Sediment Management to Support Restoration and Resilience

About the Sediment Management Project

The Sediment Management to Support Restoration and Resilience project explores pressing issues related to Great Lakes sediment management, including its role in restoration, coastal resilience, and maritime transportation efforts, with a focus on the Eastern Lake Erie basin, Lake Ontario, and the upper St. Lawrence River. Through this project, the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) will gather information on needs, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration, and foster communication between parties to consider efforts related to the full lifecycle of sediment in the Great Lakes basin, from natural and anthropogenic sources to sinks.

Project activities will include facilitation of workshops, webinars and other convenings; support for on-the-ground work to incorporate nature-based solutions around a small harbor and production of policy comparisons and geospatial products to support sediment management efforts. The GLC plans to prioritize convening stakeholders and subject matter experts with different perspectives across sediment management sectors to ensure new viewpoints are shared and promote a systems thinking approach when possible. The project builds upon past and current GLC efforts, including a 2021 environmental dredging windows workshop convened by the GLC, a 2023 GLC Ad Hoc Committee on Small Harbors and Coastal Communities report, and the GLC’s Standing Committee on Climate Resilience.

This project, funded through an appropriation by New York state, will work toward the GLC’s strategic plan goals of safe and reliable waterways, resilient Great Lakes, and healthy aquatic ecosystems. Partners will include The Nature Conservancy, the Water Resources Institute at Cornell University, and the Institute for Conservation Leadership. This effort will be guided by collaborations with Great Lakes sediment management leaders across the basin. 

Main Project Components

• A communications/engagement strategy that identifies key messages and promotes discussions and coordination across topics, sectors, and jurisdictions, and effectively shares project outcomes;
• A cornerstone event and associated activities focused on environmental dredging windows and related issues in Eastern Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River;
• A second cornerstone event focused on small harbor infrastructure and sediment needs as well as a series of convenings that bridge gaps in conversations and promote knowledge sharing among groups involved in sediment management;
• On-the-ground sediment management implementation project(s) to improve sediment transport issues in one or more small harbors through the use of nature-based solutions;
• A culminating event synthesizing lessons learned and project findings from the full suite of project activities across the three-year timeline, to share and communicate findings with key stakeholders and set the stage for future work.

Project Partners

• • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  • New York Department of State
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • The Water Resources Institute at Cornell University
  • Institute for Conservation Leadership

Funding

Funding for this project is provided by a direct appropriation from the New York State legislature administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

For More Information

Jill Estrada
Project Manager
[email protected]

Samantha Miller
Project Manager
[email protected]

Mary Sabuda
Maritime Transportation Policy Advisor
[email protected]

Photo: The Town of Newfane Marina and Olcott Harbor on Lake Ontario in Olcott, New York. ©Ad Meskens