and all relocation suggestions next to each client.  When suggesting a relocation site, you may use any of the city names on any of the maps you have.
 

To guide your decision making, use the PrOACT model as described at  http://earthsys.ag.ohio-state.edu/decision/proact.htm .
 
 

Here is a list of the clients and some information about each of them. 

 

CLIENT # 1 Works as an operator of large trucks in mining (mainly limestone) operations Has a boat and loves to water ski Loves football Loves big cities Loves to snow ski Flies often to visit relatives in Florida	CLIENT # 2 He works in the coal industry She has lots of experience managing clothing retail shops Own a horse so they would like to be in a somewhat rural, farming community He loves to fish and often enters walleye tournaments
CLIENT # 3 He has been in the soybean business for years and would like to continue it where he relocates Needs to be near freight lines to ship out the soybeans She is a minister Does like a small city Likes forested areas nearby to hunt deer, elk, bear and game birds Together, they enjoy salmon fishing, snow skiing, and hiking	CLIENT # 4 They speak both French and English fluently He has raised cattle all his life and she is a teacher Enjoy snow skiing, hiking, and fishing for salmon and trout Enjoy being able to go into the city on the weekends to get away from rural life Have family in Buffalo and want easy access to visit them (by airplane, car or train)
CLIENT # 5 He is a dairy (cheese) farmer and she is a preschool teacher They enjoy fishing  They have a boat, but like things quiet and want to dock it somewhere there isn't a lot of boating traffic Have a new granddaughter in Grand Rapids and want to be able to visit her frequently	CLIENT # 6 She speaks both French and English and leads foreign tour groups as a career He speaks both French and English and wants to open a business chartering boats for muskie and walleye fishing They prefer to live in a medium size city of about 1,000,000 people
CLIENT # 7 Prefers larger cities of over 1, 500, 000 people  Enjoys snow skiing, salmon fishing, and canoeing  Has good friends with a boat and would like some dock access so they can bring it when they visit Is a doctor Prefers using gas to heat a home	CLIENT # 8 She wants to manage a bed-and-breakfast  and a group of cabins in the forests of Canada Wouldn’t mind opening up a ski resort if the opportunity arose Doesn’t really like the water Doesn’t like large cities; prefers very small ones Needs a major airport to attract rich guests to the bed-and-breakfast or ski resort
CLIENT # 9 Canadian and wants to remain in Canada Knows how to mechanically operate a canal lock system; used to work on the Portage Lake Ship Canal Wants to move to a different Great Lake than he was previously on Still wants to be able to fish for salmon and trout Would like an area with lots of boaters and maybe start a fishing charter operation Needs to be able to fly to Toronto to see an ill relative	CLIENT #10 Want to move back to Canada where they were born She is a scientist wanting to research how organisms survive at great depths in fresh water He is the iron ore manufacturing business Both enjoy hiking, camping in state or national forests and boating She has a grandmother in Detroit who is afraid to fly and cannot drive anymore but wants to be able to visit often

 

Have your Objectives-Alternatives tables available and lists of tradeoffs for your suggestions when you finish making your deliberations.
 
 
 

Client #1            __________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Client #2            __________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Client #3            __________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Client #4            __________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Client #5            __________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Client #6            __________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Client #7            __________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Client #8            __________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Client #9            __________________________________________________________
 
 

Client #10            __________________________________________________________

 

Questions:
 
 

1.  If a place does not meet all of the Relocation Requirements, why did your group recommend it anyway?

2.  If more than one place was suggested for your client to relocate to, which do you think the client would ultimately choose and why?

3.  Did your group place a value on any of the requirements?  If so, what were the values placed on the factors considered when relocating?  (Hint: Try to rank them numerically based on importance.)

4.  Did every group assign the factors the same value of importance?  If not, why?

5.  Now that you have looked at the maps and know a little about what the Great Lakes region has to offer, where would you move and why?

6.  What was the hardest part of this activity and why?

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