GLIN==> Ducks Unlimited, partners, receive funds for Pennsylvania conservation

Grant conserves wetlands, supports fight against invasive species 

 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Aug. 2, 2011 – Ducks Unlimited, the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and a multitude of other partners plan to control invasive species and restore and enhance 392 acres of wetland and associated upland habitat at four locations within the Lake Erie watershed of Pennsylvania.  

 

The work will be conducted through two grants recently received as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a federal program designed to target the most significant issues within the Great Lakes ecosystem, including habitat conservation, invasive aquatic species, non-point source pollution and contaminated sediment.

 

“This project is representative of the tremendous opportunity to restore wildlife habitat, water quality, and quality of life in the Lake Erie Watershed,” said Kurt Anderson, Regional Biologist at DU’s Annapolis (MD) Office. “Specifically, this project will engage a variety of partnerships to restore and enhance diverse areas of shoreline, emergent wetlands, sand barrens and sand plains, forested habitats, and will reduce the threat from aquatic and terrestrial invasive species.” 

 

GLRI funding was awarded through two sources. Sustain Our Great Lakes, whose mission is to sustain, restore and protect fish, wildlife and habitat in the Great Lakes basin by leveraging funding, building conservation capacity, and focusing partners and resources toward key ecological issues, provided $632,603. The Atlantic Coast Joint Venture, the conservation coordinating body of the region which delivers conservation strategies and tools to implementation partners for all bird species, awarded $101,858. 

 

 

“This area is a real gem,” said Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District. “Controlling invasive species improves habitat for wildlife, and it benefits the community by maintaining local game fish such as walleye and yellow perch. It’s a major recreational hub and generates a lot of economic activity.”  

 

Presque Isle State Park, Erie Bluffs State Park, Roderick Wildlife Reserve, and Little Elk Creek Forest, where the work will occur, all lie within the Lake Erie Watershed. Native habitat has been compromised by invasive species including Phragmites, a decorative reed that threatens coastal habitats throughout the Great Lakes. 

 Work on the project is expected to begin this summer.

 

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with more than 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands − nature’s most productive ecosystem − and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.

 

-30-

 

 

Kristin Schrader                kschrader at ducks.org <mailto:kschrader at ducks.org>     734.623.2000

 

 

Kristin Schrader

Regional Communications Manager

Ducks Unlimited

Ph 734.623.2000

Mobile 734.646.4594

Fax 734.623.2035

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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