Great Lakes Commission awards $1.9 million to benefit water quality through soil erosion, sediment control

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Land and water are usually thought of as separate entities, but each has a significant influence on the other. Water shapes the land through its actions, and what happens on the land has a major impact on water quality, habitat and flow, and on the humans and other living creatures that depend on it.

With that in mind, the Great Lakes Commission is awarding $1.9 million in grants to projects that will benefit water quality in the Great Lakes basin through improved land management practices. Forty-seven agencies and organizations, spanning all eight Great Lakes states, have been selected to receive these funds through the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control.

“The Great Lakes Basin Program has been a highly successful federal, state and local environmental partnership,” said Dr. Michael J. Donahue, president/CEO of the Great Lakes Commission. “It’s a great example of how we can work together to achieve environmental goals while improving quality of life and pursuing sustainable economic practices.”

Examples of projects supported by the Great Lakes Basin Program include stabilizing eroding river banks; establishing buffers of native vegetation to filter runoff from adjacent areas; educating builders, developers and realtors on ways to minimize erosion from new construction; analyzing erosion-prone areas and developing mitigation strategies; helping communities develop practices to control erosive flows in urban streams; and more. Projects range in scope from less than $5,000 for an education project, to more than $100,000 for efforts to restore as much as one mile of riverbank.

“Most people are surprised to learn that sediment is a major pollutant of the waters of the Great Lakes basin,” said Jim Bredin, chair of the Great Lakes Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Task Force and assistant director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes. “It not only clogs streams and rivers, it often carries with it pesticides, fertilizers and other contaminants washed off lawns, parking lots, construction sites and other surface areas.”

Initiated in 1991 and later authorized under the 2002 Farm Bill, the Great Lakes Basin Program has supported 306 projects and invested more than $9.6 million in water quality improvement efforts, while attracting an additional $7.6 million in nonfederal, matching funds. More than 121,000 acres of land have been placed under various forms of erosion and sediment control under the program. In the process, it has involved thousands of community volunteers in watershed improvement projects, improved local ecosystems, and built support for ongoing ecosystem restoration efforts.

Information on the program, including past grants and recent awards, is available at www.glc.org/basin, a website featuring project-specific image galleries, expanded online materials and publications, and advanced search options that enable users to search for completed projects by erosion type, project type, and location. The web site also provides news updates and funding information, and an extensive list of project management tools and models.

The Great Lakes Basin Program is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service. Projects are selected by the Commission’s Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Task Force, whose membership consists of state and federal resource managers.

The following 47 projects, pending completion of grant agreements, have been selected for funding this year:

Illinois
Waukegan River Private Property Erosion Control Project: $8,000 Waukegan Harbor Citizens’ Advisory Group Contact: Jean Schreiber 847-835-2517, ext. 1 jbschreiber@comcast.com
Indiana
Great Lakes Sediment Reduction: $35,000 National Association of Conservation Districts, Great Lakes Committee Contact: Scott Hoese 952-657-2223, sfhoese@aol.com High Dive Park / Christiana Creek bank restoration: $30,000 City of Elkhart, Department of Parks and Recreation Contact: Terry Cegielski 574-295-7275 terry.cegielski@coelkhartindiana.org	Indiana Great Lakes Watershed Alliance Investigation: $3,750 Elkhart County Soil and Water Conservation District Contact: Nancy Brown 574-533-3630 ext. 1 nancy-brown@iaswcd.org St. Joseph River Erosion Reduction Project: $99,940 St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative Contact: Jane Loomis, 260-484-5848 jane-loomis@iaswcd.org
Michigan
Battle Creek River Restoration Project: $100,000 Thornapple-Grand Conservation District Contact: Kristine Boley-Morse 269-781-4867, ext. 4 kristine-boley@mi.nacdnet.org Big Cannon Restoration Project: $30,000 Kalkaska Conservation District Contact: George Shetler 231-258-3307, Kswcd@torchlake.com Detroit River - Gibraltar Bay Shoreline Reconstruction and Erosion Control: $30,000 Grosse Ile Nature and Land Conservancy Contact: Bruce Jones 734-676-6657 Evaluation of Erosion Control Best Management Practices (BMPs) in Streams: $46,100 Conservation Resource Alliance Contact: Laura Kuehn 231-946-6817 cralaura@chartermi.net Sand Point Shoreline Stabilization Project: $100,000 Keweenaw Bay Tribe of Lake Superior Chippewa Contact: William Emery 906-353-6623, susiecra@up.net Saving a Park Streambank: Stemming Soil Erosion with a Native Buffer: $7,773 Friends of the Rouge Contact: Carolyne McCaughey 313-792-9627 Managingdirector@therouge.org St. Martin’s Hill Erosion Control Demonstration Project- Phase II: $110,385 Alger Conservation District Contact: Danita Rask 906-387-2222 danita-rask@mi.nacdnet.org Stabilizing Nutrient-Rich Farmland in the Great Lakes Basin: $29,616 Michigan State University Contact: Dr. Tim Harrigan 517-353-0767, harriga1@msu.edu	Kalamazoo River Education Initiative: $29,833 Calhoun Conservation District Contact: Tara Egnatuk 269-781-4867, ext. 27 tara-smith@mi.nacdnet.org Living on Edge: Shoreline Management Workshop: $16,280 Huron River Watershed Council Contact: Laura Rubin 734-769-5123, lrubin@hrwc.org Muskegon Lake AOC Urban Sediment Project: $30,000 Timberland Resource Conservation & Development Area Council, Inc. Contact: Kathy Evans 616-784-1090, kevansrcd@aol.com Polymer Effectiveness on Drain Maintenance and Improvement Projects: $30,000 Remy Chandler Drain Intercounty Drainage Board Contact: Hope M. Croskey 989-640-3699 hope@spicergroup.com Streambank Restoration and Erosion Control in the Rouge River Watershed: $105,200 Oakland County Drain Commissioner Contact: Phillip Sanzica 248-858-0958 sanzicap@co.oakland.org Trapp Farm Wetland Rehabilitation/Sediment Control Project: $30,000 Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy Contact: Chris Sullivan 231-929-7911, csullivan@gtrlc.org Watervliet Sediment and Erosion Control Demonstration Center: $32,000 City of Watervliet Contact: Brian Dissette 269-463-6769, bdissette@i2k.com
Minnesota
Construction Site Erosion and Sediment Control Field Courses: $19,900 Minnesota Erosion Control Association Contact: Mikael Isensee 651-351-0630 misensee@mnerosion.org Lake Superior Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Implementation Strategy: $30,000 Lake Superior Association of SWCDs Contact: Mark Thell, 218-384-3891 ccswcd@myexcel.com	Realtor Education about Lake Superior and Land Use: $4,390 Regents of the University of Minnesota, Sponsored Projects Administration Contact: Philip Monson 218-726-6471 Monso044@umn.edu Sediment Collection Demonstration Project: $27,450 City of Duluth, Environmental Advisory Council, Utility Operations Contact: Marnie Lonsdale 218-730-4063, mlonsdale@ci.dul
New York
Butternut Creek System Sediment Control Project: $30,000 Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District Contact: Jeffrey Carmichael 315-677-3851 jcarmichael@ocswcd.org Controlling Sediment in the Black and Oatka Creek Watersheds: $99,450 Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council Contact: David Zorn 585-454-0190 ext. 1 dzorn@frontiernet.net Develop This! Planning to Keep Soil in Place: $16,401 Central New York Regional Planning & Development Board Contact: Benjamin Manton 315-422-8276 Pomalley@cnyrpdb.org Erosion Caused by Ice - How Significant is the Contribution to Watershed Soil Erosion and Sediment Budgets? $29,945 Buffalo State University Contact: Dr. Kelly Frothingham 716-878-6736 frothikm@buffalo.edu	Erosion Control at Quaker Street Bridge: $30,000 Erie County Department of Public Works Contact: Gerald Sentz 716-858-8436, sentzg@erie.gov Grazing System Practice Implementation Project: $29,466 Seneca Trail Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc. Contact: JoAnn Kurtis 716-699-8923 senecatrailrcd@yahoo.com Nonpoint Education for Planning and Zoning Boards of Appeal: $9,150 Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District Contact: Thomas DeRue 585-396-1450 ontswcd@rochester.rr.com Practical Fluvial Geomorphology Workshops: $15,265 Finger Lakes Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc. Contact: Richard Winnett 607-776-7398 ext. 5 sultrrcd@linkny.com
Ohio
Agricultural Land Use Mapping with Multi-Temporal Imagery: $41,127 The University of Toledo Contact: Kevin Czajkowski 419-530-4274 kevin.czajkowski@utoledo.edu Boulder Creek Restoration Project: $30,000 City of Solon Contact: John Busch, 440-349-6745 jbusch@solonohio.org Restoring Lake Erie Sands Resources: $100,000 Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey Contact: Don Guy, 419-626-4296 Don.Guy@dnr.state.oh.us	Grand River Headwater Educational Project: $29,256 Trumbell County Health Department Contact: Ted Smith, 330-675-2489 tsmith@tcbh.org Grass/Legume Demonstration Plots to Prevent Soil Erosion: $28,148 University of Findlay and Ohio State University Extension Contact: Gary Wilson 419-422-3851, wilson.26@osu.edu Stream and Wetland Mitigation to Reduce Erosion and Sedimentation: $28,700 Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc. Contact: Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells 440-975-3870, kdw@crwp.org
Pennsylvania
Baker Creek Urban Parking Lot Project: $98,000 Borough of North East Contact: Jerry Weinheimer 814-725-8611 Restoration of Duck Run on the Coho State Park Site: $30,000 Lake Erie Region Conservancy Contact: Cathy Pedler 814-824-2407 cpedler@mercyhurst.edu	West Branch Cascade Creek Restoration Project: $100,000 Erie County Conservation District Contact: LeRoy Gross 814-825-6403 eriecons@adelphia.net
Wisconsin
Develop a Jobsite Planning Checklist, Brochure, and Powerpoint Presentation: $9,580 Forest Industry Safety & Training Alliance, Inc. (FISTA) Contact: Barbara Henderson 715-282-4979, fista1@newnorth.net Menomonee Valley Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Project: 100,000 Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc. Contact: Lilith Fowler 414-274-4654 lilith@renewthevalley.org Root-Pike Basin Project: $25,090 Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network/YWCA of Racine. Contact: Dave White 262-638-0482 info@rootpikewin.org	Stormwater BMPs for Lake Superior Clay Soils: $15,525 Douglas County Land Conservation Department Contact: Diane Daulton 715-682-7187 ddaulton@centurytel.net Town of Centerville Harvestable Buffer Strip Project: $24,044 Town of Centerville Contact: Russ Tooley 920-726-4900, tooley@lakefield.net Winnebago County Erosion Control & Stormwater Management: $11,643 Winnebago County Land & Water Conservation Department. Contact: Chad Casper 920-232-1950 ccasper@co.winnebago.wi.us

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by Samuel W. Speck (Ohio), is a nonpartisan, binational compact agency created by state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of state legislators, agency officials, and governors' appointees from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a "Declaration of Partnership." The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.