Press Releases

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga, Republican Co-Chair of the House Great Lakes Task Force, announced that the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council has been awarded a $190,000 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant by the Great Lakes Commission. The Macatawa Area Coordinating Council’s project will encourage prolonged use of cover crops and increased installation of grassed waterways, where appropriate, in the Macatawa Watershed.

“Congratulations to the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council on this recognition of their work to protect the health of our waterways here in West Michigan,” said Congressman Huizenga.  “This grant also highlights the impact and the importance the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative continues to have locally on protecting both the ecology as well as the economy of the Great Lakes. It is projects like this that work to preserve the Great Lakes for future generations.”

“I’d like to congratulate the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council for being awarded this grant in support of their work protecting the health and sustainability of our Great Lakes,” said Darren Nichols, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. “This project demonstrates the power of the GLRI to generate critical economic and environmental improvements for communities throughout the region. Thank you to Congressman Huizenga for his continued support of this important initiative.”

Every year, tons of polluting phosphorus and sediments enter the Great Lakes Basin, causing massive economic and environmental damages 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 nonfederal agencies and nonprofit organizations in priority watersheds throughout the region.

This year, 13 projects totaling over $2.2 million were funded by the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program to install on-the-land practices to reduce phosphorus runoff and sedimentation into the Great Lakes.

Funding for this program is provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative under a cooperative agreement between the Great Lakes Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.