Kaptur Announces $2.4M in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding
Projects supported will combat invasive species and restore Lake Erie watershed and tributaries
WASHINGTON—Today Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, along with EPA officials and local leaders, announced more than $2.4 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding to fight invasive plant species in Lake Eire and its tributaries.
Lake Erie supports an estimated 120,000 jobs in Northern Ohio, generates more than $1.7 billion in total tax revenue and provides drinking water to more than 3 million Ohio residents. Tourism in the region accounts for an estimated $12.9 billion in retail sales and $3.3 billion in employee wages. The Great Lakes system supports a fishery valued at $7 billion, making it the most valuable freshwater commercial fishery in the world.
“Protecting our Great Lakes ecosystem is both an environmental and an economic priority,” said Kaptur. “With this important federal investment, Ohio and other Great Lakes states can work to ensure this ecosystem is as healthy as possible. GLRI support for programs like these has been critical to state and local efforts to protect our treasured Great Lakes, which are so vital to our region’s environmental and economic health.”
Jane Goodman, Executive Director of Cuyahoga River Restoration, added, “We are so grateful for this opportunity to gain a measure of control over invasive plants that threaten the health of our watershed. The collaboration among partners is what makes it all possible. Bringing together the expertise and resources of ODNR-DNAP, the Cleveland Metroparks, Summit County, Portage County and Geauga County park systems, the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners, and the Student Conservation Association, we will be able to remove or prevent invasion on a huge area of land and streams.”
Lorain County will receive $634,889 to control at least 30 acres of invasive plant species and to restore habitat in the Black River Watershed and two smaller tributaries to Lake Erie. This project will also create jobs for 10 seasonal employees who will be hired for the project through the Black River Civilian Conservation Corps.
The Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization will receive $534,230 to identify and remove invasive plants from about 1,800 acres in the Cuyahoga River watershed, which drains into Lake Erie. Local partners and stakeholders in the region will also coordinate a campaign to raise public awareness of invasive plants in this watershed.
Three projects totaling $1,241,741 will be overseen by The Nature Conservancy and will address invasive species impacting Ohio’s western Lake Erie basin, including the Maumee River and its tributaries. The Environmental Protection Agency is also funding another approximately $6 million in efforts to eradicate invasive species in the other four Great Lakes regions. For an overview of work being through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative visit, https://greatlakesrestoration.us.
Rep. Kaptur serves as Co-Chair of the House Great Lakes Task Force.
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