The fertile soils and the abundant waters of the Great Lakes region make it ideal for agriculture. Development and intensification of the region’s farmland has altered how water interacts with the landscape. Artificial drainage for agriculture has changed the way water flows over the land, washing sediments into rivers and lakes. Nutrients applied to fertilize crops but that go unutilized drain into tributaries that feed the Great Lakes, causing undesirable impacts such as algal blooms. Changes to the landscape like increased sediment and nutrient runoff into Great Lakes waterways threaten local plant, fish and wildlife habitats.