News
Great Lakes Commission awards more than $1.2 million to reduce runoff and improve water quality
Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) announced today that it will award more than $1.2 million in grants to reduce the runoff of sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants into the Great Lakes and their tributaries through the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program.
“The Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program continues to assist communities across the Great Lakes basin as they improve water quality and tackle pollution,” said Todd L. Ambs, chair of the Great Lakes Commission. “The Great Lakes Commission is proud to partner with these local project leads through this unique program. Throughout its three decade history, projects with the GLSNRP have prevented millions of pounds of phosphorus and tons of sediment from reaching the Great Lakes. We are looking forward to seeing this new cohort of 2022 grantees work toward a healthier Great Lakes.”
Each year, the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program provides competitive grants to local, state and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations to install erosion and nutrient control practices in the Great Lakes basin. These practices help to prevent harmful algal blooms and dead zones. The program supports projects not typically funded by other federal cost-share programs, including innovative and unique practices. The 2022 projects generally focus on three approaches: long-term sediment and nutrient management through engagement with the agricultural community, streambank restoration, and green infrastructure.
The following grants have been awarded:
| Project | Grantee | Amount | State |
| Spy Run Creek Streambank Restoration: Phase II | Fort Wayne Park Foundation | $200,000 | Indiana |
| Muskegon River Streambank Protection Initiative | Muskegon River Watershed Assembly | $87,909 | Michigan |
| Babbitt’s Farm Streambank Restoration | Genesee RiverWatch Inc. | $198,455 | New York |
| Skaneateles Lake Sub-Watershed Improvement Project for the Lake Ontario Great Lakes Basin | Skaneateles Lake Association, Inc. | $45,000 | New York |
| Grassed Waterways and Wetlands in St. Mary’s River | Mercer County Soil & Water Conservation District | $176,000 | Ohio |
| Keene Creek Resiliency Report – Irving Park Biofiltration Basin | City of Duluth | $121,000 | Minnesota |
| McCormick Ravine Improvements | The City of Lake Forest | $200,000 | Illinois |
| Forget Me Not Creek Stream Restoration Project | Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve | $200,000 | Wisconsin |
Funding for the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Since it was first funded in 2010, the GLRI has provided more than $4 billion to fund more than 6,000 projects across the Great Lakes region. The projects have cleaned up toxic hot spots, restored wetlands, helped to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species and reduced harmful sediment and excess nutrients to the most significant surface, freshwater resource on the planet, our Great Lakes.
More information about the projects is available at www.nutrientreduction.org.
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.