For many species of animals, obtaining basic life‐history data is difficult and even some common aspects, such as diet choice, remain unknown. To overcome this problem, we deployed what is, to our knowledge, the first successful application of a terrestrial high‐resolution animal‐borne video camera with on‐board long‐term recording and an associated Global Positioning (GPS) unit. Five cameras recorded video and audio and associated GPS locations of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) activities during 20 weeks from March to July 2011, although the units can run for >36 weeks depending on the rate of data collection. About 6% of videos were unusable because of fogging or snow on the lens, and clarity of plant images, especially ground covers, was a problem in a few of the files but overall quality of the videos was high and identification of diet by plant species can be achieved. We present a sample of data on several aspects of previously unknown behaviors of woodland caribou from boreal forests in central Canada, including parturition and diet selection to the level of individual plant species, to illustrate the capability of these units for improving our understanding of the behaviors of large elusive animals. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

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The Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement calls for the use of a systematic and comprehensive ecosystem approach (i.e. accounting for interrelationships among water, air, land, and all living things, including humans, and involving all user groups in comprehensive management) in water resource planning, research, and management. This Agreement further calls for the public to be consulted in all management actions. Remedial action plans (RAP) are being developed and implemented to restore uses in degraded areas of the Great Lakes and lakewide management plans (LaMP) are being developed and implemented to restore uses in open lake waters. These planning processes represent practical application of ecosystem approach theory. Lessons from practical experiences with Great Lakes RAP and LaMP include: an ecosystem approach can result in eliminating overlap and increasing efficiency; there can be positive effects from opening up decision-making processes through meaningful public participation; priority should be placed on reaching agreement on problems and priorities; identification of key actions and delineation of sequencing, timeframe, and responsibilities is essential to ensure accountability; there is a need for a step-wise approach to use restoration and demonstration of incremental progress; emphasis should be placed on planning cooperatively and sharing responsibilities for programme delivery; governments should provide resources to factilitate multi-stakeholder decision-making processes; spatial and temporal scale issues must be addressed; management actions should be treated as experiments; coupling of research and management has proven time and again to be cost-and ecosystem-effective; and emphasis should be placed on measuring and celebrating progress for continuous improvement.