Current Great Lakes Funding Opportunities

Process for 2011 GLRI funding and Letters of Support:

If you are planning to apply for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds (GLRI) from any of the granting agencies, you are strongly encouraged to share your project idea with DNR Regional Great Lakes staff. Staff will work with partner groups as best they can in developing projects. Letters of support for GLRI projects will come from the Office of the Great Lakes. Please see the attached guidance documents for additional information.

GLRI Funding and Letters of Support Guidance Documents [PDF 22KB]

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expects to award between $1.8 to $3.8 million in funding for projects across the country to help restore urban waters by improving water quality and supporting community revitalization. The goal of the Urban Waters Small Grants program is to fund research, studies, training, and demonstration projects that will advance the restoration of urban waters by improving water quality through activities that also support community revitalization and other local priorities. The funding is part of EPA´s Urban Waters program, which supports communities in their efforts to access, improve, and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding land. Proposals are due on Monday, January 23, 2012. Two webinars for this funding opportunity are being held Wednesday, December 14, 2011 and Thursday, January 5, 2012. Deadline for submitting questions is Monday, January 16, 2012. For more information about Urban Waters Small Grants including the Request for Proposal (RFP) and registration links for the webinars, please visit U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [exit DNR]. EPA expects to award the grants in Summer 2012.

• Sustain Our Great Lakes will provide a webinar on January 11, 2012 to learn about the 2012 grant funding opportunities to be offered through Sustain Our Great Lakes.

On January 3, 2012, Sustain Our Great Lakes will invite applications for competitive funding through its Stewardship Grants Program and its Community Grants Program. The Requests for Proposals will be available on January 3 at www.sustainourgreatlakes.org [exit DNR]. Funding priority for both programs will be given to on–the–ground restoration projects that improve the quality and connectivity of stream, wetland and coastal habitats in the Great Lakes basin. Pre–proposals will be due on February 15, 2012.

Webinar participants will learn about funding priorities and the application process, see examples of past projects, receive tips for submitting competitive proposals, and have the opportunity to ask questions. The webinar will begin at 11 AM Eastern Time/10 AM Central Time and last for approximately 1 hour.

Webinar participants can register at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/544871304 [exit DNR]

Please contact Todd Hogrefe, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, at 612–564–7286 or todd.hogrefe@nfwf.org for more information.

• NOAA´s Restoration Center announces a federal funding opportunity (FFO) for habitat restoration in U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern. The FFO is available at www.grants.gov [exit DNR]. The closing date is February 16, 2012.

  Through this solicitation, NOAA seeks to openly compete funding available for habitat restoration in U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern with funds provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in the President´s FY2012 Budget.

  Applications selected for funding will be implemented through a grant or cooperative agreement, with awards dependent upon the amount of funds made available to NOAA for this purpose by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. NOAA anticipates up to $5 million may be available for habitat restoration; typical awards are expected to range between $1 million to $4 million. NOAA will also accept proposals to develop engineering and design plans for habitat restoration; typical awards for these are expected to range between $75,000 and $350,000.

  If you have any questions regarding this funding opportunity, please contact either julie.sims@noaa.gov or jessica.berrio@noaa.gov.

• The "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program" is currently working with partners on developing projects for habitat restoration, monitoring, education, invasive species control, and closing costs related to land acquisitions in Great Lakes coastal environments. For assistance in preparing and submitting a proposal, please contact Darin Simpkins at (920) 866–1739. For more information on these program, please visit U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program [exit DNR].