Great Lakes Coastal Restoration Grants Program

The Indiana Great Lakes Coastal Restoration Grants Program is a new grants program to use Indiana's share of a Congressional award to Great Lakes states in 2001. Indiana received $1.75 million for projects to protect and restore natural resources in Indiana's Lake Michigan coastal region. The funding will be used to restore and protect rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and habitat for endangered wildlife. The DNR Lake Michigan Coastal Program will administer the Indiana Great Lakes Coastal Restoration Grants Program.

Projects are located in the proposed Lake Michigan Coastal Program Area, which consists of the watershed area draining into Indiana's portion of Lake Michigan.


Detailed guidance for Indiana's grant program has been developed and was approved by the Natural Resources Commission on January 22, 2002. The guidance and application packet is available by request to coastal@dnr.state.in.us or for download below.

Applications were accepted from state and local agencies until April 26, 2002. A total of 26 applications were received requesting over $2.2 million. A team of reviewers at the DNR rated the projects based on the rating system included in the program guidance. A total of 16 projects utilizing $1,662,500 of federal funds were selected in July 2002 all have received federal approval and are in some phase of implementation.

List of Projects Selected for Funding Through the
Great Lakes Coastal Restoration Grants Program

Lake County

Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve, Savanna Restoration
IDNR, Division of Nature Preserves

This project will reduce invasive woody species and oak resprouts in order to restore 70 acres of native savanna and prairie. Hoosier Prairie is the largest remaining prairie/savanna complex in Indiana.

Clark and Pine East (Bongi) Dune and Swale Community Restoration
IDNR, Division of Nature Preserves

This project will restore 37 acres of dune and swale communities by removing invasive woody species, reducing cover and stem density of invasive shrubs and small trees, as well as controlling non-native resprouts.

Deep River Headwaters Savanna, Wetland and Prairie Restoration Project
Lake County Parks and Recreation Department

This project will restore 100 acres of degraded savanna and agricultural fields back to native habitat conditions: warm season prairie and oak savanna. The methods utilized in this project include: no-till drilling, and manual planting of containerized trees.

Gary Green Link
City of Gary

This project will create a master plan for natural resources management within the boundaries of a 30-mile greenway corridor. The corridor includes Lake Michigan beaches and natural areas, the Grand Calumet River, and high quality habitat, including dune and swale areas in Gary, Indiana.

Grand Boulevard Lake Restoration and Enhancement
City of Lake Station

Grand Boulevard Lake is currently over-run with exotic species. The purpose of this project is to enhance some natural features and make the area more accessible to the public through a walkway and small boat ramp.

Porter County

Wetland Restoration in the Dunes Creek Watershed (to reduce E.coli loadings into Indiana Dunes State Park beaches from Dunes Creek)
IDNR, Division of State Parks and Reservoirs

The purpose of this project is to restore wetland habitat in the Dunes Creek watershed and to evaluate its efficacy in reducing loadings of the bacteria E.coli to the beaches at Indiana Dunes State Park.

Moraine Nature Preserve Protection
IDNR, Division of Nature Preserves

The project will acquire approximately 42 acres of land adjacent to Moraine Nature Preserve. This preserve is an important large, forested block that provides habitat to forest interior birds.

Restore and Enhance Samuelson's Fen and Salt Creek at Imagination Glen Park
Portage Department of Parks and Recreation

This project will restore and enhance the natural communities associated with Salt Creek, which bisects the 250-acre Imagination Glen Park.

Phase 2b: Creekside Park Development - Park Passages
Valparaiso Department of Parks and Recreation

This project will develop trails and an environmental management plan for a 70-acre undeveloped park. The project will also restore and maintain native upland habitat, wetlands, fens, and Salt Creek corridor (a salmonid stream).

Phase 2c: Creekside Park Development - Connections and Restoration
Valparaiso Department of Natural Resources

This project will assist in the development of boardwalks and a bridge crossing for public access and restore 10-40 acres with native vegetation to Creekside Park, a 70-acre undeveloped park.

Stimson Drain Stormwater Best Management Practices Management Design Project
City of Valparaiso

This project will produce a stormwater management design that will promote various best management practices for the 600-acre Stimson Drain Watershed.

Porter County Jail Alternative Stormwater Management Demonstration Project
City of Valparaiso

The newly constructed Porter County Jail is located in the Stimson Drain Watershed, which is undergoing significant commercial development. This on-site demonstration project will reduce and manage the impact of stormwater in the watershed.

LaPorte County

Creek Ridge County Park Protection
LaPorte County Parks Department and Park Board

This project will acquire 35.6 acres of land adjacent to an existing 77-acre county park. The west branch of Trail Creek, which supports a migratory run of salmonids, flows through the park.

Red Mill County Park Wetland Restoration
LaPorte County Parks and Recreation Department and Foundation

This project will begin by developing an engineering feasibility study and design to recommend the best method to deconstruct the existing dam and construct a series of created/restored wetlands. This project will not only restore critical wetland habitat, but also protect resources of the adjacent Little Calumet Headwaters Nature Preserve and the Little Calumet River.

White Ditch Greenway: Phase I
Town of Michiana Shores

This project will protect 52acres along White Ditch. These parcels, in conjunction with town owned lands, will become a greenway park along White Ditch.

Regional

Study of rare and endangered mammals in northern Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties of Indiana Indiana State University
This project will survey the distribution and abundance of several endangered mammals in the Indiana coastal region. These mammals are sensitive to adverse environmental changes to their habitat and can be considered indicators of environmental quality.


For more information about the Great Lakes Coastal Restoration Grants Program please contact coastal@dnr.state.in.us