News
Request for Proposals: Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework Small Grants
Ann Arbor, Michigan — The Great Lakes Commission today issued a request for proposals to advance the regional fight against invasive Phragmites, one of the most aggressive plant species invading North America. Invasive Phragmites is already well established in the Great Lakes basin, and its spread has negative impacts on water levels and drainage, wildlife, recreation and tourism and public safety.
Currently, invasive Phragmites is managed using a suite of approaches, including herbicide, cutting, crushing, flooding, and burning. These actions are resource intensive and differ in effectiveness due to site-specific conditions and other variables. Through this grant program, which is entering its third round of funding, groups can apply for funding to implement specific combinations of approaches on which data is lacking, helping to improve future guidance. Over the first two grant cycles, 124 units and more than 185 total acres have been managed, and nine different management combinations have been implemented.
Indigenous Nations, U.S.-based state or local units of government, lake associations/watershed protection groups, nonprofit organizations, universities/colleges, and conservation groups may apply for grants in the expected range of $5,000 to $30,000 (with higher amounts considered) to manage nonnative Phragmites using one of twelve priority management combinations during the period of July 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027. A webinar for potential applicants will be held on March 25 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. The due date for applications is 5:00 p.m. Eastern on April 15. Applications will be reviewed by representatives from the Great Lakes states and Indigenous Nations. Final decisions on funded projects are anticipated in May 2026 and selected projects may begin work as soon as July 1. Information about previous grant recipients is available online.
Applicants can visit the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative webpage for a comprehensive overview of this funding opportunity. Grant recipients will be expected to report back monitoring and management data as stated in the PAMF Participant Guide. For more information, please contact GLC Program Manager Sam Tank at [email protected] or 734-396-6055.
The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Timothy Bruno, Great Lakes Program Coordinator at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.