Ann Arbor, Mich. – Twenty-four projects have been selected by the Great Lakes Commission to receive funding under its Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control. The Basin Program improves Great Lakes water quality by promoting erosion and sediment control and sound land-use practices through demonstration grants, technical assistance and information/education projects in the Great Lakes states.

Funding for this highly competitive grants program is made available through a cooperative agreement between the Great Lakes Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service. Projects are selected by the Commission’s Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Task Force, comprised of state and federal officials.

To date, the Basin Program has supported 182 projects and invested nearly $5.9 million in water quality improvement efforts, with an additional $2.95 million of non-federal matching funds applied to the projects. The Basin Program has placed well over 60,000 acres of land under some form of erosion and sediment control. In the process, the program has involved hundreds of community volunteers in watershed improvement projects, improved local ecosystems, and built support for ongoing environmental restoration efforts.

“The Great Lakes Basin Program is a decade-long success story in state / federal / local partnership,” explains Nathaniel E. Robinson, chair of the Great Lakes Commission. “It’s a great example of how we can improve water quality by promoting innovative land-use practices.”

The following 24 projects, pending the signing of grant agreements, have been selected for FY2001 funding under the Program. Visit http://projects.glc.org/basin/searchproject.html for information on past projects funded by the Great Lakes Basin Program.

Illinois

• Bull Creek Restoration and Ravine Stabilization: $25,000.
  Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, Lake County, Illinois. Contact: Patricia Werner, 847-918-5269.
• Sediment Reduction through Coastal Wetland Construction”$37,850.
  Foss Park District, North Chicago, Illinois. Contact: Dr. Charles Shabica, 773-442-6054.

Indiana

• Grand Calumet River Lagoons Erosion Control Demonstration: $25,000.
  Save the Dunes Conservation Fund, Michigan City, Indiana. Contact: Sandra Wilmore, 219-879-3564.

Michigan

• The Dirt Doctors: Lesson Plans on Soil Erosion and Sediment Pollution: $22,256
  Wayne County Department of Environment, Land Resource Management Division, Wayne County, Michigan. Contact: John Jones, 734-326-3936.
• Erosion/Sediment Control Demonstration Project, Nichols Arboretum: $25,000.
  Nichols Arboretum, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Contact: Robert Grese, 734-763-0645.
• North Sharon Road Timber Bridge Project: $25,000.
  Kalkaska Conservation District, Kalkaska, Michigan. Contact: Russ LaRowe, 231-258-3307.
• Soft Engineering and Natural Methods Control Streambank Erosion: $17,662.
  Osceola-Lake Conservation District, Reed City, Michigan. Contact: Pam Wayne, 231-832-5438 x 3.
• Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Reduction in the St. Joseph River Basin: $23,440.
  St. Joseph County Conservation District, Centreville, Michigan. Contact: Shelly Milliman, 616-467-6336.
• Urban Erosion Control Project for Loop Park: $25,000.
  Shiawasee County Conservation District, Owosso, Michigan. Contact: Carla Wysko, 517-723-8263 x 3.

Minnesota

• Applying Natural Restoration Techniques to Slop Restoration: $25,000.
  Minnesota Erosion Control Association, Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Contact: Dwayne Stenlund, 651-284-3787.
• Lake Superior Tall Clay Bluff Restoration Demonstration Project: $18,100.
  Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, Duluth, Minnesota. Contact: Gene Clark, 218-723-4752.

New York

• Erosion and Sedimentation Education for Lake Erie Schools:$17,475.
  Chautauqua County Conservation District, Jamestown, New York. Contact: William Boria, 716-753-4481.
• Natural Stream Restoration in the Seneca Lake Watershed:$19,755.
  Schuyler County Conservation District, Montour Falls, New York. Contact: Elaine Dalrymple, 607-535-9650.
• Stormwater Phase II Initiative in the Seneca and Keuka Lake Watersheds: $17,000.
  Yates County Conservation District, Penn Yan, New York. Contact: Lester Travis, 315-536-5188.

Ohio

• Estimating TMDL Background Loading from Existing Data:$22,374.
  Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Contact: Peter Whiting, 216-368-3989.
• Ohio CREP, Water Quality and Minimum Detectable Change:$25,750.
  Water Quality Lab, Heidelberg College, Tiffin, Ohio. Contact: Peter Richards, 419-448-2240.
• Ohio Naturalized Stream Channel Conference and Website:$24,250.
  Ohio Department of Natural Resources and The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Contact: Jerry Wager, 614-265-6619.
• Residue Management and Erosion Control Demonstration Project: $25,000.
  Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments, Toledo, Ohio. Contact: David Gedeon, 419-241-9155 x 125.
• A Watershed Approach to the NPDES Phase II Rule:$23,000.
  Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments, Toledo, Ohio. Contact: Daniel Swallow, 419-241-9155, x 139.

Pennsylvania

• Cascade Creek Hydrological Modeling and Floodplain Restoration: $25,000.
  Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, Erie, Pennsylvania. Contact: Raymond Schreckengost, 814-455-7557.
• Design and Performance of Rootwads in Streambank Restoration: $23,479.
  Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. Contact: Al Jarrett, 814-865-5661.

Wisconsin

• Buffer Installation on Low Order Streams: $25,000.
  Oconto County Land Conservation Department and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Oconto, Wisconsin. Contact: Tom Hilheiser, 920-834-5688.
• Demonstration of Streambank Stabilization from Submerged Vanes: $25,000.
  Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin. Contact: Kim Walz, 608-267-9220.
• Great Lakes Grazing Network: $15,000.
  Great Lakes Grazing Network, Monona, Wisconsin. Contact: Kim Cates, 608-588-7859.

For immediate release: April 23, 2001
Contact: Tom Crane, [email protected]

###

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by Nathaniel E. Robinson (Wisconsin), is a nonpartisan, binational compact agency created by state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of state legislators, agency officials and governors’ appointees from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.