Scientists' role in defining the law: An examination of Michigan's water extraction law: The role of fish ecologists, state agencies, and stakeholders

In the state of Michigan, a water quantity management law was passed in 2007 as a precursor to the federal Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. Somewhat uniquely, the Michigan law required that any large-scale proposed groundwater pumping could not harm "characteristic fish populations" of inland lakes and streams of the state—a biotic determinant of non-compliance—and that final legal standards must be determined by science. An examination of Michigan's water extraction law can provide insight into the role of environmental and fishery scientists in providing legal definitions of novel terms, such as "characteristic fish populations", and the setting of enforcement standards.