The Great Lakes Protection Fund is pleased to announce $2,912,000 in support for project teams working to improve the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

At its December, 2016 meeting, the Board of Directors awarded three grants that further the Fund’s mission to identify, demonstrate and promote regional action to enhance the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Addressing Nutrient Runoff from Leased Farmland in the Great Lakes

A grant of up to $1,087,000 was awarded to a team led by American Farmland Trust to work with women non-operator farmland owners and their tenant farmers in piloting creative lease arrangements that dramatically increase conservation practices on leased farmland. The pilots will be conducted in the Portage and Toussaint River basins in northwest Ohio, and the Genesee River watershed in western New York.

Advancing Systematic and Fundamental Changes in Agricultural Water Resources Management

A grant of up to $1,135,000 was awarded to a team lead by Kieser & Associates to demonstrate approaches that combine agricultural drainage district objectives with novel conservation technologies and services that follow circular economy principles. Three treatment approaches will be tested with pilot locations in Van Buren County, Michigan; Milwaukee River watershed, Wisconsin; and in a to-be finalized location in Indiana.

Engaging Private Capital for Great Lakes Green Infrastructure Financing

A grant of up to $690,000 was awarded to a team led by American Rivers to test two new financing approaches that will facilitate the installation of green stormwater infrastructure on both private and public property in the Great Lakes region. The team will pilot their approaches in the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) service area in greater Cleveland and in the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

To read more about these awards and our active portfolio of projects, please visit the Funded Projects section of glpf.org.