Western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay are plagued by harmful algal blooms that compromise safe drinking water, and negatively impact boating, swimming, and fishing. These toxic blooms are largely driven by too much phosphorus (a nutrient found in fertilizers and wastewater) making it into Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay. The western Lake Erie basin (WLEB) and Saginaw Bay watershed have lost more than 80% of historic wetlands. A significant amount of these drained wetlands were converted for agricultural use. Wetlands are an important way to filter the nutrient pollution moving through the watershed before it reaches these water bodies.
The Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay Wetland Conservation Program (WCP) provides funding to partners to implement wetland restoration in the western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay watersheds. The goal is to improve water quality while creating better wildlife and aquatic habitat. WCP also supports Great Lakes tourism as well as economic sectors that have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Wetland Conservation Program is being managed by Ducks Unlimited, Inc. on behalf of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division (DNR) and in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). This project has been funded in part by The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Ducks Unlimited is a leader in wetland conservation across North America, with 18 million acres conserved since 1937. In Michigan, DU will act as the fiduciary agent for DNR to manage the Wetland Conservation Program. In this role, DU is managing a request for proposals for eligible partners to apply for funding for wetland conservation projects.
ThiThis program is being led by the following DU staff members. Please direct all programmatic questions to the email address below.
Kali Rush, Michigan Regional Biologist
Sara Burns, Water Program Specialist
Matt Conrad, Biologist
Email the DU Team at wcp@ducks.org
The goal of WCP is to work with partners to identify and fund approximately 4 - 8 projects to acquire, engineer, restore, and/or enhance wetlands in the western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay watersheds. The program's goal is to reduce phosphorous, nitrogen, and/or sediment entering the waters of western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay to improve water quality. The projects may also support and enhance Great Lakes tourism and related economic sectors that have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ducks Unlimited is requesting proposals from partners to implement wetland programs in Western Lake Erie Basin and Saginaw Bay Watersheds. Eligible partners include NGOs, tribes, and local and federal governmental agencies.
Find the Wetland Conservation Program Request for Proposals at the following link: View the RFP information
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