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Community Partnership Grant Program - Southern Lake Michigan

NIRPC is partnering with the Alliance for the Great Lakes (Alliance) and others to administer a new funding opportunity under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). The newly formed Community Partnerships Grant Program will support implementation of GLRI projects in eligible communities where these projects are needed most. In 2027, Alliance plans to award a total of $1,125,000, for final design and permitting projects, that can be awarded up to $300,00, with a total of 3-6 awards anticipated.

Projects supported through this grant program will fund eligible project area, in communities where GLRI projects are needed most, in partnership with local organizations and agencies, with the long-term goal of securing healthier Great Lakes communities for generations to come.

We invite applicants to think creatively about the spaces in their community where projects are needed most to capture rainwater, to reduce flooding, clean and filter water before it enters rivers and lakes, creat habitat for birds, pollinators like butterflies, and other wildlife. Applicants can potentially pair these projects with opporunities for local workforce development, stakeholder engagement, financial and project management capacity building, and long-term maintenance. Lots of types of projects could occur on many different types of sites.

Letter of Interest (LOI): Due September 4, 2026

Full proposal: Due November 13, 2026

Visit Community Partnerships Grant Program - Alliance for the Great Lakes for full details.

Questions or requests to learn more about the support provided should be emailed to CommunityPartnershipGrant@greatlakes.org.

Invasive Species and the Chicago Area Waterway System

Since 2010, the Great Lakes Commission has been leading efforts to prevent Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species (AIS) from entering the Great Lakes basin from the Mississippi River watershed through the critical Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). The GLC served as convener (effective in 2019, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission has transitioned to the convener role) and member of the CAWS Species Stakeholder Group, a regional stakeholder forum seeking the best short and long-term solutions to the threat of Asian carp and other AIS passing through the CAWS while maintaining current uses of the system. The CAWS-AIS consists of representatives from regional public and private stakeholders, representing governmental, commercial, recreational, business, and environment sectors.

From 2014-2016, the CAWS Aquatic Invasive Species Stakeholder Group developed a series of recommendations for President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress on near and long-term actions to prevent AIS from entering the Great Lakes through the CAWS. The GLC also led technical analyses; provided input on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study; and conducted a study of financing options. In 2012, the GLC and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative released a report entitled “Restoring the Natural Divide” that outlines engineering options for separating the CAWS to prevent AIS movement and examines potential improvements to commercial navigation, recreational boating, flood and stormwater management, and water quality.

Evidence suggests that two species of invasive carp — silver and bighead — are poised to invade the Great Lakes basin through the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). A federally led Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) is managing the implementation of short and long-term actions to combat their spread into the Great Lakes basin. An electric dispersal barrier system is the only structural mechanism currently in place to prevent their migration through the CAWS. Extensive monitoring and fish removal efforts, led by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and its federal partners, are important – and so far – successful strategies to reduce the risk of population spread.

In 2012, the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative completed a $2 million investigation that developed options for separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin in the CAWS as a potential long-term solution to the threat of AIS transfer. It also evaluated the costs, impacts, and improvements needed to maintain or enhance beneficial uses of the waterways. As part of the effort, an Advisory Committee, now known as the CAWS Aquatic Invasive Species Stakeholder Group, was established to secure engagement from stakeholders and public agencies.

The CAWS-AIS continued to meet to review key technical issues and provide input to federal agencies working on the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) and related efforts. The GLMRIS report presented several structural and non-structural alternatives to prevent the transfer of AIS through the CAWS but did not recommend a preferred solution. Following GLMRIS, the AIS Group worked to reach consensus on a set of recommendations, which took the form of three letters, to advance progress on this issue. In particular, the committee is closely tracking a feasibility study on establishing a single point to control one-way, upstream AIS transfer (i.e., Mississippi River basin into the Great Lakes basin) near the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Illinois.

The CAWS Aquatic Invasive Species Stakeholder Group is the only forum that brings together a diverse spectrum of stakeholders in a structured process to consider and evaluate continued steps toward a feasible plan to protect the Great Lakes from AIS while maintaining the diverse and important functions of the CAWS.

This website is hosted by the State of Indiana but NIRPC is an independent unit of local government and is not a State agency. Click here to learn more about NIRPC.