Cleaner water in the Gun River Watershed of Michigan’s Great Southwest will have a better chance thanks to a major new federal grant from the Great Lakes Commission under the umbrella of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative which Congressman Fred Upton has fought long and hard to protect.
Upton announced today that the Allegan Conservation District has been awarded a $180,000 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant which will allow the District Project to encourage the implementation of best management practices to reduce sedimentation in the Gun River Watershed through a performance-based incentive program.
Upton calls the Great Lakes Commission grant, “A significant recognition of the Allegan Conservation District’s work to protect the health of our Great Lakes, waterways, and communities.” He adds, “This grant will have an immediate, positive impact. It also highlights the need to continue funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative now and into the future. We must continue working together to protect our Great Lakes so that all may enjoy their brilliance and beauty.”
John Linc Stine is Chair of the Great Lakes Commission and the Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Stine says, “Working with local partners to implement these conservation practices is critical to protecting water quality in the Great Lakes region.” Stine notes, “This program enables communities to take specific, measured steps toward reducing the sediment and nutrient runoff affecting their local watersheds.”
Every year, tons of polluting phosphorus and sediments enter the Great Lakes Basin, causing massive economic and environmental losses and contributing to the formation of Harmful Algal Blooms and dead zones. The Great Lakes Commission manages the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program which strategically addresses this problem with a unique, targeted, grassroots approach which awards grants to non-federal agencies and non-profit organizations in priority watersheds throughout the region.
Funding for this program is provided by the GLRI under a cooperative agreement between the GLC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Services.
Upton has consistently fought for full funding for the GLRI, despite administration attempts to cut the program. He says that fight will continue.
Less than a month ago Upton joined colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives in voting to advance H.R. 6147, the Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2019. That bill includes full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Upton released the following statement at that time:
“This is more great news for our Great Lakes. This legislation fully funds the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – a critical program that helps us strengthen and preserve our Great Lakes environment. It also helps keep our Southwest Michigan economy strong. I was glad to vote for this needed funding and will continue fighting for our Great Lakes. Always.”
