NOAA Partnerships to Restore Great Lakes Habitat

NOAA is announcing $8.9 million in funding for three Great Lakes habitat restoration partnerships. Funding for these partnerships is provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which was launched in 2010 to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes.

We are working with the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to implement habitat restoration projects that will help improve “toxic hotspots” known as Areas of Concern.

Ducks Unlimited will receive $600,000 in year 1 for restoration at the Toussaint Wildlife Area, a 231-acre coastal wetland complex located in a bend of the Toussaint River in Ottawa County, Ohio. The project will restore fish access into the wetlands and remove levees and water control structures. A total of up to $20,000,000 for additional restoration in the region is anticipated over a three-year period.

Friends of the Detroit River will receive $265,000 in year 1 for engineering and design of habitat restoration of Lake Okonoka on Belle Isle in the Detroit River. The primary project goal is to provide fish access to historic spawning and nursery habitat in addition to habitat benefits for reptiles, amphibians and migratory birds. A total of up to $25,000,000 for additional restoration in the region is anticipated over a three-year period.

Great Lakes Commission will receive $8,058,200 in year 1 for construction of the Lower Muskegon River wetland restoration. Roughly $7.9 million of these funds will support work in Muskegon Lake, which is a Habitat Focus Area under NOAA’s Habitat Blueprint. This project will reconnect the former floodplain wetlands with the Muskegon River and restore fish passage and habitat for a variety of native fish and wildlife. A total of up to $40,000,000 for additional restoration in the region is anticipated over a three-year period.