DEC and New York Sea Grant Announce Nearly $200,000 in Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Project Awards

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York Sea Grant (NYSG) today announced $191,960 in grants for five Great Lakes basin projects. The initiatives support local community plans to restore water quality, protect ecosystems, and strengthen community resilience and stewardship. These selected projects support measurable progress toward the priority goals of the Great Lakes Action Agenda for New York's Great Lakes watershed.

DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “Through our partnership with New York Sea Grant, New York is helping communities across the State take meaningful action to protect our Great Lakes and their watersheds. This funding supports innovative, community-led initiatives that will advance the goals of the Great Lakes Action Agenda and DEC’s ongoing efforts to safeguard water quality, improve fish and wildlife habitat, and enhance sustainability and resiliency in the region.”

New York Sea Grant Associate Director and Cornell Cooperative Extension Assistant Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth said, “Through this small grants partnership, communities in New York’s Great Lakes watershed are addressing critical, locally-identified needs by applying science, building partnerships, and engaging residents to improve the health of ecological systems.”

New York's Great Lakes Basin Small Grants program has awarded more than $2 million in small grants to date for a combined total of 66 projects since the program's inception in 2015. The projects selected for this round of New York's Great Lakes Basin Small Grants funding include: 

Erie County 

University at Buffalo, Hydrology Academy Workforce Training: $32,017. This project will address critical hydrologic data gaps identified in the Great Lakes Action Agenda (GLAA) by expanding regional capacity for collecting hydrologic data. The Academy will provide targeted workforce training for environmental scientists, local municipal planners, watershed groups, and university students through a four-day workshop and a series of instructional videos. Curriculum will provide hands-on experience and train regional practitioners to support watershed management plans. 

Onondaga County 

Institute for Sustainability Engagement (ISE) at Syracuse University, Sewer-Ready Sodus Bay: Centering Community Voices to Advance Clean Water Solutions in Huron, NY: $40,000. The ISE, through the Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center (SU-EFC), will support community-led engagement and education to support the Town of Huron and neighboring communities in advancing long-term solutions to inadequate septic systems. By engaging residents in exploring a range of options including public sewer expansion, septic maintenance and replacement programs, and no-action alternatives, the project will determine community priorities and implementation steps to reduce nutrient and pathogen loading to Sodus Bay. 

Central New York Land Trust, Rivers Unite: Community Driven Restoration and Education in the Limestone Creek Sub-Basin: $40,000. This project will support an 18-month community engagement and restoration project at the 159-acre Polly Monz Preserve to improve water quality and ecological function along the floodplain of Limestone Creek. The Land Trust will partner with municipalities, schools, libraries, and community organizations across Onondaga County to host stewardship workdays and deliver training in invasive species management and watershed ecology. 

St. Lawrence County 

Clarkson University, Community Monitoring of Emerging Water Pollutants in the Raquette River Watershed: $40,000. This project spans the headwaters at Raquette Lake to the St. Lawrence River and will engage community volunteers near Massena, Potsdam, Colton, Tupper Lake, and Raquette Lake in standardized, quality assured water sample collection and watershed stewardship. Clarkson University will analyze samples and translate results into plain-language fact sheets, a community video, and a Municipal Action Guide.

Wayne County 

National Audubon Society, Inc., Hemlock Wooly Adelgid Management at Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area: $39,943. Montezuma Audubon Center (MAC) will protect and manage a rare 40-acre hemlock stand by eradicating invasive Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA) at the ecologically important and globally significant birdarea, Turtle Pond. Through the Montezuma Alliance for Restoration of Species and Habitats Program and the Next Generation of Conservationists Program, this project will train and coordinate 70 volunteers to monitor HWA and priority bird species in the hemlock stand before and after treatment. MAC will also lead workshops on forest restoration and management for 100 foresters and landowners. 

New York Sea Grant, a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, administers the New York's Great Lakes Basin Small Grants program in partnership with DEC's Great Lakes Program. The program is funded through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) under the authority of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act. The EPF is a critical resource for environmental programs such as environmental justice, land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, recreation access, and water quality improvement projects. Governor Hochul's FY27 Budget reaffirms New York's commitment to environmental leadership by appropriating $425 million to the EPF, using $25 million from the Sustainable Future Program to provide a record $450 million for important environmental programs. 

More information on the New York's Great Lakes Basin Small Grants program with past project profiles is online at Great Lakes Small Grants Program webpage. Learn more about the New York's Great Lakes Action Agenda that applies ecosystem-based management to conserve, protect, and enhance New York State's Great Lakes natural resources at DEC's Great Lakes webpage.