GLFT Grant Library

The project provided capacity-building grants to organizations in eight priority areas across the Great Lakes to help them obtain funds for and successfully implement restoration projects through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Gourmet Gone Wild is a program that connects with urban and suburban constituencies and enhances their interest in and support for hunting and angling by building on their interests in gourmet and local foods. This grant enabled the program to to host events focused on eating locally-sourced fish and game through hands-on fishing and cooking lessons for 1,700 young urban professionals.While reaching out to these young professionals, Gormet Gone Wild was able to raise awareness of the connections between the fish on their plate and where it came from, the Great Lakes.

In alignment with the goals of GLFT’s Great Lakes Stewardship category, the Great Lakes Leadership Academy (GLLA) will prepare a diverse group of leaders to become active, effective stewards of Michigan’s natural resources and advocates for strategies that support sustainability of Great Lakes communities. Participants will learn in non-traditional settings including outdoor experiences and engagement with resource professionals. The GLFT has granted funding to contribute to the GLLA endowment to ensure these leadership development programs continue for future generations.

The purpose of the project was to advance physical separation in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) to prevent the movement of Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species (AIS) between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. Specific technical analysis was conducted in two key areas:

1. Defining interim protection measures that can be implemented quickly, using existing infrastructure in the CAWS, to reduce the risk of AIS transfer into the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin; and

2. Evaluating technical issues associated with the Mid-System Alternative identified in the 2012 report, Restoring the Natural Divide.

Michigan Radio will produce and air public radio news reports; develop multimedia and online resources; hold public forums/discussions; and distribute copies of the media work as teacher resources. With an audience of 495,000 weekly Michigan listeners and approximately 107,000 monthly website users, the project will help to bolster the reach and impact of GLFTs Great Lakes Stewardship program.

The GLFT provided funding to Saint James Township for engineering services to produce feasibility and design studies to develop a shore-based angling site on Paradise Bay on Beaver Island.

The purpose of the project was to construct a modern fish cleaning station and restrooms at the City Boat Launch. In addition important improvements were made to the ADA parking and picnic areas at the facility. The new fish cleaning facility is the only one of its kind available to the public in the City of St. Joseph.

The south pier site has existing infrastucture in place and new fish habitat will be created later this year to enhance the fishing in this area (GLRI funded). The approach to the pier from the parking lot, however, does not meet ADA requirements and the pier itself is too high to provide adequate fishing access. To improve access to fishing and the newly created habitat, a lowered deck is proposed to be constructed and a new access approach will be built to connect the parking lot to the pier. Railings will be modified to enhance accessibility for fishing and safety to anglers. An interpretive sign is also part of the project and will include information on the history of fishing in the Detroit River.

The goal of the 9-mile Point Project was to significantly increase access for Tribal commercial fishermen in northern Lake Michigan by designing and constructing a boat launch adjacent to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians commercial fishing zone, on the southwestern shore of Little Traverse Bay. The launch provides safe access and parking for Tribal commercial fishermen and will strengthen the provisions of the 2000 Consent Decree by enhancing harvest, management, and study of commercial fishery resources.

The GLFT provided funding to upgrade an existing fishing pier, previously funded in part by the GLFT in 2000, to include the development of a fully accessible restroom facility, walkways to connect the pier, restroom, parking and picnic areas as well as education/interpretive signage with a focus on teaching children how to fish. The project also includes a universally accessible kayak/canoe launch that was funded from project matching dollars. All facilities exceed ADA requirements and is consistent with the mission of Manistee County’s Explore the Shores program to provide superior access to water for people of all ages, needs and abilities.

The Custer Barrier Free Fishing Access project is the first handicap accessible fishing site on the Pere Marquette River and includes two fishing platforms, a restroom, paved driveway and parking area, boardwalk, sidewalk, bench, educational signage, stone steps with stone platform to the river, runoff control, and streambank stabilization efforts. The project was completed by partners of the Pere Marquette River Restoration Committee, in combination with the removal of a defunct sea lamprey barrier on township property. The site is adjacent to Custer Road, a well-traveled road located off of US-10.

Through funding support provided by the GLFT, Huron pines replaced twin 5’ perched culverts with a single-span structure over the Black River that reconnected nearly 18 river miles for aquatic organism passage.

The Black River, located in Alcona County, drains directly to Lake Huron and supports one of the last populations of migratory brook trout in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. In 2007 Huron Pines staff and volunteers from the Alcona-Black River Watershed Coalition inventoried road/stream crossings within the watershed and identified 39 sites. Of those the Sucker Creek Road/Black River site was ranked as the highest property site for restoration because of the severely perched and undersized culverts and high sediment load from the sandy approaches.

This project reconnected 12 miles of aquatic habitat and siginficantly reduced sediment loading in the Rifle River watershed through the restoration of four road/stream crossings. Undersized culverts were replaced with appropriately sized and aligned structures at three sites; a timber bridge was used at the forth.

The Oceana County Road Commission replaced a perched corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culvert under Arthur Road where it crosses Carlton Creek, in Grant Township, Oceana County. The project team also restored the adjacent stream bank to decrease erosion as part of the effort. The restoration of this waterway restored a fish passage from the North Branch of the White River, upstream to its headwaters in New Era, roughly nine stream miles.

The Keystone Center conducted a Youth Policy Summit on Great Lakes Water Resources at Aquinas College in July 2012. The Keystone Center developed a cadre of youth leaders across the state with in-depth knowledge surrounding the multiple demands on Great Lakes water resources. These future leaders were equipped with negotiation and communication skills, and the capacity to develop projects that consider the common interests of multiple stakeholders, while balancing social, environmental, and economic concerns.

The Charter Township of Oscoda built an 8' wide, 100' long boardwalk leading to a 12' to 14' wide, 300' long observation and fishing pier with handrails and lighting at the Oscoda Beach Park on Lake Huron. Park patrons are now able to hear and see the natural environment in a very similar manner to being in a watercraft without making a substantial investment.

For more than a decade, residents of Greilickville sought a fishing pier. The township’s  Marina Committee voted to design one to be located between the township Marina and its waterfront park. This grant  funded the development of preliminary engineering and design specifications, as well as cost estimates  to construct the pier. To help inform the design and ensure community input, three public meetings were held to solicit community suggestions about pier design.

The City of Manistee, in partnership with the Alliance for Economic Success, constructed a Fish Cleaning Center adjacent to the City of Manistee’s First Street Beach boat launch facility near Lake Michigan that replaced a deteriorating facility with limited access for people with special needs. It will support fish cleaning by thousands of anglers and professional guides who use the site to clean their harvest of a high percentage of the 35,000 migrating salmon and trout species that are landed in the Manistee area each year. The Fish Cleaning Center is part of the Explore the Shores program.

The Michigan Environmental Literacy Plan (MI ELP) has been developed to provide those involved in the environmental education of children with common goals and action strategies that can maximize education efforts and results. The implementation of the MI ELP may also address the secondary goals of improving the physical, social, and intellectual health of children by connecting them with the outdoors, nature, and their local community. The MI ELP is designed to meet the eligibility requirements for funding under the federal No Child Left Inside Act of 2013, should it be passed. For more information on the MI ELP and its implementation, go to www.MIELP.org.

This project focused on two themes: 1) Interconnectedness of community, land, and water, and 2) community, water and land can all be recovered and transformed.

This program was designed to develop a generation of knowledgeable and actively engaged stewards of the Great Lakes Watershed.

This program facilitates school-community partnerships to develop students as citizen-stewards of healthy ecological-social systems

This project developed a vibrant regional network of school-community partners actively engaged in PBE

To prepare students to be knowledgeable citizens, concerned about the Great Lakes, and actively engaged in stewardship activities that will contribute to the health, restoration, and future conservation of the Great Lakes and their watersheds.

This program promotes a watershed approach to freshwater stewardship, helping students understand their connection to water in the region, and the need to preserve and protect our natural resources.

This program was designed to create and maintain a strong coalition of community partners to work with students and teachers grades 6-12 to inspire lifelong environmental stewardship, with a focus on the Grand River Watershed in Kent county.

GRAND learning Network is a network team from MSU that works with teacher leaders who take part in advanced professional development in PBE, Great Lakes content, and school change. They coach other teachers involved in Summer Institutes, foundational PD, and school-community stewardship.

This project developed a Great Lakes aquatic habitat database and classification framework that integrates key habitat components to address loca, lake-wide, and basin-wide restoration and management needs. It covers the entire Great Lakes basin, but focuses on coastal and nearshore systems. The tool provides managers with an essential capability to link, map, and prioritize restoration projects in the Great Lakes system and deliver the first consistent geographic framework to integrate and track monitoring, assessment, indicator development, ecological forecasting, and restoration activities across the Great Lakes.

The goal of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition (HOW)  was to improve the health of the Great Lakes by addressing historic stresses and preparing new challenges. This project used the GLFT funds to award grants ranging from $8-15,000. It gave local and state non-profit organizations in four priority areas across the Great Lakes regions seed money and capacity building grants to help them successfully implement the components of the Great Lakes

This project funded the construction of an all-metal removable boat ramp that has enhanced tribal and recreational fishing opportunities in the northern tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The ramp portion is 16’ wide and 50’ long. It is constructed of a metal grid over a rigid frame. It is mounted on tires for easier installation and extraction. There are skid piers on each side that are 5’ wide and 32’ long. The ramp is in use and provides easier access to Lake Michigan for as many as five different fishing boats. A vault toilet also installed on site to improve usability. The project achieved its primary goal of providing a superior boat ramp.

A 3-day regional conference in Detroit, Kalamazoo, and Midland, each involving 40-50 students and focusing on Great Lakes Water resources. Students will examine water use from various perspectives and identify policies and programs that protect water resources. Forty of these students will be selected to attend a 4-day Youth Policy Summit, where they will interact with experts, learn about conflict resolution, and develop consensus-based recommendations for policies and projects.

This grant provided support and expertise to organizations in Michigan to assist with the development of Michigan's Environmental Literacy Plan.

Project addressed threats to the health of the Great Lakes, including Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species from the Mississippi River watershed via the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). The project team worked with stakeholders to develop separation alternatives that stop the open flow of water between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River watershed via the CAWS and maintain or enhance the system’s benefits through investments in flood management, water quality, and transportation.

Traverse City, in partnership with Grant Traverse County and other community stakeholders, received grant funding to remove the Brown Bridge Dam on the Boardman River in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula.

Pier Michigan is a collaborative project between MUCC and the GLFT to create a web-based initiative designed to increase public awareness and use of pier fishing opportunities. Shore-based fishing access in Michigan is plentiful, but until now, no clearinghouse has been available with all the information an angler needs to be successful, including fish species present and site amenities.  Through Pier Michigan, the Great Lakes Fishery Trust will continue to increase the impact it has on recreational fishing in Michigan by exposing an increasing number of people to the recreational opportunities provided by our Great Lakes fishery assets.