Adrian Daily Telegram: Funds to help protect lake

RAISIN TWP. — Three new grants will help the Lenawee Conservation District and local farmers improve the water quality of Lake Erie.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, announced the Lenawee Conservation District had been awarded three Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grants, totaling $300,000, by the Great Lakes Commission. The Lenawee Conservation District will use the money to address phosphorous and sediment reduction needs at multiple sites throughout the district.

Lindsay Garrison, district manager at the Lenawee Conservation District, said the grants will help the district continue to implement methods and strategies with farmers to help reduce nutrients reaching the lake from their fields.

"The grants will be very helpful and I know local farmers are very excited for this development," Garrison said. "We are looking forward to working with local farmers."

She said the funds will help with tile lines, buffers, drainage management boxes and, in one case, a closed irrigation system pond. She said the work would begin this fall.

The Lenawee Conservation District is an independent county-level resource assisting residents, producers and communities to help resolve natural resource concerns. Its typically self-funded and serves the public with revenue obtained through an annual tree and shrub fundraiser sale, grants and county appropriations.

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

"The Great Lakes are a magnificent national and natural treasure and we have a responsibility to preserve them for generations to come," Walberg said in a press release. "The Lenawee Conservation District is doing important work to protect the health of our waterways and communities, and I'm pleased to see their ongoing efforts recognized. These grants also highlight the need to continue funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to protect the Great Lakes, which are a vital economic and environmental asset for Michigan and the entire country."

Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission, also congratulated the Lenawee Conservation District for being awarded this grant in support of its work protecting the health and sustainability of our Great Lakes.

"This project demonstrates the power of the GLRI to generate critical economic and environmental improvements for communities throughout the region," Eder said in statement. "Thank you to Rep. Walberg for your continued support of this important initiative."

The Great Lakes Commission manages the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program, which strategically addresses polluting phosphorus and sediments from entering the Great Lakes Basin with a unique, targeted grassroots approach, which awards grants to nonfederal agencies and nonprofit organizations in priority watersheds throughout the region.

This article originally appeared in the July 26 edition of the Adrian Daily Telegram.