News

The Great Lakes Commission has announced funding to reduce runoff of sediment, nutrients and other pollutants into the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking applications to monitor ecological conditions in the coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes. Approximately $10 million of GLRI funding will be made available to one applicant to implement the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program for five years. The deadline for applications is Oct. 26, 2020.

The GLRI has funded projects to promote recovery of the federally endangered Great Lakes Piping plover. In July 2020, four chicks that were reared in captivity by the Detroit Zoological Society were released at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

U.S. EPA is seeking applications under a GLRI grant program focused on monitoring contaminants in Great Lakes fish. Approximately $6 million is available through the Great Lakes Fish Monitoring and Surveillance Program to fund one project over five years. The deadline for applications is Sept. 21, 2020.
 

On July 20, 2020, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited northwest Ohio where he announced more than $12 million in grants and projects that will benefit Great Lakes cleanup efforts in the Toledo area.

On July 21, 2020, U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler concluded a visit to northeast Ohio where he announced awardees for the GLRI Trash Free Waters grants. He also announced a $1 million GRLI grant to the City of Akron for the Gorge Dam removal project and toured sites in the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Kurt Thiede visited Traverse City, where he announced $12.1 million in GLRI grants for projects to restore and manage Great Lakes fish species and protect the health of Michigan watersheds.

U.S. EPA has awarded a GLRI grant of $4,222,090 to the Alliance of Rouge Communities to implement restoration projects at five parks in the Rouge River watershed in Wayne County, Michigan. The Rouge River has been identified as an Area of Concern (AOC), one of 27 remaining US areas in the Great Lakes basin identified as experiencing severe environmental degradation.

A new website aims to serve as a one-stop source for information about woody ornamental invasive species in the Great Lakes Basin. The common buckthorn, Siberian elm, and the winged burning bush are examples of woody ornamental invasive plants.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has identified nearly $20 million in investments in Great Lakes habitat restoration that will benefit local economies, strengthen healthy ecosystems and fisheries and support resilient communities.