$2.83 million awarded for fish and wildlife restoration in the Great Lakes Basin

We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are pleased to announce that $2.83 million in 2022 federal funding has been awarded under the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act grant program to restore sustainable populations of fish and wildlife resources and their habitats in the Great Lakes Basin. Two regional project and ten research and restoration grant proposals alone will provide more than $1.53 million in non-federal partner match contributions. Additionally, these proposals are partially supported with $941,748 from Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding.

This year’s slate of funded projects address key conservation and restoration needs across seven states in the Great Lakes basin. Nine of the projects will contribute to Great Lakes Restoration Initiative goals, four of the projects support the work of Tribal partners, and one project will provide additional support to the Flint River - Hamilton Dam Removal project, which was recently selected for funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is a once-in-a-generation investment in the nation’s infrastructure and economic competitiveness. We were directly appropriated $455 million over five years in BIL funds for programs related to the President’s America the Beautiful initiative.

Learn more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law .

Since 1998, the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act has provided approximately $35.6 million in federal funds to 205 research and restoration and regional project proposals. Combined with the required matching monies from more than 140 non-federal partners, funding to benefit Great Lakes fish, wildlife and habitats tops $52 million.

Proposals funded in fiscal year 2022 include:

Regional project proposals

• Evaluating the Impact of Wetland Quality and Drought on Muskrat Populations in the Great Lakes Basin (Phase II), Wildlife Ecology Institute, $213,274
• Restoring Fish & Wildlife Habitat and Improving Water Quality in the Western Lake Erie Basin – Phase IV, Ducks Unlimited, $703,498

Research and restoration grant proposals

• Restoring Connectivity of the Upper Jordan River and Deer Creek (MI), Conservation Resource Alliance, $200,000
• Sucker River, Alger County, H-58 Road Crossing Replacement and Seasonal Sea Lamprey Barrier Construction Project, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, $199,999
• Flint River Restoration, Genesee County Parks, $300,000
• Using Adaptive Genetic Variation to Improve Lake Whitefish Genetic Stock Assignment in Lake Erie, Purdue University, $101,140
• Evaluation of Downstream Juvenile Lake Sturgeon Passage Through Two Dams on the Menominee River, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, $199,442
• Delineation of Stock Structure and Habitat Usage of Lake Superior Walleye to Inform Restoration Objectives, United States Geological Survey Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, $165,508
• Identifying an Emerging Coregonine Restoration Barrier in the Great Lakes: Habitat-Mediated Exposure to UV Radiation, Miami University, $193,932
• Conserving Piping Plover Habitat in Northeast Michigan, Huron Pines, $146,414
• Repatriating Copperbelly Watersnakes (Nerodia erythrogaster) and Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) into Northern Ohio Wetlands, The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium, $202,469
• A Regional Analysis of Species Recovery: American Marten Demography, Connectivity and Population Viability in a Recovery Network in the Upper Great Lakes Region, University of Wisconsin – Madison, $206,067

Learn more about the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act and how to apply for funding.