ANN ARBOR – The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) today released its 2021 federal priorities for the Great Lakes, urging the Biden administration and Congress to invest in projects and programs that will protect the lakes and accelerate the national economic recovery. The priorities are being shared in advance of Great Lakes Day, an annual event that brings together regional leaders and members of Congress who play a critical role in shaping Great Lakes policies. This year’s Great Lakes Day Congressional Reception will be held virtually on Wednesday, March 3. The reception is hosted jointly by the GLC and the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

“With nearly one-third of U.S. and Canadian economies centered in the Great Lakes basin, revitalizing the Great Lakes must continue to be a top federal priority as we recover economically from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sharon M. Jackson, chair of the GLC and Deputy General Counsel for Governor Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana. “The Great Lakes Commission is proud to present these priorities and ready to work with our federal, state and local partners to protect the lakes and promote economic growth.”

In FY 2022, the GLC urges Congress and the Biden administration to: invest in water infrastructure to protect drinking water and rebuild failing wastewater systems; support efforts to ensure the regional economy and environment are resilient to climate change; strengthen the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River navigation system to keep waterways open to commerce; fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative; support efforts to stop the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species; promote agricultural and other conservation initiatives that help prevent harmful algal blooms; and invest in binational efforts to track progress toward regional goals.

The GLC will meet with members of Congress and the federal government throughout the week to share these priorities. The GLC has organized Great Lakes Day annually for decades as a mechanism for states, members of Congress and the federal government to communicate and work together to address Great Lakes issues. The event is typically held in Washington, D.C. For more information on the GLC and its work, visit www.glc.org.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Sharon M. Jackson, Deputy General Counsel for Governor Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.

ANN ARBOR – The Great Lakes Commission today issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the 2021 Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program grant program.

The Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program provides grants to reduce nutrients and sediments entering the Great Lakes. Through the program, nonfederal units of government, tribes, or incorporated nonprofit organizations are eligible to receive assistance for reducing phosphorus contributions to waters within the Great Lakes basin and other efforts to achieve measures of progress under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan III. Applicants are invited to submit proposals for sediment and nutrient reduction activities associated with one of three project types: 1) agricultural non-point; 2) stormwater; and 3) Great Lakes shoreline or streambanks.

The due date for applications is 5:00 p.m. Eastern on April 16, 2021. Applications will be reviewed by representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and the eight Great Lakes states. Final decisions on funded projects are anticipated in summer 2021. Selected projects would begin on October 1, 2021 (with potential for an earlier start) and may be up to three years in duration.

The Great Lakes Commission has managed the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program for more than 30 years. The program is a partnership with NRCS, U.S. EPA, and the Great Lakes states. Please visit www.nutrientreduction.org for more information.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Sharon M. Jackson, Deputy General Counsel for Governor Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.

GROSSE POINTE SHORES, Michigan — Ford House, the historic estate of Edsel and Eleanor Ford, is teaming up with the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a project to restore disappearing wildlife habitats along the shoreline of Ford Cove on Lake St. Clair — part of Michigan’s Great Lakes waterway. Dubbed the Ford Cove Shoreline and Coastal Wetland Restoration Project, the goal is to transform Ford House’s lake shore back to its natural state.

The Ford Cove restoration will span roughly a mile of Lake St. Clair’s coastline and more than 17 acres of the surrounding coastal marsh, nearshore habitat and adjacent forested wetlands. The plan includes removing hard, non-natural coastal features like broken concrete and seawalls and reintroducing native plant species and softer shorelines. This will reduce the heavy waves that disrupt vital habitats that local fish, waterfowl, mussels, turtles, snakes and other wildlife need to raise their young, find cover and forage for food — all supporting the lake’s greater ecosystem.

The project kicks off this spring with an initial feasibility study to evaluate the plan put together by Ford House and GLC, along with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division, and Macomb County’s Planning and Economic Development Department, Parks and Natural Resources Division. The project team selected Michigan-based community advancement firm OHM Advisors to execute the study, lasting about 18 months. OHM Advisors specializes in architecture, engineering, planning, urban design and landscape architecture, surveying and construction engineering.

“Ninety-nine percent of Lake St. Clair’s shoreline is not in its original condition, so Ford House will be recreating the natural world, and that’s an exciting process. After the study is complete, we will get to make Ford House’s shores and wetlands a more functional part of the natural community,” said Kevin Drotos, Ford House Invasive Species and Woodland Specialist.

Ford Cove presents a uniquely ideal location for a shoreline restoration of this scale, as a large swath of continuous shoreline privately owned by Ford House. Natural habitats along the shoreline in Macomb County have nearly disappeared because of industry and significant development of lakefront property. The 31 1/2 miles of shoreline in the county hold 10,000 boat slips and 50 marinas, leaving only 2,140 linear feet of natural shores.

Ford House places a high priority on environmental sustainability, an extension of the museum’s mission to maintain and restore the Fords’ historic home and grounds as a National Historic Landmark. Two Ford House staff — Ford House Director of Landscapes Karl Koto and Drotos — have teamed up with the GLC to lead the project.

“Roughly 200 species of birds use Ford Cove and the land around it. When we restore the shoreline, the birds can have access to the native plants we add, and the insects that live on them. The fish and other aquatic species will be able to thrive,” Drotos said. “All these things benefit the ecosystem. Ford House is taking an interest in the health of the environment, hand-in-hand with caring for the estate’s history and landscapes.”

The current step of the project, the feasibility study, will include detailed baseline chemical, geotechnical, and ecological evaluations, preliminary hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and produce conceptual plans with estimated costs and restoration recommendations. These measures will determine if the plan will be able to effectively reach its restoration goals.

“The Ford Cove project has the potential to benefit numerous important species native to the Great Lakes, as well as some federally protected species like freshwater mussels,” said Erika Jensen, interim executive director of the GLC. “We’re pleased to be working with Ford House and continuing our partnership with NOAA to restore this and other priority sites across the Great Lakes basin.”

The cost of the feasibility study is $230,634, including a $3,000 in-kind match from Ford House.

Funding for this project comes from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through a regional partnership between NOAA and the GLC. A project management team provides input and guidance on the project and includes members from the GLC, Ford House, NOAA, Macomb County, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division, and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Sharon M. Jackson, Deputy General Counsel for Governor Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.

GROSSE POINTE SHORES, Michigan — Ford House, the historic estate of Edsel and Eleanor Ford, is teaming up with the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a project to restore disappearing wildlife habitats along the shoreline of Ford Cove on Lake St. Clair — part of Michigan’s Great Lakes waterway. Dubbed the Ford Cove Shoreline and Coastal Wetland Restoration Project, the goal is to transform Ford House’s lake shore back to its natural state.

The Ford Cove restoration will span roughly a mile of Lake St. Clair’s coastline and more than 17 acres of the surrounding coastal marsh, nearshore habitat and adjacent forested wetlands. The plan includes removing hard, non-natural coastal features like broken concrete and seawalls and reintroducing native plant species and softer shorelines. This will reduce the heavy waves that disrupt vital habitats that local fish, waterfowl, mussels, turtles, snakes and other wildlife need to raise their young, find cover and forage for food — all supporting the lake’s greater ecosystem.

The project kicks off this spring with an initial feasibility study to evaluate the plan put together by Ford House and GLC, along with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division, and Macomb County’s Planning and Economic Development Department, Parks and Natural Resources Division. The project team selected Michigan-based community advancement firm OHM Advisors to execute the study, lasting about 18 months. OHM Advisors specializes in architecture, engineering, planning, urban design and landscape architecture, surveying and construction engineering.

“Ninety-nine percent of Lake St. Clair’s shoreline is not in its original condition, so Ford House will be recreating the natural world, and that’s an exciting process. After the study is complete, we will get to make Ford House’s shores and wetlands a more functional part of the natural community,” said Kevin Drotos, Ford House Invasive Species and Woodland Specialist.

Ford Cove presents a uniquely ideal location for a shoreline restoration of this scale, as a large swath of continuous shoreline privately owned by Ford House. Natural habitats along the shoreline in Macomb County have nearly disappeared because of industry and significant development of lakefront property. The 31 1/2 miles of shoreline in the county hold 10,000 boat slips and 50 marinas, leaving only 2,140 linear feet of natural shores.

Ford House places a high priority on environmental sustainability, an extension of the museum’s mission to maintain and restore the Fords’ historic home and grounds as a National Historic Landmark. Two Ford House staff — Ford House Director of Landscapes Karl Koto and Drotos — have teamed up with the GLC to lead the project.

“Roughly 200 species of birds use Ford Cove and the land around it. When we restore the shoreline, the birds can have access to the native plants we add, and the insects that live on them. The fish and other aquatic species will be able to thrive,” Drotos said. “All these things benefit the ecosystem. Ford House is taking an interest in the health of the environment, hand-in-hand with caring for the estate’s history and landscapes.”

The current step of the project, the feasibility study, will include detailed baseline chemical, geotechnical, and ecological evaluations, preliminary hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and produce conceptual plans with estimated costs and restoration recommendations. These measures will determine if the plan will be able to effectively reach its restoration goals.

“The Ford Cove project has the potential to benefit numerous important species native to the Great Lakes, as well as some federally protected species like freshwater mussels,” said Erika Jensen, interim executive director of the GLC. “We’re pleased to be working with Ford House and continuing our partnership with NOAA to restore this and other priority sites across the Great Lakes basin.”

The cost of the feasibility study is $230,634, including a $3,000 in-kind match from Ford House.

Funding for this project comes from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through a regional partnership between NOAA and the GLC. A project management team provides input and guidance on the project and includes members from the GLC, Ford House, NOAA, Macomb County, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division, and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Sharon M. Jackson, Deputy General Counsel for Governor Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana, is a binational government agency established in 1955 to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.