Freshwater VoicesThe Newsletter of Freshwater FutureFreshwater Voices is the newsletter of Freshwater Future, published four times per year. Freshwater Voices is intended to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Basin. Volume 17, Number 4 • Fall 2009 Fall 2009 Freshwater Future Grants AwardedTen different groups were awarded grants from our last round of grant applications. We are pleased to provide resources to these communitybased initiatives to protect and restore the health of the waters in the Great Lakes. If you would like to learn more about any of these projects, please visit our website, www.freshwaterfuture.org. Adirondack Communities Advisory League of Cambridge, New York was awarded $3,500 to assist with legal advice to address excessive sediment and other pollutants entering the trout-spawning stream of Moose Creek from a landfill. Blue Eco Group of Highland Park, IL was awarded $3,300 to continue their work to address the systematic discharge of lead bullets into the Great Lakes from federal agencies and improve the health of the Lakes. CROP PLUS of Portland, New York was awarded 10 hours of strategy consulting services with Freshwater Future and $4,000 to educate decision makers about the hazards of using coal bottom ash on roads as winter traction agents, to do further water quality testing and legal research, in addition to informing and engaging others. Finger Lakes Zero Waste Coalition of Geneva, New York was awarded $4,000 for a project to build awareness among local citizens and politicians of alternatives to conventional waste management practices to prevent degradation of the Finger Lakes watershed and its aquatic ecosystems. Highway J Citizens Group of Richfield, Wisconsin was awarded $4,500 for legal advice, help with fundraising, performing ecological studies, and providing expert testimony related to their challenge of a highway expansion project. The expansion would impact wetland areas, primary environmental corridors, river crossings and nearby lakes where several endangered and threatened animal and plant species live. Legal Environmental Aid Foundation of Indiana of Valparaiso, Indiana was awarded 40 hours of strategic planning consultation services with their board of directors in addition to an $800 project grant. LEAF is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to providing pro bono legal, technical and educational services that support community efforts to protect and sustain Indiana’s natural legacy. Paradise Lake Association of Carp Lake, Michigan was awarded seven hours of strategy assistance consultation with Freshwater Future to further their efforts to use biological controls instead of herbicides to control the invasive species Eurasian water milfoil on Paradise Lake. Rotary Club of Grand Bend in Grand Bend, Ontario was awarded $3,300 to work with landowners along the southeast shore of Lake Huron to combat beach pollution and algal blooms. The project will include an educational drain walk, water quality monitoring, and one-on-one assistance for land owners to implement water quality improvements. Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance of Saugatuck, Michigan was awarded $5,000 to educate public officials and citizens about existing laws and regulations as well as proposed zoning changes that would allow for high density development within an area of sensitive coastal dunes they are working to preserve. Thumb Land Conservancy of Marlette, Michigan was awarded $4,500 to build a coalition of organizations dedicated to planning, funding, and implementing a restoration plan for the upper Black River, which is highly channelized in a predominantly agricultural watershed with hundreds of miles of county drains and significant water quality issues. |
Freshwater Future builds effective community-based citizen action to protect and restore the water quality of the Great Lakes basin. We work toward this goal by providing financial assistance, communications and networking assistance and technical assistance to citizens and grassroots watershed groups throughout the Great Lakes basin. Through these efforts we work with over 1,800 grassroots watershed groups and citizens to protect and restore the rivers, lakes and wetlands in their communities. Freshwater Future is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. For more information, please contact: info@freshwaterfuture.org |