It is now broadly recognized that Great Lakes resource management programs must be based on an ecosystems approach. Such a holistic, systems-level approach identifies key driving processes that operate at different, often hierarchical, scales to influence selected ecosystem characteristics; for example, processes that sustain healthy and interconnected aquatic habitat mosaics. The Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs) within the Great Lakes region are examples of broadscale, collaborative resource management efforts that require a sound ecosystems approach. Each LaMP has different endpoint goals, against which progress can be measured through time as specific management actions are implemented in selected areas by particular agencies. Yet, the LaMP process currently lacks a holistic framework that allows these individual actions to be planned and understood within the broader context of the Great Lakes ecosystem. This paper addresses two objectives that are meant to introduce and illustrate the use of an ecosystem-based framework for regional-scale resource management.