GLFT Grant Library

Hayes Township was provided with a planning grant to assess the potential for ice damage to a proposed fishing pier on Lake Charlevoix. The township was able to quantify the potential for ice damage to the structure and develop a design to mitigate risk through structural resistance to ice forces developed in Lake Charlevoix. The results of this planning grant will be incorporated into the design for the structure.

The purpose of the Fish Manistique project is to provide access to the Lake Michigan fishery at the mouth of the Manistique River.  An accessible parking lot with restrooms will be connected to an existing break wall by the boardwalk.  The break wall will be furnished with railings on both sides to make fishing safe for all users.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division and Parks and Recreation Division together will design and construct shoreline fishing access improvements in two areas at Belle Isle Park for the purposes of improving safety and accessibility for anglers. Improvements will include barrier free parking and pathways, new railings along the Detroit River for fishing access, and a site amenities such as interpretive signs, tackle tables and benches.

In 2007 a boardwalk was built along the Muskegon River on the south side of our Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve. The land was stable for many years, however recent storm evens and low lake levels have resulted in excessive erosion. The result is a portion of the boardwalk has been closed due to erosion under the pilings on the river side. This grant will pay for part of the restoration of The Wilder River Walk.

This project will expand our existing online decision-support tool to enable managers and agencies to assess trade-offs of barrier removals throughout the Great Lakes basin. We will inventory road crossings in the Paint River watershed, and create an index of habitat quality for priority fish species. Our website will enable integration of new barrier data, flexible visualization of species-specific habitat loss due to barriers, and customized analysis of optimal barrier removals for a given budget.

Great Lakes Fishery Trust provided funding for on-the-ground/ in-the-water costs related to the removal of the Song of the Morning Dam. This project restored natural river processes including hydrology, geomorphology and flow of sediment and woody debris through the system for the first time in over 100 years. Trout and other aquatic organisms gained access to 15 miles of critical spawning and refuge habitat in the upper Pigeon River and its tributaries. 

Huron Pines completed a comprehensive inventory of all road/stream crossings in fourteen small coastal watersheds draining to Lake Huron. A total of 253 sites were inventoried using the Great Lakes Road/Stream Crossing Inventory Protocol and added to the northernmichiganstreams.org website to enable conservation partners to more efficiently evaluate priority restoration sites.

The Chestonia Bridge project involved 20 partner entities completing the replacement of the Old State Road twin 16’ wide culverts on the Jordan River with a fully spanning 90’ long concrete I-beam bridge. The previous culverts were aging and significantly undersized, thus causing pool formation at the inlet and outlet, embankment erosion, and increasing stream velocities five-fold, which prevented the passage of aquatic life at different life stages and stream flows. The new bridge fully reconnects 48 miles of river and tributaries to the Jordan mainstem and Lake Charlevoix downstream, and restores the natural stream dynamics.  

The purpose of this project was to develop engineering plans and a cost estimate for the renovation/rehabilitation of the Boat Club Pier to improve fishing access at Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan.  The scope for design of the project also included parking lot improvements, bridge replacement, lighting, walkway construction and the filling of dilapidated swimming pools to ensure safe access to the pier.  The project officially kicked off in 2015.  The final engineering documents for the pier were developed and delivered to the DNR in December, 2016.  A final cost estimate was also developed to guide future fundraising efforts for implementation of the construction phase of the project.

The project removed the final (culvert) barrier in the North Branch of the White River. Fifteen river miles were opened, making the North Branch navigable for the first time since the logging era. A timber bridge spanning the bankfull width was installed and the river has returned to its natural channel.

Funded in part by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, the Barrier Removal Collaborative Suite (BRCS) is a collaborative web platform that contains interactive mapping; standardized and current water, barrier, and invasive species data sets; and mechanisms for users to post comments, preferences, priorities, data, and plans. The platform allows users to share their views on water barriers and tributaries, comment on individual posts, create topics to discuss, and form shared interest groups to collaborate on barriers. The BRCS can also serve as a decision support tool that allows users to draw on the tool’s maps, save their individual project plans, as well as import plans created by other users in the BRCS. The main goal of the tool is to allow stakeholders to work in a cooperative online environment and provide a decision support tool based on the best available data. The project team integrated a survey mechanism into the BRCS that allows users to rank important areas and reach a consensus around those areas. Using data from the survey mechanism, the BRCS creates a grid heat map that shows the amount of agreement or disagreement around a particular area. These areas are designated as “Consensus Levels”. The tool is available for use here: http://brcs.seasketch.org/

The Grand Rapids Public Museum "Classroom with a Current" program provided an opportunity for thousands of students to experience inquiry-based learning with a focus on the Great Lakes. Programs were designed to provide information that assisted students in becoming (1) active and effective stewards of the Great Lakes and (2) advocates for strategies that support the long-term sustainability of the Great Lakes fisheries. Programming included new museum-based field trip programs, summer camp experiences, an after-school program, and a youth watershed team. The highest level of engagement was through the summer camp experiences and field trip-based programs.

The project is complete. During the grant period, the Vernal Pool Patrol, a statewide citizen science- and place-based vernal pool mapping and monitoring program, was adapted for K-12 educators and students, primarily at the upper elementary, middle and high school levels, to get involved with the program. A total of 18 teachers/educators and over 740 upper elementary, middle, and high school students from 13 different schools across northern Michigan were trained and participated in the Vernal Pool Patrol pilot program between 2015 and 2017. Over 25 community partners also assisted the teachers and students and participated in the pilot program. All the teachers who participated in the program and the evaluation said that they would recommend the program to other teachers. The teachers also said that the students enjoyed and were highly engaged in the program. A web-based platform (i.e., Google form) was developed for students to enter, view, and download their vernal pool monitoring data as well as data collected by students monitoring other vernal pools in the project area. The Vernal Pool Patrol pilot program provided additional information on vernal pools and increased our knowledge and understanding of their status, distribution, and ecology in Michigan. At least 20 new vernal pools were identified, mapped, and monitored by the educators and students. Fairy shrimp, which only live in vernal pools, was found by the students in at least eight of the vernal pools that were monitored, including perhaps the first documentation of fairy shrimp in a wooded dune and swale natural community. The program resulted in significant increases in awareness and understanding of vernal pools and an increase in attitudes towards stewardship. It resulted in new collaborations with a number of teachers, students, and community partners, including the GLSI, and stronger and expanded existing partnerships for MNFI in the project area.

The Watershed Academy engaged and supported students from Northern Michigan high schools in water quality monitoring experiences. Students were provided with tools and knowledge to collect water quality data and assess stream health in the local watershed to foster an attitude of stewardship. Watershed Academy students worked in small groups to become experts and share their findings with classmates, school and community. Data collected at stream sites was entered into a database used to inform and prepare communities to tackle tough management issues such as invasive species management, habitat restoration and water quality in the future.

This proposal included the three following tasks: A) Compile and summarize appropriate and available datasets; B) Identify the classification framework to be used and develop fish habitat classification; and C) Conduct Nearshore and Coastal Habitat Condition Assessment. The research team decided to divide the assessment into two parts, a Coastal and a Nearshore Assessment, in part due to the different types of data that were available and in part due to data availability and sharing constraints. The two assessments are conducted on different parts of the coastal and nearshore zones: Coastal includes habitat from 0-3 m deep and the Nearshore extends from 3 to 30 m deep (15 m in Lake Erie). The two teams coordinated throughout the project and identified a broad assessment approach that both teams followed (Fig. 1); however, due to different spatial scales and data types, the teams used zone-specific analytical approaches and fish metrics. In general, we also agreed that abundance data were preferred if possible. 

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes (HOW) Coalition is improving the health of the Great Lakes through their project “Growing and Sustaining Great Lakes Restoration Successes” which addresses historic threats to the Lakes through on the ground restoration work. The project will provide capacity building grants to local and state non-profit organizations in eight priority areas across the Great Lakes region to help them successfully implement restoration projects through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)

The project will support the Chicago Area Waterway System Advisory Committee in evaluating technical issues necessary to reach consensus on a long-term solution for preventing the movement of Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. The committee is working to reach consensus on a solution to this challenge and requires support from technical experts to evaluate issues related to water quality, flooding, transportation and AIS risk reduction. 

The Goundswell Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative Hub developed and implemented a web-based application to guide and assist educators through the process of high-quality place-based education knowledge acquisition. The application, Student 2 Steward is located at www.student2steward.com.

Ozaukee County completed a large-scale habitat restoration project on Ulao Creek, which is a tributary to the Milwaukee River. The project team restored multiple stream reaches for maximum ecological productivity by remeandering 1,769 feet of stream channel, reconnecting 140 acres of 100 year floodplains and 14.3 acres of wetlands, as well as installing fish habitat structures.

This project will remove the Pucker Street dam, the most significant impairment affecting aquatic species connectivity and sediment transport on the Dowagiac River in southwest Michigan. The project will result in improved and safer access for fishing and also reconnect over 159 miles of the Dowagiac River system and 11,000 acres of wetlands to the St. Joseph River. Several fish species will benefit including salmon, steelhead, walleye, smallmouth bass and suckers.

The GLFT granted the DNR $500,000 dollars to replace the R/V Chinook that operates on Lake Huron. A new vessel will ensure continuation of long-term monitoring efforts, increase vessel efficiency, and improve surveys for inter-lake comparisons. The vessel will collaborate with other state, federal, tribal, and provincial partner agencies on predator and prey fish stock assessments. GLFT partnership with the DNR in this venture will help to ensure the continued health of a muti-species fishery worth an estimated $74 million annually. 

The final report for this project will become available after grant is officially completed in 2017.

The GLFT has granted funding for a pilot project to support the development of next generation teachers and schools to advance PBE through scholarship, cross-curricular connections, and exploration of best practices for PBE in teacher training (hereby referred to as “the Next Generation strategy”). Through development of instructional techniques and support for handson learning of PBE pedagogy with pre-service teachers, this Innovation grant will support scholarship and research to advance the understanding of what is required to effectively teach students seeking to enter the teaching profession how to enact practices that are consistent with the principles of PBE. In addition, the project will advance the Hub’s goal of deepening teacher engagement and expanding teacher participation in PBE projects within school buildings currently participating in the Discovering Place (DP) hub. Finally, because the outcome is to encourage the next generation of teachers to value PBE and to develop the skills and dispositions requisite for PBE, the project will align with the 2017 GLSI goals of making PBE a central instructional strategy that is rigorous and developing, and would support long-term sustainability of PBE pedagogy. 

The Michigan Place-Based Leadership Network (MPBLN) project will support educational leaders who value the principles of Place-Based Education (PBE). Current policy and practice environments make it challenging for leaders, especially those that serve students in poverty, to create and sustain educational environments that support PBE. Leaders face significant time constraints for the planning and reflection needed to implement PBE projects. Additionally they are often isolated and have limited opportunities to share knowledge and resources with each other. The proposed leadership network (MPBLN) supports a real need of leaders that are committed to helping their students become stewards of their environment.

As part of the largest dam removal effort in Michigan’s history, the second of three dams was removed on the Boardman River, a state-designated Natural River and Blue Ribbon trout stream in northern Michigan. The Boardman Dam Removal Project is a signature effort that will ultimately reconnect 160 miles of prime fishery habitat, removing three dams and modifying a fourth to block invasives and provide fish passage to and from the Great Lakes.

The goal of the 125 member Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes (HOW) Coalition is to improve the health of the Great Lakes by addressing historic threats and preparing for new challenges. HOW’s “Restoring the Great Lakes: One Project at a Time” project will provide capacity building grants to local and state non-profit organizations in eight priority areas across the Great Lakes region to help them successfully implement restoration projects through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).

The Classroom with a Current Project engaged and supported a team of local high school students to design concepts for a new experiential watershed education exhibit or facility at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The students’ concepts will inform a major museum redesign of existing natural history and interpretive exhibits to provide more comprehensive watershed and fisheries education opportunities for the West Michigan community to increase awareness, understanding and advocacy of the Great Lakes.

The project will determine the optimal environmental temperatures for juvenile lake sturgeon to be reared at, as well as the growth rate of these fish at 5 different water temperatures, including 3 replicates per water temperature regime. This will allow managers to construct growth models to model production programs, project size at stocking and project feed rates for the overall program and feed rates to feed at varying water temperatures.

This grant funded the Muskegon Environmental Research & Education Society to develop a business plan for the organization and improvements at the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve, including describing the organization's mission, values, history, and current programming; the community need for the organization and improvements at the preserve; a market and competition analysis; and a strategic, financial, governance, personnel, and development plan for the organization and future programing and improvements.

The Parks and Recreation Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with the Marketing and Outreach Division and the Michigan Historic Center will construct interactive interpretive exhibits at the newly restored Ludington Beach House for the purposes of inspiring and engaging visitors to get involved with Great Lakes fish conservation and Great Lakes fishing recreation.

This grant award will help fund the construction cost of two fishing platforms to be integrated into a new marina complex at Peshawbestown, Leelanau County Michigan. This directly supports GLFT’s goal of increasing tribal and public access to fishing on the Great Lakes (Lake Michigan) and will include the advantages of sufficient parking, walkways and restrooms. This is an active fishing area, with a longtime fishing heritage, and the platforms allow anglers to reach viable deep waters via casts

This project improved angler access at Holland State Park by removing physical barriers and paving a walkway along the channel between Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan.

The grant was used to complete the design, preliminary engineering, studies and construction drawings and details to build an approx. 550 foot, universally accessible fishing pier at the mouth of the Boardman River on Grand Traverse Bay. The pier will provide unique, outstanding access for people of all ages, needs and abilities to fish for migratory and other species, and to learn about the Great Lakes, the importance of stewardship and the value, challenges and opportunities involving the fishery.

The Sault Tribe developed a tribal fishing access and mooring facility on the north shore of Lake Michigan, near Epoufette, MI. The project expanded and improved a long-existing commercial fishing access and dock facility that was in disrepair and unusable for commercial fishing vessels. The project provided: mooring for large commercial boats; launch capabilities for commercial, enforcement, biological, and recreational vessels; and parking.

The GLFT has awarded funding to The Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) to establish a GLSI Base  Hub.  Becoming a Hub will build on and expand SWP’s successful youth conservation and innovative  environmental  education  programs, thus facilitating establishment of sustainable place-based education  (PBE) in its primary service regions and allowing expansion into the greater SWP mission area