NOAA Awards $315K for Great Lakes Restoration Program

A Great Lakes restoration initiative has received a grant of $315,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Awarded to the Great Lakes Commission and the Northeast-Midwest Institute and administered by Michigan Sea Grant, the grant will be used to develop science-based restoration priorities and understand successful strategies used by other regions. With matching support from the Commission and the Institute, the total funding for the initiative will be $473,000. "Through our grants program, NOAA is able to actively support and help create initiatives such as this that reinforce our commitment to the environment," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "NOAA is proud to provide funding to this restoration effort." The Great Lakes congressional delegation asked the area's governors to develop a long-range restoration program for the five Great Lakes. "As a member of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, I have supported the development of Great Lakes restoration priorities and the need for additional funding. I applaud NOAA's efforts to provide this grant that will take us a step closer to our vision of a restored and revitalized Great Lakes ecosystem," said Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) "As the GAO reported recently, there needs to be better coordination on Great Lakes restoration priorities, and I am pleased that NOAA is providing resources that will help the region advance restoration," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) Containing 20 percent of the earth's fresh surface water, the Great Lakes also are the centerpiece of the region's natural resources that drive the economies of two nations, eight states, and two provinces that share jurisdiction. The grant will support two key pieces of the Council of Great Lakes Governors' restoration initiative.