Pennsylvania awards grants for Lake Erie coastal zone

From Pennsylvania DCNR

Meadville, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently awarded Coastal Zone Grants totaling more than $288,000 to seven projects in the state’s northwest region.

The grants, which are aimed at protecting and restoring the Lake Erie Coastal Zone, will be used toward projects that will benefit this critical habitat and ecosystem.

“The Coastal Zone Grants are aimed at supporting programs that measure the impact of various pollution sources, improve public access, preserve habitats, and educate the public about the benefits of the state’s coastal zones,” said DEP Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley.

“Each year, recipients of these grants do amazing work, and the DEP is committed to continue supporting these partners with grant funding and technical assistance.”

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A coastal zone is an area where land meets the coast and includes both coastal waters and adjacent shorelands. Coastal Zone Grants are awarded to projects related to fisheries, wetlands, recreation, public education, coastal hazards such as bluff recession, and other areas.

Grants also may be awarded to other projects in the watershed that have an impact on coastal waters.

The 77-mile Lake Erie coastal zone is in Erie County and includes the Lake Erie shoreline and several major tributaries. The coastal zone also extends to the middle of the lake, to the international boundary with Canada, and inland an average of 1.4 miles.

Approved projects include:

• Erie County Department of Planning and Community Development – $81,000 for coordination and technical assistance with Lake Erie Coastal Zone grantees, municipalities and residents and to assist Lake Erie coastal communities in administering the Bluff Recession and Setback Act of 1980.

• Mercyhurst University – $62,000 to update the Vegetative Best Management Practices manual for bluff landowners, originally published in 2007.

• Regional Science Consortium – $50,000 to support monitoring, water sampling and data analysis of the Harmful Algal Blooms in the waters of Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay.

• Bayfront East Side Taskforce – $15,000 to implement the Same Day Work and Pay Program, a neighborhoodwide program to remove litter, alleviate some barriers to employment and foster community ownership.

• Erie Bird Observatory – $30,000 for songbird migration research and visitor engagement at Presque Isle State Park.

• PA Cleanways/Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful – $25,000 for community cleanups and marine debris removal in the Lake Erie Coastal Zone.

• Regional Science Consortium – $25,000 to collect water, weather and wave measurements to analyze data from two buoys on Lake Erie, identifying water quality trends relative to real time data.