The Great Lakes piping plover population was listed as federally endangered in 1986. Despite recent increases in size, the population remains extremely vulnerable to extinction from predation, demographic and environmental stochasticity and continued shoreline development and public recreation. However, recent breeding estimates demonstrate that long-term research, management, and protection are having a positive impact. Research to understand plover habitat use, movements, survival and fledging rates has been conducted since the mid-1980s and continues to be critical for the recovery of the population. This research will obtain estimates of adult and juvenile survival with the purpose of modeling population progress toward recovery, identify nesting locations with low productivity and determine factors causing hatching failure. Additionally, funding supports monitoring and banding of piping plovers throughout Michigan.