The Great Lakes Commission today issued a request for proposals (RFP)  to support in-person outreach and voluntary watercraft inspections in coordination with the annual regional Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Landing Blitz. This funding is intended to support partner activities with a specific focus on expanding access and event coverage to water bodies and access points that have not historically been included as participants in previous Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz events. Tribal or U.S.-based local units of government, lake associations/watershed protection groups, non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations, universities/colleges, conservation groups are eligible to apply for the grants, which expected to range from $4,000 and $10,000.

The Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz is an annual event that brings together state agencies and local volunteer partners to visit public and private boating access sites to deliver messaging about preventing the introduction and spread of AIS from the movement of watercraft and equipment between water bodies. The Great Lakes Commission coordinates the Landing Blitz in partnership with state and provincial agencies and Sea Grant program staff.

Applications are due April 21, 2023 and project activities are expected to take place at least from June 30 – July 9, 2023. Please contact Ceci Weibert at cweibert@glc.org with any questions.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Todd L. Ambs, deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (retired), 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.