Cleveland’s river and lakeshore will benefit to the tune of more than $5 million in the first round of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grants from the U.S. EPA.
Two $1.5 million projects will restore fish habitat to the Cuyahoga River shipping channel and create public access along the river on the Scranton Peninsula in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. These were the two of the largest grants awarded in Ohio.
The Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District’s project to establish a lacustrine refuge at the oxbow area of Euclid Creek just before it meets Lake Erie at Wildwood State Park, was funded for $1,396,050. Euclid Creek is within the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern (AOC.)
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife will get $500,000 to evaluate habitat along the Cuyahoga ship channel and Cleveland harbor, and analyze the impact of dredging and legacy toxins on spawning and larval fish. Other grants include $1 million to the Ohio EPA to fund Surface Water Improvement grants in Cuyahoga County; approximately $250,000 to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health for work at Huntington Beach, and more than $500,000 to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for beach research and toxin prevention.
The projects are among the 270 finalists for $161 million in funding, the first third of the $475 million federal dollars set aside for Great Lakes restoration and protection. Awardees will submit final paperwork and may begin their projects as early as this summer.
One of the two Urban Riparian Habitat Restoration projects along the Scranton Peninsula will fund site cleanup, and the other will fund aquatic and riparian habitat restoration and an interpretive trail. The site cleanup will remediate an abandoned marina and the restoration will create 9 acres of habitat – 2 acres of aquatic and 7 acres of terrestrial riparian habitat. The project will put the Towpath Trail directly adjacent to the river just south of the future Canal Basin Park.
This is an important part of the Cuyahoga River restoration initiative being undertaken by the Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan (RAP.) The Cuyahoga County Engineer’s office will manage the project with the RAP and other partners, including the City of Cleveland, Ohio Canal Corridor and Cleveland Metroparks.
For more information on grants and the GLRI program, visit the greatlakesrestoration.us website.
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