SUTTONS BAY -- More than a half-dozen local agencies and institutions received state grants for coastal management projects.
Among the recipients are the Fishtown Preservation Society in Leland, Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, Inland Seas Education Association in Suttons Bay and the City of Frankfort. The state issued more than $1.4 million in grants across Michigan.
"We're now able to go to different locations and let people know what's going on in their area," said Kim Biocchi, ISEA administration director.
The agency received a $25,000 grant and will spend it by expanding its "Day on the Bay" program to Traverse City, Charlevoix and Escanaba, she said. The free program involves classroom sessions on Great Lakes issues, including invasive phragmites, zebra mussels and aquatic plant beds.
Other agencies receiving funds included $40,000 to develop architectural plans to preserve historic structures in Fishtown, while a $38,000 grant will be used to continue NMC's hydrographic surveys in Grand Traverse Bay. Frankfort will use $32,500 to update the city's zoning ordinance using computer simulations to depict zoning laws' impact on future developments.
Grand Traverse County Road Commission received a $15,000 grant to complete a feasibility study and schematic design to connect the Boardman Lake Trail to the Grand Traverse County Nature Education Reserve pathways.
The Leelanau Conservancy will use a $25,000 grant to create a long-term land stewardship planning process for Leelanau County, and the Manistee County Community Foundation will receive a $21,000 grant to work on access sites for public recreation along Lake Michigan.
Funding for the grants came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the state Department of Natural Resources and Environment's coastal management program. Grant recipients must contribute a 100 percent match.
