Over $5 million in funding has been granted by Sustain Our Great Lakes to 19 ecological restoration projects in the Great Lakes Basin.
The funding comes from the U.S.’s National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and will benefit restoration projects both sides of the border.
Of that funding, $100,000 will be given to the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Hamilton, Ont. for their wetlands restoration project. While the project covers a number of conservation initiatives, they are all dependent upon the Fishway, “located at the mouth of the Desjardins Canal—the only channel that connects Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbour—the Fishway is the Great Lakes’ first two-way fishway and carp barrier.”
The new funding will allow the RBG to continue its restoration of coastal wetland habitat that serves to rehabilitate Hamilton Harbour, which is currently an area of concern in the Great Lakes network. The rehabilitation project “will treat invasive plant species, install five carp exclusion structures, and restore 3 acres of wetland and riparian plant communities.”
Sustain Our Great Lakes is a public–private partnership that supports habitat restoration in the Great Lakes basin. Administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the
program receives funding and other support from ArcelorMittal, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
A significant portion of program funding is provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a federal program designed to protect, restore and enhance the Great Lakes ecosystem.
Sustain Our Great Lakes offers funding annually, with grant awards ranging from $50,000 to $1.5 million.
Eligible recipients include non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and state, tribal and local governments.
See full article in Water Canada.
See more info on Sustain Our Great Lakes funding (PDF) & photo credit.