EPA grants watershed funds to Grand Traverse tribe

Two new projects that will help restore northern Michigan Great Lakes watersheds hearken back to the days of the Civilian Conservation Corps, as they require the hiring of unemployed workers under the terms of the federal grant funding that makes them possible.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced $1.1 million in funding for two Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Grand Traverse Band watersheds, which include hiring at least 20 unemployed people for each project to improve wildlife habitats and clean up shorelines.

The projects are part of a $6 million funding challenge EPA issued in August, to get unemployed people back to work in a way that also benefits the environment. The two projects are backed by the National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs, respectively.

"The tremendous response to EPA's challenge underscores the large backlog of Great Lakes restoration projects that are ready to be implemented and the strong support that exists for using a conservation corps model to get the job done," says Susan Hedman, EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager. "This week, EPA is announcing a total of eight restoration projects worth $6.6 million as part of this challenge. Each project will produce immediate, direct ecological benefits and will help to put unemployed people back to work."

The National Park Service gets $891,225 to expand wetland restoration work at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, while the Bureau of Indian Affairs is receiving $255,365 to work on watershed restoration with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The latter award is part of a larger BIA award that also assigns funding to Great Lakes restoration projects with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Susan Hedman, Environmental Protection Agency