New reporting details declines in shoreline health & strategies for conservation

From Minnesota’s agricultural South to the pine forests of its North, the state’s 10,000+ lakes are not unlike those throughout the 9-state region comprising Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP). A recent reporting series by Minnesota Public Radio News focused on the health of Minnesota’s lake shorelines, providing insight into the challenges of increasingly developed shorelines and insights into successful solutions moving forward. The lessons of this excellent series, “Trouble by the water: Minnesota’s vanishing natural lakeshores”, apply more broadly than Minnesota, so we encourage you to check out the whole series!

The first report, “Unchecked development, lax regulation push Minnesota lakeshores to the edge”, details trends identified in a recent Minnesota DNR report. Degradation of natural shorelines is occurring both through development of previously-natural shorelines, and more often through permits to redevelop existing properties. This redevelopment includes increases to the footprint of existing buildings, increased impervious surfaces that cause erosion, and mowed lawns that are more common in suburban landscapes. “It’s no longer just the cabin up at the lake, with your path down to your dock,” said Randall Doneen, a water resources section manager with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Paul Radomski, a longtime lake ecologist with the Minnesota DNR, echoed the concern. “We are a land of 10,000 lakes,” he said. “We don’t want to be a land of 10,000 impaired lakes.”

Mowed lawns, denuded shorelines, increased impervious surfaces, and more are becoming more common along shorelines on Minnesota’s lakes. Credit: Ben Hovland, Minnesota Public Radio News.

So, what’s the solution? The second article in the series provides some answers. “Quit mowing’: Turning Minnesota lake homeowners into shoreline stewards, one lawn at a time” details the experience of Dorothy Whitmer, a lakefront property owner. Dorothy completed a survey helping her self-assess her property’s ecological effect on the lake and was surprised by her mixed results. “It could be summarized in two words: Quit mowing.” Whitmer continued, “What is good for the lakes actually saves money and effort, and it’s highly rewarding.” She used this information to encourage others on her lake and in her area to also complete the survey. When properties had a sufficiently high score, or when owners improved the ecological benefits on their properties, they received a “Minnesota Lake Steward” sign for their yard. “What that does is it signals to other people that there’s a thought behind the way the property is being managed on the lake, that there’s consideration being taken for the water quality,” said Jeff Forester, executive director of Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates.

Learn more about the Michigan Shoreland Stewards Program, Wisconsin Shoreland Evaluation Tool, and Minnesota Lake Steward Program at their websites.

Another solution has emerged in Burnett County, Wisconsin. The third article, “In NW Wisconsin, a county finds paying homeowners to keep shorelines natural pays off”, details the county’s tax incentive program to that has preserved more than 50 miles of shoreline and helped cultivate a culture of stewardship with an investment of only $35,000 to $40,000 a year. With about 10% of lake properties enrolled and 350 of the county’s 500 lakes having at least one property enrolled, the program has been an enormous success.

The fourth article focuses on one of the key motivations for shoreline conservation in the state – loons. “On Cross Lake, loons make the case for protecting Minnesota’s wild shores” provides information as to how natural shorelines benefit loons through water quality, nesting habitat, habitat for the fishes they eat, and more.

Loons guard their nest along a natural shoreline in Minnesota. Credit: Kirsti Marohn, Minnesota Public Radio News.

The last article in the series details the story of one family’s efforts to address these issues on their shoreline. “Native plants, lots of patience: How a Stearns County couple restored a damaged lakeshore”, details their journey as they’ve converted a mowing-intensive landscaping to native plants, saving time to enjoy the lake and providing beautiful flowers, monarchs, and reduced erosion. The project was supported in part by the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District.

MGLP provides over $330,000 in grants to conserve fish habitat in lakes

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is awarding over $330,000 through its 2024 Lake Conservation Grant to six projects across the Upper Midwest. Together, these projects will benefit glacial lakes and their fish habitats, fish populations, and fisheries for years to come. Funds for the Lake Conservation Grant are provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and will be matched by over $625,000 in contributions from project partners, for a total conservation investment of over $950,000. The grant is operated annually by the MGLP as a fish habitat partnership under National Fish Habitat Partnership. The six funded projects are:

  • Assessing and restoring shoreline vegetation to improve lake habitat, Comfort Lake – Forest Lake Watershed District – $60,000
  • Designing and engineering wetland restoration to protect aquatic habitat and benefit a Cisco population at Long Lake, Springfield Township – $40,000
  • Local partners collaborate to solve fish passage issues in priority systems and train local teams, Hubbard County Soil and Water Conservation District – $35,621
  • Restoration of Turkey Creek and Martin Creek to reduce nutrients and sediment entering Lake Wawasee, Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation – $42,000
  • Stearns County shoreline habitat restoration projects, Stearns County Soil & Water Conservation District- $75,000
  • Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Operations, Michigan Department of Natural Resources – $78,082

The MGLP’s request for the next round of Lake Conservation Grants is expected to be released in November. Those interested in future grant applications can find more information on the Lakes Conservation Grant page of the MGLP website and should sign up for this MGLP Newsletter to receive notifications if not already subscribed. Read more below about the projects that received funding this year.


Assessing and restoring shoreline vegetation to improve lake habitat, Comfort Lake – Forest Lake Watershed District – $60,000

Aerial imagery shows some of the developed shorelines prioritized for restoration by Comfort Lake – Forest Lake Watershed District. Photo: Comfort Lake – Forest Lake Watershed District

Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District (CLFLWD) will perform shoreline vegetation inventories and complete lakeshore restoration projects. The shoreline inventories will evaluate the quality of shoreline vegetation and quantify the need for shoreline restoration projects, helping to prioritize shorelines and track progress toward restoration goals. CLFLWD’s goal is for each lake to have natural shoreline buffers on at least 75% of the shoreline. This project will implement lake shoreline restoration projects on 8 – 15 properties along the CLFLWD’s nine priority lakes (Birch Lake, Bone Lake, Comfort Lake, Lake Keewahtin, Little Comfort Lake, Moody Lake, School Lake, Shields Lake, and Forest Lake) in Washington and Chisago Counties, Minnesota.


Designing and engineering wetland restoration to protect aquatic habitat and benefit a Cisco population at Long Lake, Springfield Township – $40,000

A deep, eroded gully that cuts down the hillside and erodes sediment and nutrient pollution into Long Lake, MI, will be restored to protect cool- and cold-water fishes. Photo: Natural Resources Conservation Service.

This project will complete the design, engineering, and permitting phases of a wetland restoration project to design a solution that will restore an eroding ditch. The erosion is negatively impacting aquatic habitat in Long Lake, a glacial lake in Springfield Township of Oakland County, Michigan. The project is located at Springfield Township’s Shiawassee Basin Preserve, a 600-acre township park. Long Lake is approximately 40 acres in size, 45 feet deep, and supports populations of numerous MGLP Priority Species including a recently discovered population of Cisco, a Threatened Species in Michigan. Long Lake is also a popular lake for paddle-in fishing. Located in the upper Shiawassee River watershed, the Shiawassee River flows into and out of Long Lake and the shoreline is comprised of one of the largest and highest quality prairie fen wetland complexes in the Midwest. The project will fund a design to stabilize and restore the wetland including the eroding ditch which will prevent future sediment deposition into the lake’s aquatic habitat, help to stabilize the shoreline, and protect cold water habitats for Cisco and other fishes. Following the development of this design and permitting work, the Township will pursue funding for the construction phase to implement the design work.


Local partners collaborate to solve fish passage issues in priority systems and train local teams, Hubbard County Soil and Water Conservation District – $35,621

An undersized and improperly placed culvert on Bender Creek, upstream of First Crow Wing Lake, MN, will be replaced to improve fish passage. Photo: Michael Kelly, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Hubbard County (MN) Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Conservation, townships, and lake associations to address fish passage and spawning habitat connectivity issues by replacing an existing undersized culvert on Bender Creek just upstream of First Crow Wing Lake. A new, correctly sized and placed culvert will create conditions that allow for greatly improved fish passage. This will protect fisheries from predicted climate change impacts, create a local process for fish passage restoration, train local teams to recognize and utilize opportunities to improve fish passage while replacing existing culverts, and raise public awareness and support for projects that improve passage and connectivity.


Restoration of Turkey Creek and Martin Creek to reduce nutrients and sediment entering Lake Wawasee, Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation – $42,000

Erosion along Turkey Creek will be reduced through implementation of best conservation practices. Photo: Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation

The Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation and Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership have supported the Wawasee Inlet Nutrient Study to generate robust scientific data to quantify nutrients and sediment entering Lake Wawasee (IN) from 2019-2023. Following up on the results from that analysis, this project will restore and repair areas identified during this data collection and analysis. The overall goal of the project is to improve water quality through collaborative, on-the-ground conservation to protect runoff of nutrients and sediment, the most significant threat to water quality and fish habitat in the Lake Wawasee. Data from the Wawasee Inlet Nutrient Study has identified two priority areas to focus efforts upon. The Turkey Creek tributary contributes sediment and nutrients at an increased level, and Martin Creek, a 700-acre sub-watershed which contributes the most nutrients and sediment per acre of all sub-watersheds. This project will construct best management practices in these two sub-watersheds. Specifically, along Turkey Creek, the project will install grassed waterways, field filter strip buffers, and stream bank stabilization practices and along Martin Creek the project will install field border buffers, tile inlet buffers, constructed wetlands and grass waterway practices.


Stearns County shoreline habitat restoration projects, Stearns County Soil & Water Conservation District- $75,000

Five sites like this degraded lake shoreline in Stearns County, Minnesota will be restored. Photo: Stearns County Soil & Water Conservation District

This project will continue to build on the strong habitat restoration and protection effort on glacial lakes in Stearns County. The Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District has a dedicated Riparian Resources Specialist to work with lakeshore owners on habitat projects that restore and protect fish and wildlife communities. Five landowners will be selected that have committed to completing a shoreline restoration. The projects will rehabilitate, as well as protect, fish and wildlife habitat. Each of these projects will use natural techniques such as native grasses, wildflowers, trees, shrubs, vines and various bio-engineering techniques that use wood and footer rock. With the restoration or protection of natural shorelines, many native fish species will enjoy additional and improved habitat due to improved water quality and reduced sedimentation. In addition, these projects will all have a permanent Shoreland Deed Restriction recorded to protect the project with ongoing follow up for compliance with the operation and maintenance plan. The property owners’ personal experience will be used to promote additional projects and habitat connections. This will be done by allowing other landowners as well as contractors to view project sites before, during, and after project completion. On average within the existing Stearns County Shoreline program, coordinated site visits like this happen twelve times a year and are a very effective technique in giving shoreline property owners a better understanding of the multiple benefits from a project, which ultimately result in new project recruits for future restoration efforts.


Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Operations, Michigan Department of Natural Resources – $78,082

Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership operations provide resources across the partnership’s nine-state service area.

The MGLP works to protect, rehabilitate, and enhance sustainable fish habitats in glacial lakes of the Midwest for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. Partnership staffing is limited to the one coordinator position. Through this position the coordination of the partnership’s three primary committees, the implementation of tasks delegated by the committees to the coordinator, the maintenance of partnership operations in support of the partnership’s mission, goals, and objectives, and the MGLP’s participation in the National Fish Habitat Partnership are completed. This project will partially fund the coordinator and provide an operations budget for partnership activities including printing copies of the partnership’s Shoreline Living publication.

Shoreline Living documents ready to make a splash in lakefront conservation

Now available HERE for distribution in print or electronic format

Lakefront properties offer an opportunity to relax and enjoy recreation on the lake. Whether it’s taking a child fishing for the first time, learning to swim, enjoying a sunset over the water, or spending time with family and friends, lakefront properties are where memories are made. Lake shorelines are places we hold dear, and they also provide an important connection between clean water and healthy fish and wildlife. For this reason, lake shorelines are a critical area for conservation.

Shoreline Living Volumes 1 and 2 are now available to order at cost or download for free and distribute, along with all of the beautiful imagery they contain.

Resource agencies and conservation organizations have developed a host of practices for balancing property owners’ needs with what is best for the lake. These practices are imperative, because there are over 89,000 miles of inland lake shorelines across the Upper Midwest that support multi-billion-dollar fishing and recreational economies. Although there are many practices that a homeowner could implement to improve shoreline conditions, in many cases no action is taken.

Major barriers for creating and protecting natural shorelines include homeowners’ unfamiliarity with natural shoreline practices and a lack of relatable natural shoreline examples.

Woody habitat restorations, such as this “Fish Sticks” project featured in Shoreline Living Volume 2, provide habitat for fish and other wildlife while allowing for recreational space to swim, dock boats, and more.

Following up on the success of Volume 1 of the Shoreline Living booklet, the MGLP is now promoting Volume 2. These publications tell the stories of lakefront property owners who have all taken different approaches with their shorelines. Five property owners featured in Shoreline Living Volume 1 used strategies ranging from relatively minor plantings and natural shoreline rehabilitation to more intensive natural landscaping and full protection. Volume 2 expands upon these themes with stories of five additional property owners from three states that highlight woody habitat restoration in the lake, wildflower plantings on the land, and conservation easements motivated by waterfowl protection and family traditions. The stories of these property owners are complemented by high-quality pictures that illustrate the beauty and functionality of natural shorelines for the typical lakefront property owner. 

Shoreline Living Volumes 1 and 2 are freely available as an online resource for conservation and educational purposes. Are you interested in using it to promote natural shorelines? We encourage you to download the document and share it through your email, social media, or your organization’s website. Furthermore, if you are interested in obtaining printed copies, you can order them at cost through the Wisconsin Extension Lakes Bookstore.

Children and grandchildren look out over a lakefront property, the majority of which was protected in a conservation easement by their preceding generation.

The Shoreline Living documents have become a mainstay of outreach to shoreline property owners, with about 125,000 printed and distributed to date. “We try to make sure new property owners get a copy, and the board members from our non-profit organization also went door-to-door and distributed the magazines to every riparian,” said Lisa Adams, President of Bass Lakes Area Environmental Partnership. “Not only was this a great way to get out the message of ‘shoreline living’, it was an amazing opportunity to meet and get to talk with a lot of our neighbors on the lakes about the importance of natural shorelines. The most frequent comment we got was how beautiful the pictures were and how surprised people were that a natural shoreline can also be a beautiful shoreline! There were several others who have incorporated native plants into their landscaping, reduced or eliminated fertilizers, and have reduced mowing right down to the waters edge.”

A multi-generational family stops to smell the flowers on their natural lake shoreline.

Do you have a use for the pictures? You can find all of the pictures in Shoreline Living and more on the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership’s Shoreline Living webpage. The pictures are available for the public to download and use at no cost if they are used for noncommercial, personal, or educational use and credit is given to Mark Bugnaski Photography.

All photographs above are courtesy of Mark Bugnaski Photography

2024 MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars

We are excited to announce our 2024 Lake Conservation Webinars. These free webinars address a diverse range of lake and fish habitat management issues from assessments of property lake health or property values nationwide to nutrient sourcing for one lake; from shoreline restoration techniques to farmer-led conservation coalitions; and from climate change to shoreline erosion. Check out our lineup below and register using the links provided. You can view the full list of webinars plus recordings of past webinars on our Lake Conservation Webinars webpage.

Would you like to present a future MGLP Lake Conservation Webinar? We want to hear from YOU! We encourage speakers from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise in our webinar series. Please email MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner to express your interest.

What we know (and don’t know) about freshwater salinization

Hilary Dugan February 27, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Hillary Dugan headshot

Road salt pollution has led to the salinization of many freshwater ecosystems in the Midwest US. This talk will focus on what we know about freshwater salinization dynamics and trends, and what questions remain surrounding the future of our freshwater resources.

What is not known: A new look at an old way to fix broken lakes

Jerry Sweeten March 12, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Jerry Sweeten headshot

Many glacial lakes are suffering from chronic nutrient and sediment pollution, and there is a lack of scientifically defensible data needed to for pragmatic restoration. This presentation will illustrate the need for a more robust lake scientific study design that accurately quantifies lake health as the first step in lake restoration, which is a team sport. The presentation will use examples from northern Indiana lakes where nutrient and sediment monitoring were conducted to prioritize tributaries for nonpoint source pollution control. Leveraging these data have helped to designate the lake in the National Water Quality Initiative and direct increased funding to on-the-ground conservation.

Casting a wide net: Using historical data to build understanding of changes in fish species over time

Katelyn King March 19, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►

Using models to predict future changes in species distributions in response to projected climate change is a common tool to aid management and species conservation. However, the assumption underlying this approach, that ecological processes remain stationary through time, can be unreliable, and more empirical tests are needed to validate predictions of biotic outcomes of global change. We used contemporary (2003–2019) and historical (1936–1964) abundance datasets of Largemouth Bass in lakes across Michigan to estimate how relative density has changed over time with changing temperature. We found hindcasting contemporary models to historical lake temperatures performed similarly in predicting historical density to models predicting contemporary density. Our results suggest that models built using spatial environmental gradients can reliably predict population changes through time. We also found that increasing surface water temperature led to increasing largemouth bass relative density across the time period. Our study improves understanding of how climate change and other factors have impacted fish populations, shows the value of historical datasets for improving predictive models of population change, and can inform current and future lake management decision-making.

Phenological whiplash in Midwest lake fisheries

Zach Feiner April 2, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Zach Feiner headshot

Most lakes in the Upper Midwest US are frozen for 3-5 months per year, and these ecosystems are adapted to predictable cycles of ice and open water. Climate change is shifting the timing, or phenology, of ice-on in the fall later in the year and ice-off in the spring earlier in the year. On top of long-term shifts in ice phenology, increasing climate variability is also making ice phenology much more unpredictable from year to year. This talk will focus on the importance of lake ice for ecosystem dynamics in temperate lakes, and the implications of an increasingly unpredictable climate for ice phenology and how it affects the spawning and reproduction of walleye, a highly important Midwest fish.

Fishers & Farmers Partnership presents: Neighbor to neighbor, helping landowners take the next steps in improving their land and water

Heidi Keuler April 9, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Heidi Keuler headshot

Locally led, neighbor to neighbor soil health and watershed groups are driving landscape scale change across the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Fishers & Farmers Partnership (FFP) funded their first farmer-led committee in the Bourbeuse/Meramec Watershed in eastern Missouri in 2009-2010. Since then, FFP has learned and grown with landowner groups in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin, and has been a catalyst to drive innovative projects such as the Watershed Leaders Network farmer workshops. Each year FFP awards National Fish Habitat Partnership funds to engage landowners; improve farms and fish habitat; address root causes of watershed problems; and support communications, monitoring, and science that aligns with FFP’s strategic plan. Heidi will share how Fishers & Farmers works with local farmers and organizations in a bottom-up versus top-down approach to accomplish more. She can help you find active groups across states so you can reach out to people who are working in landscapes or projects like yours, explore their websites and events for inspiration, and energize your work.

Quantifying the impacts of climate change on fish growth and production using the largest-ever database of Midwest glacial lakes fisheries surveys to enable sustainable management

Paul Frater, Lyndsie Wszola, Luoliang Xu, & Michael Verhoeven April 23, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Picture of Hansen et al collaboration members

Climate change is causing inland lake water temperatures to rise, ice durations to shorten, and stratification regimes to shift. These habitat changes are creating novel challenges for freshwater fish and the productive fisheries they have long supported. We assessed shifts in habitat availability, bioenergetic needs and capacity, fish growth, and fishery productivity using simulated water temperature data and fisheries monitoring data compiled from across the Midwest. Major findings include: (1) On average, species preferring colder temperatures lost more preferred habitat than was gained by species favoring warmer temperatures between 1980-2021. (2) While warm-water species’ productivity has generally benefited from warming, cooler-water species have generally lost productivity. These losses in productivity can be exacerbated by fishing in exploited populations. (3) Many cool- and coldwater fish will experience increasing energetic challenges as the climate warms, but thermal refuges will likely persist in larger and deeper lakes. (4) The growth patterns of fish can be influenced by temperature–and theory allows us to predict what these patterns look like, but do fish actually follow these predictions? We explore this as a product of methodological and ecological mechanisms. (5) The effects of temperature on fish growth differ depending on fish size and age. Rising temperatures may accelerate early life growth for some species, but slow growth and increase mortality for older life stages. Collectively, this can result in complicated responses of fish growth across the diverse landscape of Midwestern lakes. Together, these projects provide an actionable set of findings for managing fisheries under climate change.

Valuing lake water quality in the United States using a national dataset on property values

Saleh Mamun April 30, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Saleh Mamun headshot

High-quality water resources provide a wide range of benefits, but the value of water quality is often not fully represented in environmental policy decisions, due in large part to an absence of water quality valuation estimates at large, policy relevant scales. Using nationwide property values, we estimated the benefits of lake water quality through housing markets. We find compelling evidence that homeowners place a premium on improved water quality. This premium is largest for lakefront property and declines with distance from the waterbody. In aggregate, we estimated that 10% improvement of water quality for the contiguous United States has a value of $6 to 9 billion to property owners. This presentation will share evidence for policymakers to incorporate lake water quality value estimates in environmental decision-making.

Learning from the past to manage inland lake fisheries for the future

Karen Alofs October 8, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Karen Alofs headshot

The seminar will highlight research that has used data from a collaborative project digitizing over a century of historical lake survey records from the Michigan DNR Institute for Fisheries Research. We are using these records to examine changes in fish growth and abundance, and the timing of mass mortality events. I will present examples which empirically test several predicted impacts of climate change across Michigan lakes.

Inland lake shoreline assessment and best management practices in Michigan

Eric Calabro October 15, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Eric Calabro headshot

This presentation will review the Inland Lake Shoreline Energy Assessment Tool. The goal of this new tool is to educate the user on important inland lake shoreline characteristics and to provide a standardized approach for Michigan users to evaluate the erosive potential of an inland lake shoreline. Assessing an inland lake shoreline is important for selecting an appropriate shoreline protection design that minimizes impacts to inland lake resources. Some example best practices for shoreline protection will be highlighted.

The National Lakes Assessment: A collaborative survey of lakes in the United States

Lareina Guenzel October 22, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Lareina Guenzel headshot

This presentation will share information about the National Lakes Assessment (NLA), which is conducted in collaboration with states, tribes, other federal agencies and partners every five years as a component of the US EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS). These statistical surveys sample and estimate the condition of the Nation’s different water body types on a rotating basis. The NLA reports on the condition of our nation’s lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. To be included in the survey, the water body has to be >1 hectare, > 1 meter deep and > 0.1 hectare of open water. In 2022, 80 field crews collected chemical, physical and biological data from 981 lakes for the fourth lakes survey. The 2022 survey also included the resampling of 153 lakes that were originally sampled in the 1970’s as part of the National Eutrophication Study and a U.S. Forest Service intensification that increased the number of lakes sampled in the Northern Lakes and Forest Ecoregion. This webinar will provide an overview of NLA, results from the fourth field season, and NARS/NLA data tools.

Basics of shoreline erosion control: New documents to help in design and management

Julia Kirkwood and Jen Buchanan October 29, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Jen Buchanan  and Julia Kirkwood headshot

Bioengineering can offer a nature-based solution on lake shorelines for controlling erosion, adding beauty, and providing habitat for fishes, birds, and other fauna. However, reference materials for professionals conducting lakeshore bioengineering projects and for homeowners seeking to have them installed are lacking. This presentation will introduce two new MGLP-produced reference documents for professionals and homeowners that help build the foundation for understanding what is happening at the shoreline and provide some basic design tips for dealing with erosion across a range of environmental conditions.

MGLP Lake Conservation Grant: Information for potential applicants

Joe Nohner December 10, 2024 at 1 PM Central Register for webinar ►Joe Nohner headshot

Each Fall, the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership advertises the request for proposals to its Lake Conservation Grant. Do you have a conservation, assessment, or outreach project that would benefit glacial lakes in the partnership? Would you like to learn more about the types of projects the MGLP is seeking, past successes, and technical details for grant submission? This informational session will provide an overview of Lake Conservation Grant success stories, the grant proposal process, and grant implementation. There will also be plenty of opportunity to ask your own questions about the grant program during this session.

Request for proposals: 2025 Lake Conservation Grant

We are seeking project proposals for funding from the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) 2025 Lake Conservation Grant. The MGLP is one of twenty partnerships that span the nation under the umbrella of the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP). The MGLP area of focus is glacial lakes and their watersheds (see figure). Nine Midwestern states, numerous federal agencies, tribal governments, and private natural resource entities have been integral partners in the development and operation of the MGLP.

We support conservation projects that work toward meeting the goals and objectives set forth in the MGLP Strategic Plan (midwestglaciallakes.org/resources). Projects should benefit glacial lake fish habitats, which include the chemical, physical, and biological components of the habitats that fishes found in glacial lakes use throughout their lives. We have directed funding toward a wide range of aquatic conservation projects that benefit imperiled, endangered, and recreational fish species and their habitats. We typically fund 3-5 projects annually between $30,000 and $100,000, but larger projects will be considered for funding up to a maximum of the approximately $300,000 expected for distribution. Previous projects have been successfully implemented because the contributions and capabilities of many partners have enabled accomplishment of project goals that none of the partnering entities could complete on their own.

Examples of past MGLP projects that have restored natural shorelines (left; photo by Mark Keiser), removed fish passage barriers (center; Joe Nohner), and assessed nutrient loading in the watershed (right; Jerry Sweeten).

Projects considered for funding must align with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and can range in scale from single-site projects to multiple sites to entire glacial lake watersheds. Projects should address the processes that cause fish habitat impairments as opposed to managing or treating the symptoms of those causes. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • projects that implement or demonstrate new approaches
  • watershed-level nutrient control projects;
  • water quality and erosion control measures;
  • native vegetation or wetland rehabilitation;
  • natural riparian or in-lake habitat restoration and protection;
  • barrier removal for improved native fish passage;
  • fish population or watershed assessments needed for project evaluation;
  • habitat assessment, prioritization and planning for future habitat projects;
  • evaluating current and future habitat conditions;
  • projects addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation through fish habitat;
  • projects training biologists and managers on inland lake fish habitat management tools and approaches; and
  • community outreach and education on the importance of and how to better conserve glacial lake fish habitat.

In addition to conducting independent outreach and/or education, successful applicants will be expected to work with the MGLP to coordinate media and public outreach to raise the profile of MGLP-funded projects.

If you have a lake conservation project aligned with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and need financial assistance, we encourage you to submit a proposal for project funding. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan.gov or 517-599-6825. Application materials can be found at the Lake Conservation Grant page of the MGLP website, and applications are due January 19, 2024. You can submit your application by emailing it to MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan.gov.

Two new Midwest publications available

A new (and free) resource called “Guide to native plants (a.k.a. Local Beings): 112 species that support clean water, wildlife habitat, and a happy soul” is now available on the Wisconsin Healthy Lakes and Rivers website. This 160-page guide has over 400 photographs and appendices of resources related to native plant gardening and ecological restoration design and installation. The guide profiles 112 native Midwest plants, providing information on: biology notes and habitats; beneficial insects and other wildlife support; seasonal interest notes; common associates the plant grows with in natural communities; and water conservation and erosion control tips. Share this resource with home gardeners, plant enthusiasts, naturalists and nature center educators, waterfront property owners, pollinator lovers, and land and water resource professionals like park directors, land and water / zoning staffers, and property managers. Contact Patrick Goggin with questions on the guide.

We also share the news that the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) just released the second version of its Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment titled “Aanji-bimaadiziimagak o’ow aki” (loosely meaning “the world is changing” in Ojibwemowin). This second assessment applies traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) integrated with scientific ecological knowledge (SEK) to explore how climate change may affect 66 plant and animal beings (including those that live in lakes), and the cultural impacts of these changes. This robust assessment is rich in guidance for applying TEK and includes teachings and quotes tribal members. The assessment is meant as a resource for GLIFWC’s member tribes and their tribal and non-tribal partners, to help them prepare for upcoming changes and to help them care for those who take care of us.

TEK provides long-term, place-based, qualitative evidence of climate change that can help us evaluate climate change that we may be seeing in our cultures. If you haven’t seen GLIFWC’s first climate vulnerability assessment, it can be found here. GLIFWC has asked that these resources be shared widely!

Project update – Outreach for managing coldwater lake habitats

We’re excited to share some fun educational materials developed for children as part of an MGLP-funded a project! The project’s goal is to develop scientific assessments to prioritize local- and broader-scale threats to coldwater lakes to guide fisheries management and build resilience to ecosystem change. Understanding the response of coldwater lakes to internal and external stressors is important for managers to develop strategies for protection of coldwater habitat. The project team is busy compiling and analyzing data, but today we’d like to highlight education and outreach materials created by two team members, Jacob Angus (University of Minnesota undergraduate) and Danielle Kuball (University of South Dakota undergraduate).

Lesley Knoll, project co-lead, and Jacob spent last summer working at Itasca Biological Station and Labs (IBSL), a University of Minnesota research station within Itasca State Park. Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River, is a popular destination for tourists and local school groups. Lesley, Jacob, and several other IBSL staff led three mobile outreach events at the Mississippi headwaters last summer. Their outreach program was entitled “Five Facts in Five Minutes: Fishy Business –Protecting Coldwater Fish Habitat”, and they interacted with approximately 200 school-age kids. The outreach activities focused on coldwater fish and characteristics of coldwater habitat (especially temperature and dissolved oxygen).

One of the projects that Danielle worked on last summer was creating illustrations to use as outreach materials. Danielle used her artistic skills to produce “Coldwater Fishes of Minnesota” and “Coldwater Habitat” coloring sheets. These documents are official MNDNR publications, branded with the MGLP logo, and are available for use by everyone. The “Coldwater Fishes” coloring sheet was used as a handout at the IBSL outreach events. It was also provided to the public libraries in Mahnomen and Bagley, MN and is included in their “Underwater Exploration: Fish Sense” educational packets.

The team for this project spans the MGLP footprint. Lesley Knoll (now at Miami University in Ohio) and Heidi Rantala (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) lead the group, which includes Nicole Hayes (University of Wisconsin – Stout) and Gretchen Hansen (University of Minnesota). The team will reach out to managers, lake associations, and other groups to share the results of this project in the future.

Lake Resilience and Systems Thinking Resource Hub

Lakes are always changing—development, new residents, and climate change are some of the causes. Lake organizations are on the front line of these changes, seeing the introduction of novel species, more frequent algal blooms, and different recreational uses of lakes. Researchers at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies have developed resources for you to use in lake management planning to help build the resilience of your lake and organization. Whether you are a lake organization member, environmental educator, or you have an interest in protecting lakes—we are excited to share these resources with you in the Lake Resilience and Systems Thinking Resource Hub.

As recipients of a 2020 MGLP Lake Conservation Grant, the project team developed a set of workshop videos, scenarios, and compiled tools that introduce resilience and systems thinking concepts and apply them to common challenges that lake organizations face. These materials are designed to be used in lake-management planning to facilitate discussions about long-term changes that lakes and organizations may experience. We encourage you to use these resources in discussions with your organization members and your partners. These discussions may focus on a specific, existing issue, or they could be used to direct preemptive planning.

Six videos on the Lake Resilience and Systems Thinking Resource Hub such as the ones shown above introduce and apply resilience and system thinking concepts for lakes.

At the resource hub, there are six videos that introduce and apply concepts related to resilience and systems thinking. These short videos cover resilience, fast and slow variables, cross-scale linkages, and systems thinking.

Additionally, there are four sets of scenarios you can use to apply to the concepts to common challenges. These two-part scenarios introduce a scenario and questions to consider. The scenarios are meant to open fun conversations between you, your members, and partners about the changes you may experience and how you may respond. The scenarios are managing aquatic invasive species, healthy fisheries, water clarity, and lake population changes. You’ll also find a list of general and state specific tools to aid in lake management planning discussions.

Management scenarios in the Lake Resilience and Systems Thinking Hub walk participant groups through potential changes affecting lakes and how they might consider responding.

The Lake Resilience and Systems Thinking Resource Hub was featured in an MGLP Lake Conservation Webinar earlier this spring. To hear project team members Eve Whittaker and Chris Solomon talk about the project and their experiences implementing these resources, check out the webinar recording in our archives.

You can find additional resources for lake associations and local stakeholders at this website, including a popular infographic and magnet.

MGLP provides over $350,000 in grants to conserve fish habitat in lakes

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is awarding over $350,000 through its 2023 Lake Conservation Grant to five projects across the Upper Midwest. Together, these projects will benefit glacial lakes and their fish habitats, fish populations, and fisheries for years to come. Funds for the Lake Conservation Grant are provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and will be matched by nearly $400,000 in contributions from project partners, for a total conservation investment of over $750,000. The grant is operated annually by the MGLP as a fish habitat partnership under National Fish Habitat Partnership. The five funded projects are:

  • Fostering Stewardship on Michigan’s Glacial Lakes – $68,910
  • Linking Forests Water & Fisheries in the Midwest Glacial Lake Region: Building a Shared Conservation Funding Vision – $30,000
  • Nutrient and sediment loadings in Clear Lake, Indiana: Water quality improvement and sustainable fish habitat – $59,450
  • Phase 4: Data and Approaches to Support Conservation Efforts of the MGLP – $133,425
  • MGLP Operations – $60,271

The MGLP’s request for the next round of Lake Conservation Grants is expected to be released in November. Those interested in future grant applications can find more information on the Lakes Conservation Grant page of the MGLP website and should sign up for this MGLP Newsletter to receive notifications if you are not already subscribed. Read more below about the projects that received funding this year.

A property owner tends to a shoreline garden that protects water quality on a lake in the Huron River Watershed. Photo: Mark Bugnaski Photography.

Fostering Stewardship on Michigan’s Glacial Lakes

Huron River Watershed Council

The Huron River Watershed Council will promote shoreland protection by residents on six lakes in the Huron River watershed that support Cisco, Northern Pike, and other fish species sensitive to climate change and development (Bruin, South, Blind, Joslin, Bass, and Halfmoon). The Midwest Glacial Lakes Conservation Planner identified the mostly undeveloped shorelands and watersheds of these lakes as the critical areas to conserve and protect. This presents an opportunity to create awareness among lake property owners of the importance of natural shorelands in maintaining lake quality. The Huron River Watershed Council will engage with lake property owners to: (1) create a deep understanding of the connection between the land and lake quality; (2) teach how actions they take affect the lake; and (3) establish a stewardship ethic among residents. The Huron River Watershed Council will recruit volunteers to monitor lakes through Michigan’s Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program. These lake ambassadors will help enroll at least 30 property owners into Michigan’s Shoreland Stewards Program and plant native terrestrial plants on 15 shorelines. At the end of the project, the Huron River Watershed Council will have developed a model program that other lake advocates can use throughout the Midwest Glacial Lakes area.

Forested landscapes such as this one need conservation to maintain healthy fisheries. Photo credit: Jim Umhoefer

Linking Forests Water & Fisheries in the Midwest Glacial Lakes Region: Building a Shared Conservation Funding Vision

Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources

Private lands play a critical role in protecting the health of the 80,000+ lakes in the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership which are a unique, world class resource and fishery. Private forestlands have the greatest risk of conversion to other land uses, conversions which often increase stormwater runoff, reduce groundwater recharge, and degrade water quality. Dramatically increasing lake conservation work will require an integrated methodology that knits programs and services for the protection of private forestlands on a watershed basis along with greater funding. Therefore, it is essential for states in the MGLP to develop a shared vision to secure the available federal and foundation funding necessary to implement conservation on landscape scales. This project will convene a Forest Protection and Conservation Workshop to present the scientific foundations for linking water quality in lakes to forested watersheds and demonstrate watershed prioritization tools. A second workshop will engage state agency leaders to develop “A Conservation Funding Vision for the Midwest Glacial Lakes Region” document. This document will provide states in the MGLP a clear vision and context to guide the strategic development of policy and legislative initiatives to secure federal and other funding opportunities to protect forested watersheds and their glacial lakes.

Streamside water quality samplers like this will be used to monitor sediment and nutrient inputs to Clear Lake, IN.

Nutrient and sediment loadings in Clear Lake, Indiana: Water quality improvement and sustainable fish habitat

Clear Lake Township Land Conservancy

A major challenge for Clear Lake, and many glacial lakes in northern Indiana, is to accurately quantify and understand temporal patterns relative to lake external and internal nutrient and sediment loadings. This data is essential to improve or maintain trophic status of the lake and fish habitat. Partnering with Ecosystems Connections Institute, we will install a full water quality gage station at two major lake inflows and one partial gage station at the lake outflow. This study will provide data to quantify loadings and the necessary load reductions to improve water quality in Clear Lake, protect fish habitat, and quantify cold-water habitat compared to a reference lake (Lake Gage). Data will be threaded into a forward-thinking education/outreach program to build a cultural conservation bridge across human endeavors that will create lasting conservation partnerships for Clear Lake watershed restoration and protection.

Database management and operations funds will benefit the over 80,000 lakes across the MGLP’s service area shown above.

Phase 4: Data and Approaches to Support Conservation Efforts of the MGLP

Michigan State University

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership works to protect, rehabilitate, and enhance sustainable fish habitats in glacial lakes of the Midwest for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. Partnership staffing is limited to a part-time coordinator, but otherwise is dependent upon grants and voluntary participation to accomplish partnership goals. In order to implement the fish habitat assessment and conservation goals of the partnership, the partnership needs to address basic database management needs. Specifically, the partnership will continue populate a database of fish habitat and fish population survey data across all states in the partnership as part of an ongoing effort to build capacity for the partnership’s conservation planning and outreach efforts. This database is essential to the partnership’s mission and provides key information to assess fish habitat threats and conditions, thereby improving efficiency and efficacy of projects funded by the partnership.

MGLP Operations

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The funding that the MGLP allocates each year includes a portion set aside for operation of the partnership. In addition to 1:1 matching contributions from partner agencies, the MGLP uses these funds to coordinate the partnership’s efforts to assess the condition of and conserve fish habitats in inland glacial lakes. The coordinator oversees conservation grants, supports and participates in committees, coordinates partner contributions, manages the partnership’s finances, leads revisions to and implementation of the strategic plan, develops partnership identity and presence, provides technical analysis and guidance, represents the partnership at various meetings, and ensures communication with other fish habitat partnerships.

Spring 2023 MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars

The MGLP is excited to announce its Spring 2023 Lake Conservation Webinars. These free webinars address a diversity of lake and fish habitat management issues from carp to climate, from governance to systems thinking, resilience, and outreach to shoreline property owners. Check out our lineup below and register using the links provided. You can see this list of planned webinars as well as archived videos of past webinars at the MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars webpage.

Do you know someone that would be interested in attending? Please forward this email to make sure no one misses out!

Would you like to present a future MGLP Lake Conservation Webinar? We want to hear from YOU! We encourage speakers from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise in the MGLP webinar series. Please email MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner to express your interest.

Common Carp Management and the Lost Island Lake Restoration
Mike Hawkins
February 14, 1:00 P.M., Register here

Efforts to reduce Common Carp abundance to improve water quality, fisheries, and aquatic habitat are seldom successful or tend to provide only short-term improvements. However, we were able to achieve long-term (greater than 10 year) improvements through the use of a subsidized commercial fishing technique and limiting spawning areas within the lake’s watershed. In 2010, the Common carp biomass was reduced from 320 lbs/acre to less than 50 lbs/acre. This biomass reduction has been maintained for over eleven years. Meanwhile, improvements to the fishery, water quality, and aquatic plant community were documented. Restricting the movement of common carp in the watershed also allowed for improved habitat and water quality in a number of large wetlands. In 2018, the lake was removed from Iowa’s impaired waters list. This project has had broad community support and involvement and has provided Iowa’s Lake Restoration Program with an alternative to whole-lake fisheries renovations.

Tools for Building Resilience in Midwest Lake Organizations
Eve Whittaker & Chris Solomon
February 28, 1:00 P.M., Register here

Introducing the Lake Resilience and Systems Thinking Hub. Whether you are a lake organization member, environmental educator, or you have an interest in protecting lakes—we are excited to share our resources with you. This webinar introduces resources that were developed and tested alongside lake and watershed conservation groups. These materials are designed to facilitate discussions around long-term changes and planning that lake social-ecological systems may experience. We encourage you to come learn how to use these resources to facilitate discussions with your organization members, your partners, and your leadership team. These tools may guide discussions that focus on a specific, existing issue, or they could be used to direct preemptive planning.

Dissolved oxygen in warming lakes
Steve Jane
March 28, 1:00 P.M., Register here

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a fundamental component of lake ecosystems. It is an important attribute of habitat in that low levels make habitat unsuitable for most aerobic organisms like fish. In addition, because of its role in redox reactions, DO strongly influences water chemistry. Low oxygen can result in internal loading of limiting nutrients, accumulation of the greenhouse gas methane, as well as formation of the toxic form of mercury in the water column. Therefore, changes to lake DO strongly impact the functioning of lake ecosystems with implications for drinking water quality, biodiversity, and possibly, fish toxicity. In theory, DO should respond to warming surface waters through a variety of mechanisms. This talk will summarize recently published work that used long-term and geographically extensive lake water quality data to explore the relationship between warming of surface waters and DO.

Managing for RADical lake change: applying the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework to support walleye management in Wisconsin
Abigail Lynch and Colin Dassow
April 11, 1:00 P.M., Register here

Managers facing transforming lakes can benefit from considering broader objectives beyond a traditional focus on resisting change. They can also consider whether accepting inevitable change or directing it along some desirable pathway is more practical and appropriate under some circumstances (the RAD framework). Here, we’ll introduce the RAD framework and highlight a decision-support tool for the walleye recreational fishery in Wisconsin as an example of how to link the RAD framework to real-world management of a large recreational fishery.

On thin ice: Are lakes feeling the heat?
Sapna Sharma
April 18, 1:00 P.M., Register here

Our planet is experiencing accelerated climate warming, with dramatic consequences not only on lake ecology, but also on the ecosystem services we rely on from our freshwater resources. Lakes with seasonal ice cover, which represent more than half of the world’s lakes, are especially sensitive to a changing climate, as ice cover is a strong determinant of lake ecosystem functioning. Lakes are losing ice cover at unprecedented rates. On average, ice duration is shorter by 17 days/century. However, in the past 25 years, lake ice loss is 6 times faster, with some lakes not freezing every winter. By the end of the century, over 200,000 lakes may no longer regularly freeze and almost 6,000 lakes may permanently lose ice cover with climate warming. With reduced ice cover, lakes may stratify earlier which can lead to elevated water temperatures, primary production, and likelihood of algal blooms, some of which may be toxic. Mitigation of greenhouse gases is essential to preserving this ecological, cultural, and economically important resource.

Shoreline Living Volume Two: Property owner experiences in lakefront conservation
Erin Fuller
May 2, 1:00 P.M., Register here

This presentation will introduce the second volume of the MGLP’s Shoreline Living document. With over 90,000 copies in circulation, both versions of the MGLP’s Shoreline Living document are excellent resources for starting conversations about natural shorelines. These magazine-style publications contain articles highlighting families who live on natural shorelines and have taken a variety of steps to benefit themselves and their lakes. Beautiful photographs of each property accompany the articles, where the families share their process in creating, maintaining, enjoying, and protecting their natural shorelines. This presentation will provide an opportunity to hear directly from some of the featured property owners as they share their experiences in conservation.

Conservationists’ perspectives of governance in the Iowa Great Lakes
Austin Holland
May 9, 1:00 P.M., Register here

Multiple activities within watershed boundaries impact the quality of freshwater systems. Since many of these systems are managed by complex governance structures, there is a need to understand how social settings and interactions between stakeholders can impact governance. This presentation examines stakeholders’ perspectives of governance in the Iowa Great Lakes region. These lakes are a valuable freshwater system because they are a popular tourist destination and drinking water source for communities, but they reside in a watershed with large amounts of agricultural production and development. Because of these various interests, conservationists must work within a complex governance structure to protect these lakes. This presentation examines conservationists’ perspectives on the region’s environmental pressures, barriers they encounter, and solutions within this system. Our results highlight the difficulties of working with this system to mitigate environmental pressures as well as possible solutions.

Healthy Watersheds, High-Quality Waters- A New program for protecting the wonderful waters of Wisconsin
Pamela Toshner
May 16, 1:00 P.M., Register here

Wisconsin DNR seeks to protect Wisconsin’s wonderful waters and way of life. Not only is Wisconsin blessed with a landscape filled with water resources, but those lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands also provide tremendous public health, recreation, and economic benefits. The Healthy Watersheds, High-Quality Waters initiative is a first step towards greater balance between restoration and protection to conserve water resources and the values they provide. The overall goal is to keep 100% of the priority healthy watersheds and high-quality waters within them at or better than their current conditions through 2030. This presentation will share modeling and assessment results, geographic priorities, partner feedback, action plan, and experiences from the first year of implementation.

Lake Conservation Grant Request for Proposals

We request project proposals for funding from the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) 2024 Lake Conservation Grant. The MGLP is one of twenty partnerships that span the nation under the umbrella of the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP). The MGLP area of focus is glacial lakes and their watersheds (see service area below). Nine Midwestern states, federal agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Forest Service, tribal governments, and private natural resource entities including The Nature Conservancy, have been integral partners in the development and operation of the MGLP.

The MGLP service area (black stippling) and states that are at least partially covered by the MGLP footprint.

We support conservation projects that work toward meeting the goals and objectives set forth in the MGLP Strategic Plan to benefit glacial lake fish habitats, which include addressing the chemical, physical, and biological components of the habitats that fishes found in glacial lakes use throughout their lives. We have directed funding toward a wide range of aquatic conservation projects that benefit imperiled, endangered, and recreational fish species and their habitats. We typically fund 3-5 projects annually between $30,000 and $100,000, but larger projects will be considered for funding up to a maximum of the approximately $360,000 expected for distribution. Projects have been successfully implemented because contributions and capabilities of many partners have been combined to accomplish project goals that none of the partnering entities could accomplish on their own.

Projects considered for funding must align with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and can range in scale from projects that affect one or more sites, lakes, or watersheds. Projects should address the processes that cause fish habitat impairments as opposed to managing or treating the symptoms of those causes. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • projects that implement or demonstrate new approaches
  • watershed-level nutrient control projects;
  • water quality and erosion control measures;
  • native vegetation or wetland rehabilitation;
  • natural riparian or in-lake habitat restoration and protection;
  • barrier removal for improved native fish passage;
  • fish population or watershed assessments needed for project evaluation;
  • habitat assessment, prioritization and planning for future habitat projects;
  • evaluating current and future habitat conditions;
  • projects addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation through fish habitat;
  • projects training biologists and managers on inland lake fish habitat management tools and approaches; and
  • community outreach and education on the importance of and how to better conserve glacial lake fish habitat.
Examples of past MGLP projects that have restored natural shorelines (left; photo by Mark Keiser), removed fish passage barriers (center; Joe Nohner), and assessed nutrient loading in the watershed (right; Jerry Sweeten).

In addition to conducting independent outreach and/or education, successful applicants will be expected to work with the MGLP to coordinate media and public outreach to raise the profile of MGLP-funded projects.

If you have a lake conservation project aligned with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and need financial assistance, we encourage you to submit a proposal for project funding. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan.gov or 517-599-6825 or John Hiebert, MGLP Steering Chair, at john.hiebert@state.mn.us. Applications are due on February 17, 2023, and you can submit your application by emailing it to MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan.gov.

MGLP provides $324,238 in grants to conserve fish habitat in lakes

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is awarding $324,238 through its 2022 Lake Conservation Grant to five projects across the Upper Midwest. Together, these projects will benefit glacial lakes and their fish habitats, fish populations, and fisheries for years to come. Funds for the Lake Conservation Grant are provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and will be matched by over $1,597,000 in contributions from partners, for a total conservation impact of over $1,921,000. The five funded projects are:

  • Assessing relationships between fisheries and aquatic vegetation to improve lake habitat management – $60,155
  • Shoreline habitat restoration projects (MN) – $75,000
  • Identifying and prioritizing lakes of biological significance (MN) – $37,646
  • Lake Goguac stormwater diversion (MI) $75,000
  • Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership operations, $76,436

The MGLP’s request for the next round of Lake Conservation Grants is expected to be released in November through this newsletter. Those interested in future grant applications can find more information on the Lakes Conservation Grant page of the MGLP website and receive notifications through the MGLP Newsletter. Read more below about the projects that received funding this year.

Assessing relationships between fisheries and aquatic vegetation to improve lake habitat management – University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology

The relationship between fishes and aquatic vegetation will be assessed to inform aquatic vegetation and lake habitat management. Photo credit: Bob Korth, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Interactions between aquatic vegetation and fish are poorly understood, leading to substantial uncertainty in how to manage aquatic plants to support fisheries goals. By combining extensive datasets for macrophyte and fish communities across thousands of lakes in the MGLP, this project will augment the lake management toolbox by quantitatively linking aquatic vegetation and its management to recreational fisheries. It will help to answer two specific questions that are high priorities for lake managers, which are: 1) What is the importance of aquatic vegetation for walleye recruitment, either as spawning or juvenile habitats? and 2) How can aquatic vegetation management be used to manage and support popular recreational fisheries, including panfish, bass, and walleye? These assessments will be provided to biologists, lake associations, and other stakeholders using workshops, seminars, factsheets, and data visualization tools, allowing managers to contextualize lake performance, identify lakes where habitat management could yield fisheries benefits, and learn about the benefits aquatic vegetation can provide toward meeting lake management goals.

Shoreline habitat restoration projects – Stearns County (MN) Soil and Water Conservation District

Stearns County Soil and Water District will work with property owners to rehabilitate five shorelines for benefits including improved fish habitat and water quality. The picture above shows an example “before” picture; stay tuned for the final product!

The Stearns County Soil and Water District’s shoreline habitat restoration projects will continue to build on the strong habitat restoration and protection efforts on glacial lakes in this Minnesota county. Each of these projects will use natural techniques including native grasses, wildflowers, trees, shrubs, vines and various bio-engineering techniques that use wood and footer rock above and below the Ordinary High Water Level. The project will expand and protect fish and wildlife habitat including reduction of sediment and nutrients to the lake as well as physical habitat for shoreland animals. Landowners at restored sites will serve as ambassadors for shoreline restoration. The landowners will welcome other property owners to view their properties, understand the benefits, see what changes have been made, and consider making similar changes on their own properties.

Identifying and prioritizing lakes of biological significance – Northern Waters Land Trust (MN)

Northern Waters Land Trust will expand upon the priorities in its conservation evaluation framework and prioritize parcels for conservation in the watersheds of 391 Lakes of Biological Significance.

Since its founding, Northern Waters Land Trust (NWLT) has perpetually protected over 5,800 acres of land and approximately 241,000 feet of environmentally sensitive shoreline in its service area. NWLT has an existing evaluation framework and online map that displays conservation priorities for prioritized tullibee (Cisco) refuge lakes (see map image above). This project will expand the existing framework to include 391 Lakes of Biological Significance that have unique plants or animals present. The project will prioritize conservation of specific parcels within the sensitive watersheds of these priority lakes and showcase this data on an interactive map. NWLT’s proposed methodology is key for conservation efforts directed at mitigating the impacts of shoreline development, climate change, deforestation, and more. The results of this grant will be essential in helping NWLT continue its permanent land conservation efforts in this developing region.

Lake Goguac stormwater diversion – City of Battle Creek (MI)

Above, one of two stormwater drainage systems that currently degrade Goguac Lake and will be diverted toward retention ponds.

The City of Battle Creek (City) is seeking funding to protect and improve the water quality in Goguac Lake, a 352-acre lake located within the City. Goguac Lake is a valued resource, providing recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat and a range of economic services to the region. The proposed project would improve the water quality and fisheries habitat in Goguac Lake by eliminating stormwater additions from 34.6 acres of urban commercial and residential areas within the city, resulting in a pollutant load reduction of 54.5 pounds of phosphorus and 14,678 pounds (7.3 tons) of sediment, annually. The stormwater would be piped via the City’s storm sewer network to two existing stormwater detention ponds with excess capacity to infiltrate the additional stormwater generated from the 34.6 acres. The requested funding is for engineering design, construction, and related infrastructure modifications. These improvements to water quality are expected to improve fish habitat in Goguac Lake benefitting anglers, boaters, and all other users.

Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership operations – Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership assists with lake conservation in over 40,000 lakes and 9 states.

The National Fish Habitat Partnership funding that the MGLP allocates each year includes a portion set aside for operation of the partnership. In addition to contributions from partner agencies, the MGLP uses these funds to coordinate the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership’s efforts to research and conserve fish habitats in inland glacial lakes. The coordinator oversees conservation grants, supports and participates in committees, coordinates partner contributions, manages the partnership’s finances, leads revisions to and implementation of the strategic plan, develops partnership identity and presence, provides technical guidance, represents the partnership at various meetings, and ensures communication with other fish habitat partnerships.

NFHP/Bass Pro Shops US Open Grant Program Request for Proposals

The National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) recently announced a request for competitive grant applications to the new NFHP/Bass Pro Shops US Open National Bass Fishing Amateur Team Championships grants program. NFHP is a federally-recognized partnership that includes the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) and 19 other similar fish habitat partnerships. The MGLP is encouraging partners like you to consider this grant program, which is funded by proceeds from the Bass Pro Shops US Open National Bass Fishing Amateur Team Championships. To date, the championships have dedicated nearly $1.6 million to NFHP that were earned through a combination of entrance fees and generous matching donations from tournament sponsors Bass Pro Shops and Toyota.

The U.S. Open Amateur Bass Fishing Team Championships raised almost $1.6 million through entrance fees and sponsorship by Toyota and Bass Pro Shops for NFHP conservation projects.

Higher priority will be given for projects specifically designed to improve aquatic habitat within reservoirs and, by doing so, support enhanced angling conditions and opportunities. Funding may also be used to conserve natural lake habitats and interconnected tributary flows that also impact lake and reservoir habitat conditions and recreational fish production.

Examples of on-the-ground conservation could include riparian and underwater vegetation planting, shoreline native habitat planting, bank sloping and shaping in tributaries, and habitat structure placement or other habitat conservation actions that ensure adequate amounts of clean water will be available to sustain aquatic productivity of and within these important habitats.

Grant projects must be “implemented through” fish habitat partnerships such as the MGLP. In the MGLP’s case, this means that the project should 1) Meet objectives identified within the MGLP Strategic Plan, and 2) Receive a letter of support from the MGLP. Requests for letters of support should be sent to MGLP Coordinator, Joe Nohner (nohnerj@michigan.gov) by April 29th if possible.

To help applicants put forward the best possible projects, NFHP and Beyond the Pond have established a set of criteria that will be used to determine which projects are eligible for funding and prioritization. Applicants should address these criteria in their project applications. A budget template is also available if needed for your application. There is no match funding requirement for grant eligibility. All funding request levels for eligible project proposals will be considered. Funded projects must successfully complete and use all grant funds allocated by 12/1/2023. Grant program funds will be administered by Beyond the Pond, the 501c3 organization established to manage private NFHP financial donations.

The deadline to submit a project application under this initial grant cycle for the Bass Pro Shops US Open National Bass Fishing Amateur Team Championships Grants Program is May 16, 2022. Grant applications can be submitted here: https://form.jotform.com/220734963436056

Please contact Ryan Roberts (rroberts@fishwildlife.org) with questions related to the grant. 

Please share this opportunity through your network of partners. 

Spring 2022 MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars

The MGLP is excited to announce its 2022 Lake Conservation Webinars. These free webinars address a diversity of lake and fish habitat management issues including starry stonewort, climate change adaptation, wake boat waves, and shoreline restoration and outreach. Learn more about each webinar by clicking the registration link. You can see the full lineup as well as archives of past webinars at the MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars webpage.

Would you like to present a future MGLP Lake Conservation Webinar? We encourage speakers from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise in the MGLP webinar series. Please email MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner to express your interest.

Request for proposals: 2023 Lake Conservation Grant

We request project proposals for funding from the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) 2023 Lake Conservation Grant. The MGLP is one of twenty partnerships that span the nation under the umbrella of the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP). The MGLP area of focus is glacial lakes and their watersheds (see service area below). Nine Midwestern states, federal agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Forest Service, tribal partners, and private natural resource entities including The Nature Conservancy, have been integral partners in the development and operation of the MGLP.

The new MGLP service area (black stippling) and states that are at least partially covered by the MGLP footprint.

We support conservation projects that work toward meeting the goals and objectives set forth in the MGLP Strategic Plan to benefit glacial lake fish habitats, which include addressing the chemical, physical, and biological components of the habitats that fishes found in glacial lakes use throughout their lives. We have directed funding toward a wide range of aquatic conservation projects that benefit imperiled, endangered, and recreational fish species and their habitats. We typically fund 3-5 projects annually between $30,000 and $100,000, but larger projects will be considered for funding up to a maximum of the approximately $360,000 expected for distribution. Projects have been successfully implemented because contributions and capabilities of many partners have been combined to accomplish project goals that none of the partnering entities could accomplish on their own.

Projects considered for funding must align with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and can range in scale from projects that affect one or more sites, lakes, or watersheds. Projects should address the processes that cause fish habitat impairments as opposed to managing or treating the symptoms of those causes. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • projects that implement or demonstrate new approaches
  • watershed-level nutrient control projects;
  • water quality and erosion control measures;
  • native vegetation or wetland rehabilitation;
  • natural riparian or in-lake habitat restoration and protection;
  • barrier removal for improved native fish passage;
  • fish population or watershed assessments needed for project evaluation;
  • habitat assessment, prioritization and planning for future habitat projects;
  • evaluating current and future habitat conditions;
  • projects addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation through fish habitat;
  • projects training biologists and managers on inland lake fish habitat management tools and approaches; and
  • community outreach and education on the importance of and how to better conserve glacial lake fish habitat.
Examples of past MGLP projects that have restored natural shorelines (left; photo by Mark Keiser), removed fish passage barriers (center; Joe Nohner), and assessed nutrient loading in the watershed (right; Jerry Sweeten).

In addition to conducting independent outreach and/or education, successful applicants will be expected to work with the MGLP to coordinate media and public outreach to raise the profile of MGLP-funded projects.

If you have a lake conservation project aligned with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and need financial assistance, we encourage you to submit a proposal for project funding. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan.gov or 517-284-6236 or Gary Whelan, MGLP Steering Chair, at whelang@michigan.gov. Applications for funding are available at the Lake Conservation Grant website. Applications are due on February 18, 2022, and you can submit your application by emailing it to MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan.gov.

Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership expands its footprint

Established in 2009 with the mission to, “Work together to protect, rehabilitate and enhance sustainable fish habitats in glacial lakes of the Midwest for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations,” the MGLP has always focused on glacially formed lakes in the Midwest. The MGLP’s new footprint allows the partnership to better achieve this goal.

Continue reading “Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership expands its footprint”

FREE Shoreline Living booklets to promote natural lake shorelines

Do you want to promote natural shorelines on your lake or in your area? Consider requesting copies of the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership’s (MGLP) Shoreline Living document to assist you in your efforts. This colorful publication is the perfect conversation starter for encouraging best shoreline management practices to reduce erosion, improve water quality, and conserve fish habitat!

For a limited time, the MGLP is shipping out free boxes of Shoreline Living in bulk. If you or your organization would like to receive copies, please place your request using this form by September 10, 2021. We’ve received grant funding to distribute over 18,000 copies across the Upper Midwest, so don’t be shy in your request!

Resource agencies and conservation organizations have developed a host of practices for balancing property owners’ needs with what is best for the lake, but convincing shoreline property owners to implement these practices can be difficult. Homeowners’ unfamiliarity with natural shoreline practices, a lack of relatable natural shoreline examples, and overly technical outreach materials can make it challenging to start the conversation of promoting a natural shoreline.

The free Shoreline Living booklet helps remove these barriers by sharing the stories of five lakeshore property owners who have all taken different approaches to their shoreline properties. The projects undertaken by these property owners range from relatively minor plantings and natural shoreline rehabilitation to more intensive natural landscaping and fully protected shorelines. The stories of these property owners are complemented by high-quality pictures that illustrate the beauty and functionality of natural shorelines for the typical lakefront property.

Shoreline Living is also available as an easily shareable online resource for conservation and educational purposes. The pictures from this booklet and more are available for download on the MGLP’s Shoreline Living webpage. These pictures can be used freely for noncommercial, personal, or educational use with credit to Mark Bugnaski Photography.

Examples of pictures from Shoreline Living by Mark Bugnaski photography.

How has Shoreline Living been used since its release last summer? Here are some examples:

  • Erin Fuller and the Van Buren (MI) Conservation District worked with their county geographic information systems staff to generate a list of all lakefront property owners in their county and mailed a copy of Shoreline Living to each one.
  • Debbie Palmer and volunteers with the Lake Maxinkuckee (IN) Environmental Fund are hand-delivering approximately 300 copies of the booklet along with other educational materials in reusable bags to property owners on their lake.
  • Julia Kirkwood and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy downloaded the professional print version of Shoreline Living and purchased 40,000 copies for their staff to distribute throughout the state.
  • Staff from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan State University Extension used pictures from the Shoreline Living project in presentations to lake association members promoting natural shorelines.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Shoreline Living project, you can learn more at our website. If you have additional questions, please reach out to MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner (nohnerj@michigan.gov).

MGLP seeking applications for 2022 Lake Conservation Grant

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is announcing its annual request for fish habitat conservation project proposals. With the passage of the America’s Conservation Act, which funds our Lake Conservation Grant through the National Fish Habitat Partnership, there are new timelines and slight modifications to our request for proposals.

Examples of past MGLP projects that have restored natural shorelines (left; photo by Mark Keiser), removed fish passage barriers (center; Joe Nohner), and assessed nutrient loading in the watershed (right; Jerry Sweeten).

We support conservation projects that work toward meeting the goals and objectives set forth in the MGLP Strategic Plan to benefit glacial lake fish habitats, which include addressing all aspects of the chemical, physical, and biological components of lakes and their watersheds. We direct funding toward a wide range of aquatic conservation projects that benefit habitat for a wide range of fish species in glacial lakes. We typically fund 3-5 projects annually between $10,000 and $75,000, but larger projects will be considered for funding up to a maximum of the approximately $300,000 expected for distribution. Past projects have been successfully implemented because the combined contributions and capabilities of many partners accomplished project goals that none of the partnering entities could accomplish on their own. If possible, projects should align with a lake management plan or the MGLP Conservation Guidelines for the lake. MGLP Conservation Guidelines for each lake can be found on the MGLP Conservation Planner.

Projects considered for funding must align with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and can range in scale from projects that affect one or more sites, lakes, or watersheds. Projects should address the processes that cause fish habitat impairments as opposed to managing or treating the symptoms of those causes. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • projects that implement or demonstrate new approaches;
  • watershed-level nutrient control projects;
  • water quality and erosion control measures;
  • native vegetation or wetland rehabilitation;
  • natural riparian or in-lake habitat restoration and protection;
  • barrier removal for improved native fish passage;
  • fish population or watershed assessments needed for project evaluation;
  • habitat assessment, prioritization and planning for future habitat projects;
  • evaluating current and future habitat conditions;
  • projects addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation through fish habitat;
  • projects training biologists and managers on inland lake fish habitat management tools and approaches; and
  • community outreach and education on the importance of and how to better conserve glacial lake fish habitat.

Importantly, with the signing of the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act in 2020, there are new requirements in the Lake Conservation Grant application. The major change to the grant is that while the partnership prefers to maximize match in general, grant funds must be matched with at least 1:1 with nonfederal funds. Nonfederal match can include cash and/or in-kind labor, materials, equipment if there are no federal ties to those funds. State agency funds can be used for the nonfederal match if labor and/or materials are not being charged to another federal grant. State agency funds that are used to match other federal grants would not be eligible as match. Once the grant funds are matched with nonfederal funds/in-kind, an unlimited amount of federal contributions to the project are allowed. Additionally, all projects must include an outreach or education component that includes the local or regional community and projects that create or improve fishing access are desirable.

In addition to conducting independent outreach and/or education, successful applicants will be expected to work with the MGLP to coordinate media and public outreach to raise the profile of MGLP-funded projects.

Applications are due by May 7, 2021, and all applicants are required to discuss the project with MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner prior to submission for preliminary feedback on project fit for the grant and areas for improvement.

Organizations eligible to apply include state and federal management agencies, non-governmental organizations, municipalities, universities, schools, private landowners, and local and tribal governments. A partial list of ineligible costs includes purchasing or leasing land, actions required by regulations, research studies (as opposed to habitat assessments), long term monitoring, and incentive payments. A full list of eligibility and requirements can be found on the request for proposals.

If you have a lake conservation project aligned with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and need financial assistance, we encourage you to submit a proposal for project funding, which includes a narrative proposal and a budget. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Nohner at 517-284-6236 or Gary Whelan, MGLP Steering Committee Chair, at whelang@michigan.gov. A link to the application for funding is included with this announcement, and you can submit your application by emailing it to MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan.gov

2021 MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars Announced

The MGLP is excited to announce its 2021 Lake Conservation Webinars. These free webinars address a diversity of lake and fish habitat management issues from wakeboats to watersheds, from Ogaa (Walleye) management to social marketing, and from algae research to limnology from space. Learn more about each webinar by clicking the registration link. You can see the full lineup as well as archives of past webinars at the MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars webpage.

Do you know someone that would be interested in attending? Please forward this email to make sure no one misses out! Would you like to present a future MGLP Lake Conservation Webinar? We encourage speakers from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise in the MGLP webinar series. Please email MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner to express your interest.

2021 MGLP Lake Conservation Webinar Schedule

Leaving a Lake Conservation Legacy – Cost/Benefit analyses for planning lake conservation
February 16, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Paul Radomski, Lake Ecologist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Register here

Stearns County SWCD Shoreline/Streambank Restoration Program Process
March 2, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Greg Berg, Riparian Resources Specialist, Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District
Register here

Social/community acceptance of natural shorelines: Lessons from 20 years of promoting soft shorelines 
March 24, 9:10 A.M. Central Time, John Hartig, Visiting Scholar, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor
Part of the New Wave of Thinking virtual conference co-hosted with the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership. Register for the whole conference to attend webinars at their scheduled times.

Promoting lakeshore protection: An introduction to social marketing
March 24, 10:10 A.M. Central Time, Bret Shaw Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin Madison and John Haack, Emeritus University of Wisconsin Extension Natural Resource Educator
Part of the New Wave of Thinking virtual conference co-hosted with the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership. Register for the whole conference to attend webinars at their scheduled times.

How Waves Work
March 24, 12:00 P.M. Central Time, Brian Majka, Restoration ecologist, GEI Consultants
Part of the New Wave of Thinking virtual conference co-hosted with the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership. Register for the whole conference to attend webinars at their scheduled times.

Defining No-Wake Zones for Wake Surf Boats – A Data Driven Approach
March 24, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Alex Ray, Recreation Management Consultant, Payette Environmental Services, LLC
Part of the New Wave of Thinking virtual conference co-hosted with the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership. Register for the whole conference to attend webinars at their scheduled times.

Wave Energy and the Bioengineering Continuum
March 24, 2:00 P.M. Central Time, Jen Buchanan, Associate Director, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
Part of the New Wave of Thinking virtual conference co-hosted with the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership. Register for the whole conference to attend webinars at their scheduled times.

Protecting Coldwater Fish Habitat in Minnesota Lakes
April 6, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Peter Jacobson, Fisheries Research Scientist (Retired), Minnesota DNR
Register here  

The past, present, and future of the Sauk River Watershed District’s youth and adult outreach programs
April 13, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Adam Hjelm, Outreach and Education Coordinator, Sauk River Watershed District
Register here  

Development of dissolved oxygen, temperature, and nutrient thresholds to protect cold water fish species in Minnesota lakes
April 20, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Derek Bahr, Lake IBI Research Scientist, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Dr. Will Bouchard, Research Scientist Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Register here

The hidden role of iron in primary productivity in some Midwest glacial lakes
May 4, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Dr. Betsy Swanner, Associate Professor, Iowa State University, Department of Geological & Atmospheric Sciences
Register here  

Walleye habitat: considerations for successful natural reproduction and stocking
May 17, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Dr. Joshua Raabe, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Register here  

Seasonal Habitat, Temperature, and Depth of Adult and Juvenile Ogaa (Walleye) in Mille Lacs Lake
June 1, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Carl Klimah, Fisheries Manager, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Register here  

Limnology in Space
June 22, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Dr. Emily Stanley, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Register here  

Barrier Removal and Aquatic Organism Passage in Lake Systems
August 10, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Dr. Jessica Collier, Fish & Wildlife Biologist, USFWS Green Bay Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office
Register here  

The forgotten seasons: non-summer algal dynamics
September 7, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Dr. Rebecca North, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri
Register here  

Fishing for Food: Quantifying Recreational Fisheries Harvest in Wisconsin Lakes
October 5, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Holly Embke, PhD Candidate & USGS Pathways Research Fish Biologist, University of Wisconsin Madison & USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center
Register here  

Understanding patterns of fish kill events in Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes
October 19, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Dr. Nick Phelps, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
Register here

Structured Decision Making for Lake Habitat Restoration
November 9, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Dr. Jessica Collier, Fish & Wildlife Biologist, USFWS Green Bay Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office
Register here  

Managing Tribal Fisheries and Employees on the Reservation
December 14, 1:00 P.M. Central Time, Carl Klimah, Fisheries Manager, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Register here

National Fish Habitat Partnership is codified through signature of America’s Conservation Enhancement Act (S. 3051)

Big news for the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership! On Friday, President Trump signed S. 3051, America’s Conservation Enhancement Act (ACE Act) into law at the White House. The ACE Act passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support and unanimous consent. Among other actions, this bill codifies the National Fish Habitat Partnership, which is the parent organization to the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership.

Photo: Lisa Borre

“The over 40,000 lakes in the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership are a treasure that we must conserve,” said Todd Tisler, Chairperson of the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership. “Healthy lakes support ecologically diverse fish populations, which in turn help support a recreational fishing industry of 7.1 million anglers valued at $8.4 billion. This legislation recognizes and supports the efforts of the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership and others in the National Fish Habitat Partnership as we seek to protect, restore, and enhance these ecosystems for current and future generations.” The ACE Act authorizes $7.2 million for fish habitat conservation projects through the National Fish Habitat Partnership. The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership anticipates distributing its portion of this funding through a competitive grant similar to its existing Lake Conservation Grant.

Upon signature into law, the National Fish Habitat Partnership is authorized at $7.2 million annually from FY21- FY25. The National Fish Habitat Board will now report to Congress, specifically the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the U.S. Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of the U.S. House of Representatives. The law expands the National Fish Habitat Board to 26 members, to include broad representation from a diversity of groups. Up to $400,000 in technical and scientific assistance funds are authorized to be appropriated annually for FY21 – FY25 to each of the following agencies in support of the National Fish Habitat Partnership: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Geological Survey.

“With President Trump’s signing of the ACE Act, we celebrate the culmination of over a decade of effort to codify the National Fish Habitat Partnership with organic legislation. The Partnership, and the thousands of people involved in local, grassroots projects, have done remarkable work protecting, enhancing, and restoring fish habitat across the country,” said Ed Schriever, Chairman of the National Fish Habitat Board. “This Congressional recognition of the program marks the beginning of an exciting chapter for the Partnership and the American people whose pleasure, passion, and livelihoods are derived from healthy habitat and vibrant fishery resources.”

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership regularly provides updates and resources on fish habitat conservation issues related to natural lakes, including its Lake Conservation Grant. If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up for newsletter updates or follow us on Twitter.

MGLP seeking applications for 2021 Lake Conservation Grant

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is announcing its annual request for fish habitat conservation project proposals. We support conservation projects that work toward meeting the goals and objectives set forth in the MGLP Strategic Plan to benefit glacial lake fish habitats, which include addressing all aspects of the chemical, physical, and biological components of lakes and their watersheds. We direct funding toward a wide range of aquatic conservation projects that benefit habitat for a wide range of fish species in glacial lakes. We typically fund 3-5 projects annually between $10,000 and $75,000, but larger projects will be considered for funding up to a maximum of the approximately $300,000. Past projects have been successfully implemented because the combined contributions and capabilities of many partners accomplished project goals that none of the partnering entities could accomplish on their own. If possible, projects should align with a lake management plan or the MGLP Conservation Guidelines for the lake. MGLP Conservation Guidelines for each lake can be found on the MGLP Conservation Planner.

Examples of past MGLP projects that have restored natural shorelines (left; photo by Mark Keiser), removed fish passage barriers (center; Joe Nohner), and assessed nutrient loading in the watershed (right; Jerry Sweeten).

Projects considered for funding must align with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and can range in scale from projects that affect one or more sites, lakes, or watersheds. Projects should address the processes that cause fish habitat impairments as opposed to managing or treating the symptoms of those causes. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • projects that implement or demonstrate new approaches;
  • watershed-level nutrient control projects;
  • water quality and erosion control measures;
  • native vegetation or wetland rehabilitation;
  • natural riparian or in-lake habitat restoration and protection;
  • barrier removal for improved native fish passage;
  • fish population or watershed assessments needed for project evaluation;
  • habitat assessment, prioritization and planning for future habitat projects;
  • evaluating current and future habitat conditions;
  • projects addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation through fish habitat;
  • projects training biologists and managers on inland lake fish habitat management tools and approaches; and
  • community outreach and education on the importance of and how to better conserve glacial lake fish habitat.

In addition to conducting independent outreach and/or education, successful applicants will be expected to work with the MGLP to coordinate media and public outreach to raise the profile of MGLP-funded projects.

Applications are due by October 16, 2020, and all applicants are required to discuss the project with MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner prior to submission for preliminary feedback on project fit for the grant and areas for improvement.

Organizations eligible to apply include state and federal management agencies, non-governmental organizations, municipalities, universities, schools, private landowners, and local and tribal governments. A partial list of ineligible costs includes purchasing or leasing land, actions required by regulations, research studies (as opposed to habitat assessments), long term monitoring, and incentive payments. A full list of eligibility and requirements can be found on the request for proposals.

If you have a lake conservation project aligned with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and need financial assistance, we encourage you to submit a proposal for project funding, which includes a narrative proposal and a budget. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Nohner at 517-284-6236 or Todd Tisler, MGLP Steering Committee Chair, at ttisler@fs.fed.us or 907-617-2945. A link to the application for funding is included with this announcement, and you can submit your application by emailing it to MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan.gov.

FishAmerica Foundation Request for Proposals

In addition to the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership’s Lake Conservation Grant, the partnership is promoting a grant opportunity from the FishAmerica Foundation. FishAmerica Foundation is once again soliciting projects from grassroots, nonprofit organizations conducting projects designed to improve sport fish populations, aquatic habitat, or water quality. Projects must be conducted in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, or Washington (state).  Grants are limited to a maximum of $25,000 but smaller projects are encouraged to apply. Matching funds are desirable but not required. 

Applicants requesting a letter of support from the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership should contact coordinator Joe Nohner by August 14, 2020.

MGLP provides $245,000 in grants to conserve fish habitat in lakes

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is awarding over $245,000 through its Lake Conservation Grant to four projects across the Upper Midwest. Together, these projects will benefit glacial lakes, fish habitats, fish populations, and fisheries for anglers for years to come. Funds from the Lake Conservation Grant are provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and will be matched by over $400,000 in contributions from partners, for a total conservation impact of over $650,000.

  • Assessing and conserving high-quality Michigan lakes for Cisco and Walleye; Barry Conservation District; $86,358 award
  • Systems-level perspectives on fish habitat: Capacity building workshops with lake associations across the Midwest; Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; $56,044 award
  • Building capacity for MGLP conservation; Michigan State University; $40,000 award
  • Working to meet NFHP Goals and Objectives through the MGLP; Michigan Department of Natural Resources; $62,743 award

The MGLP will announce the request for proposals for the next round of Lake Conservation Grants in late July. You can find more information on the Lakes Conservation Grant page of the MGLP website and receive notification through the MGLP Newsletter. Learn more about the projects that received funding this year below.

Assessing and conserving high-quality Michigan lakes for Cisco and Walleye; Barry Conservation District; $86,358 award

Habitat for cool- and cold-water fishes in glacial lakes is threatened by a changing climate and cultural eutrophication. Warming air temperatures and longer periods of stratification lead to warmer epilimnetic waters while increased nutrients from shoreline and watershed development, more common and severe rain events, and longer stratification periods lead to decreased oxygen in the hypolimnion. These factors combine to threaten cool- and cold-water fishes such as Walleye and

Cisco throughout Michigan and the MGLP region. This project will: 1) Assess habitat for cool- and cold-water fishes in at least three priority Michigan lakes using in-situ measurements; 2) Assess the sources and severity of nutrient and sediment runoff, develop a nutrient budget, and recommend specific best management practices that should be implemented to protect Green Lake; and 3) Establish two demonstration natural shoreline projects and conduct education and outreach campaigns to leverage committed and pending funding for implementing best management practices in the watersheds of Big Cedar Lake, Little Cedar Lake, Wall Lake, and other lakes in the Cedar Creek subwatershed.

Systems-level perspectives on fish habitat: Capacity building workshops with lake associations across the Midwest; Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; $56,044 award

This project will build systems-level perspectives on lake fish habitat among lake association members in the upper Midwest. Lake associations are important agents of, and advocates for, habitat conservation in glacial lakes. While effective conservation of these habitats increasingly demands an appreciation for long term change, landscape connections, and other social-ecological systems concepts, these patterns of thinking are still relatively rare among lake association members. This will be series of interactive workshops to help lake association members learn key concepts about fish habitat and develop patterns of systems-level thinking. The workshops will focus on developing skills within and relationships between lake organizations, resulting in increased resiliency, ultimately leading to positive outcomes for lakes, such as high water quality and healthy, sustainable fish populations.

Building capacity for MGLP conservation; Michigan State University; $40,000 award

In order to implement the fish habitat assessment and conservation implementation goals of the partnership, the MGLP must address basic database management needs. This grant will support Michigan State University staff in their collaboration with the MGLP to generate a new database of fish survey data across all states in the MGLP. This database will help the MGLP to better assess fish habitat threats and conditions, thereby improving efficiency and efficacy of projects funded by the MGLP.

Working to meet NFHP Goals and Objectives through the MGLP; Michigan Department of Natural Resources; $62,743 award

The MGLP works to protect, rehabilitate, and enhance sustainable fish habitats in glacial lakes of the Midwest for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. Partnership staffing is limited to the coordinator, and funding for that position is required to coordinate the MGLP’s three committees, implement tasks delegated by the committees to the coordinate, and maintain MGLP operations in support of the MGLP’s mission, goals, and objectives. This grant partially funds the MGLP part-time coordinator.

2020 – 2025 Strategic Plan released

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is releasing its Strategic Plan for the next five years. The plan reaffirms the MGLP’s mission to “Work together to protect, rehabilitate and enhance sustainable fish habitats in glacial lakes of the Midwest for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations.” The plan makes clear that fish habitats include all of the chemical, physical, and biological aspects of the places that fishes use throughout their lives, a definition which drives the MGLP’s focus on conservation of lake ecosystems.

The Strategic Plan identifies specific, achievable objectives for the MGLP and its partners to accomplish within the next five years in science, outreach, and management. Overarching objectives include implementation of fish habitat conservation projects, conducting ecological assessments of Midwest glacial lake habitats, improving efficiency and efficacy of lake habitat conservation projects, and conduct education and outreach to encourage fish habitat conservation.

How will the MGLP accomplish the goals in the Strategic Plan? The MGLP Education and Outreach Team produces outreach products such as the Lake Conservation webinar series and the Shoreline Living booklet. The Science and Data Team develops science products such as the MGLP Conservation Planner. The MGLP Steering Committee oversees partnership activities, including grant awards through our Lake Conservation Grant program. Whether your objectives are science, habitat management, or outreach, there are likely opportunities for you to participate.

 “This Strategic Plan represents a major step forward for the MGLP as we focus on concrete actions that we can achieve with our partners in the next five years,” said MGLP Steering Committee Chair Todd Tisler. “We have teams working on many of these objectives right now; we encourage agencies and individuals that are new or perhaps haven’t participated to review the MGLP’s planned actions, identify whether any of those actions align with their own objectives, and if you are willing, please join us in our efforts to conserve inland lake habitats.” Those interesting in participating in the partnership or in more information can reach out to MGLP Coordinator Joe Nohner.

MGLP announces release of Shoreline Living booklet promoting natural lake shorelines

Lakefront properties offer relaxing views and a gateway to recreation. The lakefront can be where memories of catching your first bluegill and learning to swim are made. Lake shorelines are places we hold dear, and they also provide an important connection between clean water and healthy fish and wildlife.

Resource agencies and conservation organizations have developed a host of practices for balancing property owners’ needs with what is best for the lake. These practices are imperative because there are over 89,000 miles of inland lake shorelines across the Upper Midwest that support multi-billion-dollar fishing and recreational economies. Although there are many practices that a homeowner could implement to improve shoreline conditions, in many cases no action is taken.

Major barriers for creating and protecting natural shorelines vary widely from homeowner’s unfamiliarity with natural shoreline practices to a lack of relatable natural shoreline examples.

The new Shoreline Living booklet helps remove these barriers by telling the stories of five lakeshore property owners who have all taken different approaches with their shorelines. The projects undertaken by these property owners range from relatively minor plantings and natural shoreline rehabilitation to more intensive natural landscaping and full protection. The stories of these property owners are complemented by high-quality pictures that illustrate the beauty and functionality of natural shorelines for the typical lakefront property owner. 

Shoreline Living is freely available as an online resource for conservation and educational purposes. Are you interested in using it in your work? We encourage you to download the document and share it on your own organization’s website. Furthermore, if you are interested in obtaining printed copies, the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership is coordinating an initial printing of the document to save on costs by printing at a large scale. Fill out this interest form by July 1, 2020: https://tinyurl.com/ShorelineLiving or email Erin Fuller (Erin.Fuller@mi.nacdnet.net) for information. After July 1, copies will be available for sale on the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership website.

Do you have a use for the pictures? You can find all of the pictures in Shoreline Living and more on the website. The pictures are available for the public to download and use, provided that they are only used for noncommercial, personal or educational use and credit is given to Mark Bugnaski Photography.

Want to know more about the Shoreline Living project? Tune in to our MGLP Lake Conservation webinar on the project today at 1 PM CDT/2 PM EDT. You can register for the webinar at here.

All photographs courtesy of Mark Bugnaski Photography

Lake Conservation Webinar Blitz

Want to learn more about cutting edge science, outreach, and conservation on inland lakes? The Lake Conservation Webinar series is hosting a blitz of webinars in the next two months to share highlights from across the Upper Midwest. All webinars will be at 1:00 PM CDT (2:00 PM EDT), and video recordings of webinars will be posted to the Lake Conservation Webinar website about a week after each presentation for those that cannot participate in real time. To register for any of the webinars below, go to the Lakes Conservation Webinar page.

Top to bottom trophic interrogation of Michigan inland lake communities using eDNA metabarcoding

Kim Scribner, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University
Thursday, April 16
Register here

Characterization of freshwater aquatic animal and plant communities across trophic levels, particularly detection of low abundance species, including threatened and endangered and aquatic invasive species (AIS), is critical for informing management decisions. Water samples from 22 inland lakes in Michigan were collected and eDNAs were extracted, and species were identified by comparing the eDNA sequence data to a Michigan vertebrate and plant reference sequence databases. Estimates of fish species total number, relative abundance, and community composition and diversity derived from eDNA metabarcoding were comparable with estimates derived from traditional gear types used in fisheries assessments. Relative species metabarcode sequence abundance was correlated to species biomass and relative abundance. eDNA metabarcoding identified more species generally than did traditional gear, particularly low abundance species including AIS. Heat maps characterized spatial heterogeneity in fish and plant species richness and distribution of AIS within lakes. Collectively, results demonstrate that eDNA metabarcoding is amenable to monitoring aquatic community diversity, species relative biomass, as well as early AIS detection.

Let’s Make Healthy Lakes & Rivers Together: Wisconsin’s Effort to Improve Habitat & Water Quality

Pamela Toshner, Lake & Watershed Protection Specialist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Jim Giffin, Volunteer Project Manager, Healthy Lakes Initiative
Thursday April 23
Register here

Since 2015 the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has invested over $900,000 in its Healthy Lakes & Rivers initiative. This surface water grant funds installation of 5 best practices with nearly 1,000 projects completed on about 100 lakes to date. Pamela Toshner will share a program overview, including technical assistance and promotional tools, and challenges with forthcoming improvements. Jim Giffin will delve into the logistics of setting up a local effort, communicating with property owners, and showcase example projects.

A forest landscape approach to lake habitat protection

Daniel Steward, Forested Landscape Planning Coordinator, Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources
Thursday April 30
Register here

Counties and SWCD’s are working to develop watershed-based comprehensive local water plans across Minnesota. In the past year two watersheds in the lake rich north-central part of the state have completed their plans and are now moving into implementation. The plans focus on long-term protection of private forest lands. The plans prioritize lakes, then target parcels with a simple GIS approach. The goal of the plans is to achieve 75% protected forest cover in the lake’s watershed. The 75% strategy is based on research conducted by Peter Jacobson and Mn. DNR Fisheries.

Burnett County Shoreline Incentives Program

Dave Ferris, County Conservationist, Burnett County (Wisconsin) Land Services-Conservation Division
Thursday May 7
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This presentation will discuss the innovative Shoreline Incentive Program (SIP) in Burnett County, Wisconsin, which encourages preservation and restoration of natural shorelines. The SIP provides incentives to encourage restoring or preserving natural shorelines, and has enrolled over 750 parcels since it began in 2000. Owners of these parcels receive an annual payment in return for ensuring permanent protection of the shoreline. Incentives provided for each parcel enrolled in the SIP include an annual payment of $50, an initial enrollment payment of $250, a free site visit by a natural landscape expert, planting plans to restore a natural shoreline, payments that cover 70% of the initial cost of plants and materials, an exclusive SIP shirt or cap, and an optional sign to display at the water’s edge. This presentation will discuss the creation, implementation results, and challenges of running the SIP.

Introducing Shoreline Living: A resource to promote natural shorelines on inland lakes

Erin Fuller, Watershed Coordinator, Van Buren County (Michigan) Conservation District
Monday May 18
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This presentation will highlight a new resource that inland lake supporters can use to showcase natural shorelines. Shoreline Living is a new magazine-style publication (online only at the moment, though print copies are planned for the future) containing articles highlighting five families who live on natural shorelines. Beautiful photographs of each property accompany the articles, and the families share their process in creating, maintaining, and enjoying their natural shorelines. The publication and its source photography can be used as a tool to promote natural shorelines by providing examples of everyday shoreline property owners who dipped their toes into a natural shoreline.

MGLP Celebrates its 10th birthday

Born in 2009, the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) joined the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) “family” ready to take on an enormous challenge. The partnership was founded to address a common need identified by lake managers, professionals, and stakeholders: the lack of resources for conducting fish habitat conservation on inland lakes. The partnership set out to improve science, management, and communications capacity, support new and effective approaches to fish habitat degradation through its grant, and bring partners together to share and learn from their experiences. Today our almost 700 partners have helped us to accomplish some of these goals together.

Looking back over the last ten years, we’ve grown by leaps and bounds. The MGLP’s Lake Conservation Grant has funded the protection of over 8,000 acres of lakes, restored fish passage to over 75,000 acres of lakes, developed outreach materials that have contacted over 70,000 stakeholders, and restored over 5,000 ft. of lake shoreline. For example, the grant provided funding for pilot coarse woody habitat projects by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources that eventually developed into the extremely popular Fish Sticks program in the state today. More recently, the MGLP funded a project to investigate whether shoreline vegetation could partially mitigate septic effluent from the large number of leaking septic systems around lakes. The MGLP has provided over $1.1 M in NFHP funding from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to 36 projects that have brought over $4.1M in matching funds and in-kind support. In addition to funding provided through the partnership, we should also mention that we provide letters of support to help partners compete for other funding.

While our on-the-ground work has been important, our science and data products are one of our most commonly requested outputs. At its inception, MGLP partners recognized the need to assess the over 70,000 inland lakes in the MGLP using consistent criteria across political boundaries to determine which strategies are appropriate for each lake and to allow partners to prioritize their work. Earlier this year, the MGLP released its Conservation Planner, which provides users with data characterizing lakes’ shorelines, watersheds, and climate vulnerability. Our Science and Data Team hosted a symposium at the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in 2018 to address knowledge gaps identified by MGLP partners, which resulted in a glacial-lake-themed issue of the peer-reviewed Lake and Reservoir Management journal with articles on topics requested by MGLP partners such as climate change adaptation (1,2), coarse woody habitat, and aquatic vegetation management.

As the partnership has grown, we’ve identified the need to support partners’ education and outreach needs as well.  The partnership’s Education and Outreach Team has received two USFWS Multistate Conservation Grants to develop marketing materials to shift social norms toward ecological stewardship of privately-owned lake shoreline properties. The team has also developed a newsletter to communicate partnership information, a webinar series to increase sharing of management and research advances, and a Twitter account.

As the MGLP approaches its second decade of existence, we are redoubling our efforts to work together to protect, rehabilitate, and enhance sustainable fish habitats in glacial lakes of the Midwest for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. We encourage you to join the partnership, or reach out to coordinator Joe Nohner to see how you can become involved. Stay tuned in 2020 as we release our revised strategic plan, announce another round of grants for lake habitat conservation, outreach, and assessment, and share more cutting-edge science and management on glacial lakes.

MGLP awards $190,500 in grants to conserve fish habitat in lakes

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is awarding $190,500 through its Lake Conservation Grant to five projects across the Upper Midwest, benefiting glacial lakes, fish habitats, fish populations, and anglers for years to come. Grant funding is provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the National Fish Habitat Partnership.

The 2019 MGLP Lake Conservation Grant recipients are:

  • Prairie Lake and Lizzie Lake fish passage; Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; $30,000 award
  • Pickerel Lake shoreline restoration project; South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks; $30,000 award
  • Nutrient and sediment loads entering Lake Wawasee: A scientific approach to assess lake restoration strategies; Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation; $15,000 award
  • Building capacity for Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership conservation; Michigan Department of Natural Resources; $40,500 award
  • Working to meet National Fish Habitat Partnership goals and objectives through the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership; Michigan Department of Natural Resources; $75,000 award

The MGLP is currently accepting applications for the next round of Lake Conservation Grants, due October 15th. Learn more about the projects that received funding this year below.


Prairie Lake and Lizzie Lake fish passage

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

$30,000 award

Water level control dams owned by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) at the outlets to Lake Lizzie and Prairie Lake, a few miles apart on the Pelican River, are barriers to upstream fish passage. The MNDNR will modify these dams into arch-rapids, so that the dams’ function of setting lake levels is maintained while allowing upstream fish movement. The projects will benefit several species, including Walleye, various sucker species, and Lake Sturgeon. The DNR has been working for several years to meet the goal of the Red River Watershed Management Plan to restore Lake Sturgeon to this watershed, and other lakes in the Pelican River system have growing populations. By creating connectivity through these lakes, Lake Sturgeon will be able to move back and forth to other habitats through their lives, including during spawning time, and may establish populations in additional lakes such as Prairie and Lizzie. Increased connectivity will help the fish community to be more resilient to disturbances, and better able to adapt to changing conditions including climate change. This project will bolster efforts to restore Lake Sturgeon, an iconic and sensitive species to the Pelican River Watershed, and may spur increased angling tourism in the future through enhanced fish populations.

The water level control structure at the outlet of Prairie Lake, MN, is one of two being removed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to allow passage of Lake Sturgeon and other fishes. Photo: Joe Nohner, Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Pickerel Lake shoreline restoration project

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks

$30,000 award

Nearly 49% of the shoreline on Pickerel Lake, SD, has been highly disturbed by residential shoreline property owners. This project will establish buffer zones on shoreline properties by removing turfgrass and replacing it with native plantings at least 30 feet wide with varieties based on the property owner’s preferences. The project will decrease sediment and nutrient inputs to the lake by intercepting runoff and reducing shoreline erosion, which will ultimately reduce frequency and intensity of algal blooms and fish kills, increase water clarity, increase aquatic vegetation growth, and increase wildlife populations.

A map of the shorelines along Pickerel Lake, SD, identifies disturbed areas for restoration and undisturbed areas for protection. Map credit: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Nutrient and sediment loads entering Lake Wawasee: A scientific approach to assess lake restoration strategies

Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation (Indiana)

$15,000 award

Lake Wawasee is the largest glacial lake in Indiana with a surface area of approximately 3,000 acres in the southernmost extent of the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership region and supports heavy recreational use. Land acquisition efforts have resulted in the protection of over 10 miles of shoreline and 51 wetland areas totaling protection of over 900 acres using over $2 million in grants for watershed studies, restoration, and erosion control projects, as well as over $5 million in land acquisition efforts of critical areas in the Lake Wawasee watershed. This project will assess the Lake Wawasee watershed to better-inform watershed and shoreland conservation to restore water quality. Specifically, the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation will install a gage station at each of the five major tributaries entering Lake Wawasee and one gage station on the outlet of the lake with automatic water samplers, data loggers, pressure transducers, and in some cases a rain gauge and air temperature logger. This approach will provide a clear picture of relative nutrient and sediment tributary contributions to the lake and lead to the improvement in water quality and ecological integrity through informed decisions.

Nutrient inputs to Lake Wawasee, IN, will be estimated for five tributaries to the lake and one outlet from the lake to develop a nutrient budget and inform future conservation efforts. Map credit: Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation.

Building capacity for Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership conservation

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

$40,500 award

The MGLP works to protect, rehabilitate, and enhance sustainable fish habitats in glacial lakes of the Midwest for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. MGLP staffing is dependent upon grants and voluntary participation to accomplish our goals. In order to implement the fish habitat assessment and conservation implementation goals of the partnership, the MGLP needs to address basic database management needs. Specifically, the MGLP will: 1) collect existing data from partners to update MGLP datasets and fill gaps in the MGLP database to support future assessments; 2) update existing GIS data layers for the MGLP; and 3) develop science-based online tools for habitat conservation including lake-specific assessment reports with conservation recommendations for over ~40,000 lakes. These actions will help the MGLP to better assess fish habitat threats and conditions, thereby improving efficiency and efficacy of projects funded by the MGLP.


Working to meet National Fish Habitat Partnership Goals and objectives through the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

$75,000 award

This project will fund the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership’s efforts to assess and conserve fish habitats in inland glacial lakes. This project funds the coordinator, who oversees conservation grants, supports and participates in committees, coordinates partner contributions, manages the budget, creates and implements a new strategic plan, develops the MGLP identity and presence, provides technical guidance, represents the MGLP at various meetings, and communicates with other partnerships.

Request for proposals: 2020 Lake Conservation Grant

The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) is announcing its annual request for fish habitat conservation project proposals (APPLY HERE). We support conservation projects that work toward meeting the goals and objectives set forth in the MGLP Strategic Plan to benefit glacial lake fish habitats, which include addressing the chemical, physical, and biological components of the habitats that fishes found in glacial lakes use throughout their lives.

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Management Spotlight: Scientific advances and adaptation strategies for Wisconsin lakes facing climate change

Climate change is expected to affect fish habitat in our lakes, but on an issue where international agreements are the gold standard, it can seem overwhelming for state-, local-, and lake-based organizations. To address the challenge, stakeholders in Wisconsin recently met to identify scientific advances and adaptation strategies that they could employ on their lakes. The group convened at the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts lake adaptation workshop in 2018, and recently released the results of their work. Their publication will be part of a Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership-organized issue in the journal Lake and Reservoir Management focusing on managing fish habitat and fisheries affected by habitat.

Continue reading “Management Spotlight: Scientific advances and adaptation strategies for Wisconsin lakes facing climate change”