GLIN==> Saginaw Bay watershed initiates sediment reduction efforts

For immediate release: Aug. 11, 2011
Photos and map included on http://www.glc.org/announce/11/08pinnebog.html

Contact: Gary Overmier
E-mail: garyo at glc.org
Phone: 734-971-9135	
Saginaw Bay watershed initiates sediment reduction efforts 
Ann Arbor, Mich. - Pinnebog River watershed stakeholders kicked off a
large-scale sediment reduction project today in Elkton, Mich. The Pinnebog
project received $745,000 in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funds
from the Great Lakes Commission and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Natural
Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS). The project is one of nine GLRI
watershed grants awarded under the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil
Erosion and Sediment Control, totaling more than $4.3 million, to reduce
sediment pollution in priority watersheds.
According to the GLRI Action Plan, nonpoint sources of sediment and other
pollutants are now among the most significant problems facing our lakes,
rivers and streams. 
Managed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MDARD) and implemented by the Huron Conservation District, the Pinnebog
initiative will introduce an innovative technique – Best Management
Practices (BMP) auctions – to develop a market-based watershed program to
reduce environmental problems. 
A BMP auction involves the land user submitting a bid on what BMPs they are
willing to install and at what costs. Bids are then ranked by the amount of
water quality improvements generated from each BMP. Sediment load reduction
for each BMP is divided by the amount of the requested funds to arrive at a
least cost per ton of sediment saved. BMPs to be used include filter strips,
no-till cultivation, cover crops, streambank restoration and wetland
restoration. 
“The BMP auctions will enhance the reduction of sediments into waterways by
implementing best management practices,” says Jim Johnson, MDARD’s
Environmental Stewardship Division director. “The auctions provide an
economically feasible tool for farmers to implement sediment-reducing
practices.”
The Pinnebog River watershed, which empties into Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron,
consists of nearly 125,000 acres, 85 percent of which is agricultural land.
The major source of sediment in this watershed is cropland and stream bank
erosion. At the end of the three-year grant, at least 20,000 tons of soil
and sediment deposition will be eliminated annually through the installation
of the Best Management Practices funded through this project.
The Great Lakes Commission established the Great Lakes Basin Program for
Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in 1991. The program, with support from
USDA-NRCS, has funded 439 local small-scale projects, allocating over $15
million to control erosion and sediment. These projects have reduced soil
erosion in the Great Lakes basin by more than 1.6 million tons and
phosphorus loadings by over 1.6 million pounds. 
“Reducing sediment pollution from entering the Great Lakes using
market-based approaches is a win-win for farmers and the Pinnebog River,”
says Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. “Along with
our federal partner (NRCS), these GLRI funds are putting much needed
resources at the local level to install conservation practices in critical
watersheds.” 
Other watershed-scale GLRI grants underway in Michigan focus on the River
Raisin and Shiawassee River watersheds. The Blue Creek and Little Elkhart
River in Indiana, Poplar River in Minnesota, Black and Oatka creeks in New
York, and Old Woman Creek and the Sandusky River in Ohio are also benefiting
from these GLRI funds. 
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which began in 2010, is one of the
largest federal investments ever in the Great Lakes. The five-year
collaborative program between federal, state, tribal and non-governmental
partners is focusing on cleaning up toxics and Areas of Concern, combating
invasive species, promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from
polluted runoff, restoring wetlands and other habitats, and related
education and monitoring activities.
The Pinnebog River project is expected to be completed in 2013. 

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by James Tierney, assistant commissioner
for water resources at the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, is an interstate compact agency established under state and
U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy
environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region
and its residents. The Commission consists of governors' appointees, state
legislators, and agency officials from its eight member states. Associate
membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a
"Declaration of Partnership." The Commission maintains a formal Observer
program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities,
binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are
located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org
<http://www.glc.org/> . 

Christine Manninen
Communications / GLIN Director
http://www.great-lakes.net
Great Lakes Commission
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Office 734.971.9135
 
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