Sustain Our Great Lakes, a public-private partnership administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, has announced grants totaling $8.6 million in support of efforts to sustain, restore, and protect fish, wildlife, and habitat; improve water quality; and enhance urban greenspace across the Great Lakes basin.

Grants will support thirty-five projects in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin designed to enhance the quality and connectivity of streams and riparian habitat to benefit brook trout; control invasive species, and restore unique habitats across the basin to benefit priority species, including Mitchell's satyr butterfly, the rusty-patched bumble bee, and Blanding's turtle; restore wetland habitat quality and structure for migratory shorebirds, waterfowl, least bittern, and northern pike; improve nearshore health and urban greenspace through green stormwater infrastructure; and reduce sedimentation and nutrient runoff to improve water quality. Grants will leverage approximately $12 million in additional project support from grantees, generating a total conservation impact of $20.6 million.

The program receives funding and other support from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Cleveland-Cliffs, General Mills, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the USDA Forest Service.

"The grants announced today will advance key conservation priorities across the Great Lakes basin," said NFWF executive director and CEO Jeff Trandahl. "These grants demonstrate the essential role of partnerships and collaboration in providing resources for local restoration efforts critical to restoring habitat and improving water quality for important native species such as marsh nesting birds and cold-water fish."