2010 Annual Report

:: 2010: The Year In Review
:: Facts and Figures
:: Basin Program Projects and Maps
:: Featured Project: Eighteenmile Creek Streambank Restoration
    & Erosion Control (NY)
:: Featured Project: Baird Creek Sediment & Erosion Control (WI)
:: Around the Basin
:: Upcoming Events

2010: The Year in Review

The 2010 program year marks the 20th anniversary of the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control's grant program. The twentieth year saw the addition of a watershed scale grant program in addition to our regular small scale grant program. The watershed projects were funded by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative dollars.

Gary Overmier
Project Manager
Great Lakes Commission

This year, twelve small scale grants totaling $296,924 were authorized for funding. Each state in the basin had at least one project. The small scale projects allow organizations to install projects beyond their normal scope of work.

Nine watershed scale projects were funded after an extensive review of the 32 proposals submitted. Contrary to the small scale projects that can be located anywhere within the basin, the watershed scale projects were only solicited from priority watersheds. The criteria for selecting the priority watershed were:

• they had to have either a larger agricultural landuse or severe, extensive streambank erosion; and
• they had to have soils that were high in clay content.

When these conditions coincide a substantial amount of sediment reaches the Great Lakes, causing both environmental and economic damage to the region. These projects will address those issues over the next three years.