The Upper Peninsula Resource Conservation and Development Council has been awarded another grant to fight invasive species in the UP of Michigan. The Council will receive $458,160 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s
Sustain Our Great Lakes Program for our project entitled “ Invasive Phragmites Control in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula”. Utilizing grant funds, the UP RC&D Council will work with partners to restore or enhance 400 acres of coastal shoreline and wetlands in the UP during 2013 and 2014 by controlling invasive phragmites (
Phragmites australis). These restoration activities will help to minimize a serious threat to native coastal wetlands and improve habitat for vulnerable species. We will seek to establish long-term control by reducing known populations and coordinating efforts across jurisdictions and land ownerships to maximize benefits and efficiency. Throughout the project we will take advantage of the Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) network of partners by training them to identify 20 additional high-threat species that have the potential to occur in the UP Great Lakes coastal zone.
We will also collaborate with the project leaders from the other large-scale phragmites control projects in the upper Great Lakes to exchange ideas and develop cooperative strategies for long-term control in the region. Training partners to detect, monitor and treat invasive phragmites will increase local capacity to assume responsibility for control efforts after this project is completed.
More information about this project and how you can report locations of invasive phragmites in the UP can be found on Phragmites Project page.
To read the entire press release from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation about this project and the others that were awarded Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds, click on the link below.
Sustain Our Great Lakes Program Announces $8.2 Million in Grants
for Great Lakes Restoration
2011 Annual Report Now Available
The UP RC&D Council is very proud of our accomplishments during the past year. This Annual Report will give you a better idea of the kinds of projects our council is involved in, the partnerships that we help to facilitate, and the grant funds we have been able to secure to deal with the conservation and development opportunities and problems that exist in the Upper Peninsula. The UP RC&D Council is one of 375 RC&D Councils in the country. As you are probably aware, RC&D Councils are non-profit entities with volunteer boards, which work in partnership with county commissions, conservation districts, state and federal agencies, and non-profit organizations helping to create jobs and effectively leveraging financial resources to support economic development and resource protection in rural areas. Together we're - Making Things Happen!
UP RC&D Council 2011 Annual Report
