Photo/Shutterstock

That’s where the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition (HOW) steps in. Co-chaired by NWF, HOW has a small grant program that awards organizations grants to jump-start their projects in order to prepare for a larger proposal under the GLRI. These grants give groups the resources they need to do research and establish partnerships that are necessary to build robust grant proposals. The grant program began in 2010, and it’s already producing dramatic results: fifteen awards of $15,000 or less went out to groups who were then able to apply for 12 GLRI grants, and of these, 6 were awarded –  resulting in almost $1.7 million in GLRI grants. Adding to their successes, these groups also received over $4 million in other funding – meaning that those original 15 grants led to nearly $6 million towards much-needed projects. That’s a lot of restoration for the Great Lakes!

Those are pretty big numbers, but what does this mean, in the grand scheme of things? To name just a few, it means that the Western Lake Erie Waterkeeper Association can continue their work to set up an invasive species early detection system for Western Lake Erie, and the St. Louis River Alliance is able to restore habitat for endangered piping plovers. It means that the Alliance for the Great Lakes can build a program that allows landowners to prioritize and protect glacial ravines around Lake Michigan. Projects like these are critical to restoring the Great Lakes, and collectively they will make a significant improvement in the state of the Great Lakes.

 What can you do to help the Great Lakes?

The GLRI is a sound investment in the Great Lakes that’s producing results, but it’s a federal program and therefore dependent on congressional funding. Let your Member of Congress know that restoration projects are necessary for the future of the Great Lakes and important to the people whose lives depend on them. Tell them to support the GLRI and continue to deliver needed economic and environmental benefits to the Great Lakes region.

Support NWF’s efforts to keep Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes

A freighter passing through New Orleans on the Mississippi River. Photo/Celia Haven

I attended a panel on adaptation policies and technologies in the Southeast, in which NWF’s Alisha Renfro and Derek Brockbank talked about the efforts that NWF is leading to restore the Mississippi River Delta in Louisiana. Alisha and Derek talked about some of the challenges facing the Delta, and I was struck by some of the parallels between the Great Lakes and Coastal Louisiana and the similarities in the issues that both are facing.

Shipping: The Mississippi River provides shipping access to the Gulf of Mexico for much of the midwest, allowing grain and other commodities to travel in and out of the region. The Great Lakes serve the same function – iron ore mined in Great Lakes states can go out the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic Ocean, and coal can be delivered to power plants on the lakes. Both the Coastal Louisiana and Great Lakes economies depend on shipping and the associated ports.

Fishing: Sport and commercial fishing are a significant part of the Great Lakes – recreational fishing alone is valued at $7 billion in the region. People across the Gulf Coast depend on fishing – it’s a considerable part of their culture and how many people make a living.

Asian Carp: Asian Carp have already reached the Mississippi River and have been wreaking havoc on its ecosystem for years throughout the midwest. The carp are not present in all lakes and rivers along the gulf coast, however, and so the threat of spreading Asian Carp to untainted waters during flooding is serious. Similarly, the Great Lakes are facing a possible inundation from Asian Carp – if the carp make it through the waterways that connect the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan, the effects could be devastating for the Great Lakes.

Oil Spills: 2010 brought oil spills to both Louisiana and Michigan. The entire country watched in horror as millions and millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf, destroying ecosystems and devastating people’s way of life. The Enbridge oil spill in Michigan that summer was a fraction of the size – nearly one million gallons, but it happened right in residents’ back yards and there were immediate effects on public health – especially for children. Both areas are still feeling the effects of the spilled oil and learning what the consequences will be in the long term.

Feeling the effects of climate change

Phragmites along the Clinton River Spillway, site of a future restoration project that NWF is partnering with to make climate-smart. Photo/Celia Haven

These changes can have dramatic and damaging effects for those who depend on these waters. As sea levels rise along the Gulf Coast, more of the coastal wetlands will erode, eliminating the natural buffer that protects cities along the delta from extreme weather. On the other hand, if Great Lakes water levels drop, it could have implications for the shipping industry as rivers and ports become too shallow. In both places, invasive species can destroy the fishing industries and cause more stress on tourism. And ecosystems that are already feeling multiple stressors are less likely to be able to cope with unpredictable man-made disasters, like oil spills.

No matter how you look at it, the effects of climate change on either of these ecosystems could be devastating. That’s why NWF’s work to restore the Mississippi River Delta and to restore the Great Lakes is so important. We’re working to safeguard and these ecosystems so that the way of life for those in these two regions is preserved.

Support NWF’s efforts to keep Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes

Shiawassee Wetland Restoration Project during the beginning phases of restoration. Photo/Sarah Barmeyer

I wasn’t able to attend the project’s groundbreaking ceremony a year and a half before, so I couldn’t feel the dramatic change from farm field to wetland, but my visit was still a wonderful way to spend a Friday afternoon. The new wetland was full of noisy birds, and flocks of ducks and geese frequently flew overhead. We learned that the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge is considered a globally Important Bird Area – and that at times, over 60,000 ducks and geese are on-site. The project was carried out through an outstanding partnership among Ducks Unlimited, the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network, the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. EPA, and the Upper Mississippi River & Great Lakes Region Joint Venture.

Birds over the Shiawassee Flats Wetland Restoration Project. Photo/Celia Haven

The National Wildlife Federation works hard to support federal funding for restoring the Great Lakes - and subsequently, projects like this. As a co-founder and co-chair of the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition, we work hard alongside the rest of the Great Lakes community to secure robust federal funding and support for Great Lakes restoration and to provide a strong, unified voice for restoration across the region. NWF also provides resources to groups who are undertaking on-the-ground restoration projects, like our Technical Guidance for Climate-Smart Restoration, a report on implementing the Great Lakes Compact, and a new report on the effects of invasive species and nutrient loading in the Great Lakes.

Want to help NWF protect the Great Lakes? Check out our new Choose Your Cause feature, where you can support our efforts to keep Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes!

 The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – or GLRI – is the program to implement the comprehensive restoration plan for the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. The GLRI was launched in 2010, and to date has received over $700 million in federal funding. Under the GLRI, groups across the Great Lakes Basin can apply for funding for projects that benefit the region – including combating invasive species, cleaning up toxic pollution, restoring nearshore health, and restoring valuable wildlife habitat. The GLRI represents unprecedented support in Great Lakes restoration from leaders in Washington on both sides of the aisle – so far, over 500 projects have been granted funding under the program. Our work is not done, however – the GLRI, along with many other important environmental programs, faces steep cuts as congress grapples with how to get the nation’s spending under control. In 2012, NWF will work with its partners in the region to make sure the GLRI continues to receive the funding it needs to do the important work of restoring the Great Lakes.

Canoeing in the Great Lakes. Image: Shutterstock

Growing up swimming in the clear, cool water of Lake Superior I was blissfully unaware that the Great Lakes were under attack. I had a pretty good grasp of environmental issues  in my hometown – I knew why we didn’t eat the fish I caught with my dad near our house, and I knew which plants in our yard weren’t welcome, but my exposure to the Great Lakes was limited to the remote (and seemingly pristine) areas my family visited on vacation.

It wasn’t until I was in college that I learned about things like toxic algal blooms, aquatic invasive species, and the dramatic effects of climate change.

My work at NWF’s Great Lakes Regional Center has taught me so much more about current threats to the Great Lakes, but more importantly, about what groups across the region are doing to protect a resource that 30 million people depend on for their drinking water. Programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative are making sure that restoration projects are happening in the areas where they are most needed.

Great Lakes projects are producing results in communities around the region. But there is more to do. This is where the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition (HOW) steps in.  Co-chaired by NWF, the HOW Coalition brings together more than 115 organizations across the region that share the common goal of restoring and protecting the Great Lakes. The Coalition is working to insure that the nation robustly funds Great Lakes programs – and that local groups can successfully participate in restoration efforts. Recently the HOW Coalition announced $115,000 in grants among nine organizations to help them prepare and apply for larger GLRI grants.

These grants, of up to $15,000 each, are given to groups in five geographic priority areas: The St. Louis River and St. Louis Bay in Lake Superior; the waters of Lake Michigan in the Chicagoland area; Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay; western Lake Erie and eastern Lake Ontario. These areas suffer from some of the most severe problems plaguing the Great Lakes, but also show great potential to be restored. The grants will help to jumpstart projects that are key to improving conditions for both wildlife and people who depend on the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes face many threats: sewage contamination fouls beaches, habitat destruction erodes water quality, Asian carp threaten to devastate the ecosystem, waters warm due to climate change, and toxic pollution persists across the region. Yet we know that we have solutions — projects like those funded by the HOW Coalition are significant victories in a larger struggle. They are important steps towards accomplishing an enormous and necessary goal. Projects like these that remind me that we are making progress in protecting and restoring the Great Lakes for future generations.

Read the list of 2011 HOW Implementation Grants

Join us in October for the 7^th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference hosted by the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition in Detroit, Michigan!