Deadline: 14-Mar-25
The Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program (GLCWMP) helps EPA satisfy statutory requirements under section 118 of the Clean Water Act to establish a Great Lakes system-wide surveillance network to monitor the water quality of the Great Lakes, with a special emphasis on the monitoring and reporting on the health of the coastal wetlands in each of the five Great Lakes.
The GLCWMP uses a comprehensive approach to sample and assess all major coastal wetlands throughout the Great Lakes Basin using standardized procedures. Monitoring of all coastal wetlands is logistically impractical and cost prohibitive, so the GLCWMP strategically monitors wetlands that are greater than 4 hectares (about 10 acres) in area and have a surface water connection to one of the Great Lakes or their connecting rivers. A total of 1,014 coastal wetlands meets these criteria and are sampled at least once every five years under a rotating schedule where approximately 200 wetlands are sampled each year. Monitoring of birds, amphibians, fish, macroinvertebrates and plant communities, and water quality occurs at a subset of the Great Lakes coastal wetland sites annually.
Program Purpose
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Monitoring Program (GLCWMP) is a long-term monitoring program that supports:
- EPA’s continued assessment of coastal wetland conditions summarized by lake, year, and by the three coastal wetland types (i.e., riverine, lacustrine, barrier) using coastal wetland indicators (see Program Activities section below)
- EPA’s assessment of trends associated with the established SOGL coastal wetland indicators; and
- EPA’s commitment to monitor the Great Lakes ecosystem to better understand the outcomes of wetland restoration and protection and to understand the impacts of existing and emerging threats.
Funding Information
- Up to $12,000,000 may be awarded under this NOFO over approximately six years, consisting of incremental funding in an amount commensurate with the applicant’s project funding needs and availability of federal appropriations, contingent on the quality of applications received, funding availability, future appropriations, satisfactory performance of work, and other applicable considerations.
Program Activities
- Applicants must propose plans to conduct activities in support of the GLCWMP program goals and objectives listed below and may also include other activities associated with conducting monitoring, assessments, and special studies. The following provides a brief description of the goals and objectives that applicants must address when proposing project activities.
- Applicants must propose program activities that support the following general goals of the program:
- Utilize a comprehensive approach to sample and assess all major coastal wetlands throughout the Great Lakes Basin using standardized procedures at a subset of the Great Lakes coastal wetland sites;
- Assess the status and trends of Great Lakes coastal wetland conditions via monitoring of birds, amphibians, fish, macroinvertebrates and plant communities, and water quality at coastal wetland sites;
- Identify new emerging threats to Great Lakes coastal wetlands; and
- Report results to support Great Lakes ecosystem assessments and inform Great Lakes wetland restoration and protection.
Eligibility Criteria
- Only these types of organizations may apply:
- Indian Tribe.
- State & Local Governments.
- Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs).
- Nonprofit organizations.
- Qualified non-federal entities eligible to apply include non-federal governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and institutions. This includes state agencies; any agency or instrumentality of local government; interstate agencies; federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations; colleges and universities; non-profit organizations; and other public or non-profit private agencies, institutions, and organizations. Non-profit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization which: (1) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand its operations. Non-profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible applicants. “For profit” organizations, federal agencies, and individuals are not eligible applicants.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.