There was a time when the North Americas were covered in an ice sheet 3000 feet thick. The Laurentide Ice Sheet.
A small part remains today. It might be completely gone in the life spans of those reading this.
Most of the loss of that ice sheet occurred before man impacted the environment.
I mention that ice sheet because; it left behind some large fresh-water lakes. Carving run-off rivers and large lakes that are a vibrant part of the ecosystem.
Almost a century ago, waterway public works made the lakes and rivers more navigable. Large freighters could transport from the world to the fresh-water lakes.
It would be easy to expect many land owners around the lake would want those economic benefits.
The benefit of that work supports many very large users (shipping ore, shipping coal). Some smaller users can move private boats from the lakes to coastal waters.
International boats brought seabirds to the area. Then international boats brought an invasive small striped mussel. Then international boats brought a Goby fish. The seabirds, mussels and Goby all like this part of the world. The ecosystem changed and is still changing.
Now a century gone, there are train rails and highways. It has reduced the need for freighters.
The ecological impact grows.
The melting of the Laurentide ice sheet affected the ecosystem. Ecosystems inexorably change.
There are now forests of trees, where none existed under that long gone ice sheet.
I suggest we plant more trees and think about changes in the way nature did. The ice sheet did not recede in a few centuries.
Today, ecosystems are being forced to adapt to humans. Forced to adapt quickly to many changes nearly worldwide. Scientists have called for a new age. Marking that last age, the Holocene Epoch, as over.
I hope humanity is ready.