COLUMBUS, OH - Governor Bob Taft today announced a total of $378,314 in Ohio Coastal Management Assistance Grants to eight Lake Erie-area communities and organizations. The grants are designed to improve and protect the lake along its 265-mile shoreline.
I am pleased to announce a diverse mix of projects that support efforts to protect Lake Erie and its valuable coastal resources, Governor Taft said.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has awarded more than $1,400,000 in Ohio Coastal Management Assistance Grants since 1997. The grants help Lake Erie communities do comprehensive local planning; improve public access to the lake; conduct coastal research and education; and develop outdoor recreational facilities.
Each of the eight projects selected in the 2002 round of grants addresses at least one category of ODNR's Strategic Action Plan for Coastal Management. The categories are: water resources and watersheds; coastal land use and development; coastal habitat, wetlands and natural areas; coastal flooding and erosion; recreational opportunities; and fisheries and wildlife resources.
The eight Ohio Coastal Management Assistant Grant recipients and projects for 2002 are listed below:
City of Avon Lake will receive $100,000 to help provide safe public access, as well as emergency access, to the Miller Park Beach area. This grant is the largest ever awarded under the Coastal Management Assistance Grant program and will help construct a ramp from the existing fishing pier to the beach.
City of Mentor-on-the-Lake will receive $52,500 to help construct a stairway for safe, easy access to Overlook Beach and, at the same time, correct a surface runoff problem that is causing erosion in the beach area.
Lake Metroparks will receive $49,900 to conduct an ecological assessment of the proposed site of Steelhead Run Nature Preserve. The area lies along the Grand River in the Lakeview Bluffs redevelopment area.
Case Western Reserve University will receive $46,924 to develop Geographic Information System-based maps that contain information on fish habitats in Lake Erie watershed tributaries. These maps will then be used to study the effects of nonpoint source pollution and upstream land-use changes on downstream and coastal-area fish productivity.
University of Toledo & The Lake Erie Center will receive $39,990 to study the feasibility of removing a 1920s lowhead dam on the Ottawa River. The study will reveal what changes will result from removal of the dam, the most downstream dam on the river.
City of Perrysburg will receive $32,500 to help fund a feasibility study for improving public access along the Water Street right of way, adjacent to the Maumee River.
City of Lorain will receive $30,000 to help fund a study on the feasibility of using the iron ore pellet facility site at the mouth of the Black River for public access and commercial development. This study will be a valuable first step in revitalizing a downtown waterfront area.
Vermilion Port Authority will receive $26,500 to help design and develop plans for a handicapped-accessible marina for boaters visiting McGarvey's Landing.
Coastal Management Assistance Grants are coordinated through ODNR's Ohio Coastal Management Program, with funding provided by the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis, with each recipient matching its grant with at least 50 percent of the projects total cost.
Applications and guidelines for the next round of Coastal Management Assistance Grants to be awarded in 2003, will be available in the fall by writing to the Ohio Coastal Services Center, 1630 Sycamore Line, Sandusky, Ohio 44870-4132. Call 419-626-7986 for more information. Applications are also available on the ODNR web site at Ohiodnr.com .