These 11 conservation and restoration projects win funding support in Michigan

What’s happening: A total of 33 conservation and restoration projects throughout the Great Lakes Basin will receive $13.8 million in grants from the Sustain Our Great Lakes partnership and it’s Michigan that stands to benefit the most. Those 33 projects are spread across eight states – but it’s the Great Lakes State itself that will have 11 such projects receive funding, or one-third of the total grants awarded.

What it is: The Sustain Our Great Lakes Partnership is a public-private partnership that is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and is supported by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Caerus Foundation, Cleveland-Cliffs, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the USDA Forest Service. The partnership exists to support habitat restoration efforts throughout the Great Lakes Basin while advancing objectives set forth by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Why it’s important: “The 33 grants awarded today across the basin will support projects that restore crucial habitat, improve water quality and enhance areas for Great Lakes communities,” says Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “This work is made possible by the private-public partnership and extraordinary grantees that strive to create a healthier, more resilient Great Lakes region.”

Where it’s going: Michigan-based projects receiving grants include the Huron Pines Resource Conservation & Development Council, which receives $716,700 to protect water quality in Lake Huron and expand green infrastructure practices with coastal communities; Chikaming Open Lands, which receives $259,800 to enhance habitats throughout the Galien River watershed; National Wildlife Federation, which receives $690,000 to install 10 green stormwater infrastructure projects within the west River Rouge and Detroit River watershed; City of Rochester Hills, which receives $300,000 to control invasive species and restore and preserve greenspace, woodlands, and wetlands in the city and Clinton River watershed; Oakland County Parks and Recreation, which receives $300,000 to restore a 4-acre floodplain and improve the Rouge River watershed; Huron Pines Resource Conservation & Development Council, which receives $350,000 to reconnect upstream habitat for brook trout in the Black River watershed; Superior Watershed Partnership, which receives $360,000 to reconnect upstream habitat for brook trout in the Lake Superior Watershed; Trout Unlimited, which receives $460,000 to reconnect upstream habitat for brook trout in the Pilgrim River and its tributaries; Conservation Resource Alliance, which receives $300,000 to restore and reconnect upstream sites on Cedar Run and Victoria creeks; Detroit Zoological Society, which receives $1,000,000 to restore its urban tree canopy and improve stormwater storage; and Conservation Resource Alliance, which receives $200,000 to restore wetland habitat in the Maple River watershed.

Click here for a breakdown of each project funded by the latest Sustain Our Great Lakes grants.

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