NOAA announces $15.8 million in funds to restore Great Lakes

Great Lakes from space (Credit: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced $15.8 million in funding that it will provide through its National Marine Fisheries Service to restore damaged areas in the Great Lakes, according to a NOAA release.

Funding from the federal agency will help groups restore about 1,000 acres of wetlands and open 34 miles of streams for fish passage.

Funded projects include restoring a Rouge River wetland, removing a fish barrier in the Menomonee River and restoring the Stony and Celeron islands in the Detroit River.  The money will also help remove 117,000 cubic yards of wood waste from the St. Louis River Estuary.

The most expensive project to be funded is a $6.2 million dredging project to remove contaminated sediment from the Manistique River.

Image: Satellite image of the Great Lakes from space (Credit: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.)