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IL Coastal Management Program |
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Monthly Newsletter - March 2023 |
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In this issue: Featured News, Emerging Research, Emerging Resources, Share Your Voice, Upcoming Events, Funding Opportunities, Job Opportunities. and Great Lakes News.
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Illinois CMP Chicago Beach Monitoring Study
Federal, state, local, and private Chicago beach
stakeholders gathered on February 8 to learn about the Illinois Coastal Management Program (CMP) and the Illinois
State Geological Survey’s (ISGS) research efforts on Chicago beach morphology.
ISGS Coastal Geologist Robin Mattheus presented on the Chicago Beach Monitoring
study, which began data collection in summer 2022 and is now gearing up for a
second field season. The study captures a snapshot of high-resolution data of
beach sand volumes and offshore bottom-mapping, allowing the team to determine
where and how much sand exists in the system and how it moves in response to
environmental conditions.
Stakeholders identified existing data and areas to
focus the next round of data collection on, providing ISGS needed information
for a comprehensive and user-driven study. To learn more about the study, please contact Robin Mattheus at mattheus@illinois.edu.
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Year-round moorings offer a glimpse at the winter life of Lake Superior over 17 years
"Every year, as the network of Great Lakes meteorology buoys comes off the water, a hole opens up in our understanding of lake conditions.
The threat of violent winter storms, coupled with shifting ice formations and other adverse conditions, makes taking water samples and deploying monitoring platforms, like surface buoys and gliders, difficult or impossible. As a result, during December-April, the monitoring community collects far less data.
The scarcity of year-round data hinders our understanding of lake dynamics and its long-term changes.
Without platforms collecting data, researchers are left wondering about some fundamental drivers of lake health. How is water mixing? What are the nutrient levels? What are temperatures below the surface?"
Looking to answer these questions, researcher Jay Austin and colleagues at the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory have been collecting critical information for the last 17 years on Lake Superior's temperature, chemical composition, and currents in the lake's cold, deep waters.
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Chicago Watershed Alliance Natural Solutions Tool
Discover new ways to harness the power of nature to achieve multiple social, environmental, and economic benefits with the Natural Solutions Tool. The tool is a robust parcel prioritization map that anyone can use to explore and collect data about sites within Chicago-area watersheds. The tool’s parcel data is an excellent resource for driving funding of green infrastructure to communities of the greatest need.
The Natural Solutions Tool emerged from a vision for more strategic and collaborative watershed-wide investments in multi-beneficial nature-based solutions set by the Greater Chicago Watershed Alliance, a coalition launched by Friends of the Chicago River in 2020. Tool development was led by The Trust for Public Land with input from Watershed Alliance members and numerous other stakeholders.
The Watershed Alliance welcomes everyone to explore and employ this new resource and connect with us for training, technical assistance, and joint-project opportunities
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Salt Watch Program Resources
Road salt keeps our roads and sidewalks safe in the winter months, but too much can harm our streams and our health.
The Izaak Walton League of America, a national conservation nonprofit working to protect watershed health across the country, is looking for partner organizations to participate in their Salt Watch program. Salt Watch is a community science program aimed at identifying road salt pollution hot spots and raising awareness on smart salting practices.
By participating in this program, partner organizations can request free Salt Watch Kits and work with their community to track road salt pollution throughout the year.
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Public Comment |
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Framing the National Nature Assessment - Request for Information |
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The US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is seeking input from the public to help inform the framing, development, and use of the National Nature Assessment.
The USGCRP welcomes comments on the definition of nature, what questions the assessment can help answer, potential audiences and engagement processes, trends and projections, and relevant information sources. Comments are due March 31, 2023. More information on how to respond to this request, including guiding questions, can be found here.
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Webinar Series |
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Green Shield Week |
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From April 10-14, Midwest Grows Green and Green Shield Certified will host Green Shield Week, a series of webinars discussing sustainable landscaping and pest management practices, strategies and policies.
The webinars include:
- Monday, April 10: Barry Draycott from Tech Terra Environmental discusses how to protect our water resources while maintaining a healthy and resilient lawn. Register for free.
- Tuesday, April 11: Bradley Herrick from the University of Wisconsin Madison Arboretum focuses on best management practices, control methods and latest research of jumping worms. Register for $10.
- Thursday, April 13: Dr. Doug Richmond from Purdue University's Soil Insect Ecology Laboratory presents a systems approach for integrating cultural, biological and low impact chemical tools to reduce the ecological footprint of managing turf pests. Register for $10.
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April 10 - 14
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Illinois American Water's Environmental Grant Program
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Illinois American Water is now accepting applications for the 2023 Environmental Grant Program. We are seeking innovative and collaborative programs that result in positive and sustainable environmental changes. Watershed protection and cleanup activities, value of water education efforts, green business innovations and hazardous waste collection efforts are just a few examples of potential projects supported by our Environmental Grant Program. If your community or organization is planning to launch an environmental initiative that focuses on watershed or water source protection, you might be eligible to receive a grant.
Deadline for applications is March 31, 2023. Applications must be emailed to Mike Jones at Mike.Jones@amwater.com. Late entries will not be accepted.
To qualify for Environmental Grant funding, a proposed project must:
- Be located within an Illinois American Water service area
- Address a source water or watershed protection need in the community
- Be completed between May 1, 2023 and November 30, 2023
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EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program
Deadline: April 14, 2023
EPA is solicitating applications for projects that support community-based nonprofit organizations (CBOs) in their collaboration with other stakeholders (e.g., local businesses and industry, local government, medical service providers, academia, etc.) to develop solutions that significantly address environmental or public health issue(s) in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms.
Eligible entities include:
- A community-based nonprofit organization (CBO); or
- A partnership of community-based nonprofit organizations
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EPA Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program
Deadline: April 14, 2023
The Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) program provides funding at the state, local, territorial, and tribal level to support government activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms.
Eligible entities include:
- A partnership between a state and a community-based nonprofit organization
- A partnership between a tribe and a community-based nonprofit organization
- A partnership between a local government and a community-based nonprofit organization
- US Territories, Freely Associated States, and tribal governments in remote areas
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NFWF National Coastal Resilience Fund
Pre-Proposal Deadline: April 12, 2023
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Defense, Occidental, Shell, and TransRe is now soliciting Pre-Proposals for the 2023 National Coastal Resilience Fund.
NFWF will award up to $140 million in grants to create and restore natural systems in order to increase protection for communities from coastal hazards, such as storms, sea- and lake-level changes, inundation, and coastal erosion, while improving habitats for fish and wildlife species. NFWF prioritizes projects that are community led or incorporate direct community engagement and benefit underserved communities facing disproportionate harm from climate impacts.
An informational webinar has been scheduled for Thursday, March 2, 2023 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET to provide an overview the National Coastal Resilience funding opportunity.
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Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program
Deadline: April 21, 2023
The Great Lakes Commission recently issued a request for proposals for the 2023 Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program (GLSNRP) grant program.
The Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program has provided grants to reduce nutrients and sediments entering the Great Lakes for more than 30 years. This year’s program will continue to help local partners take action to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural watersheds and eroding shorelines and streambanks in the Great Lakes basin.
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EPA Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program
Deadline: May 31, 2023
The new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking (EJ TCGM) Program is a competition to select multiple Grantmakers around the nation to reduce barriers to the federal grants application process communities face and increase the efficiency of the awards process for environmental justice grants. Grantmakers will design competitive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement a tracking and reporting system, provide resources and support to communities, all in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
Eligible entities include:
- A community-based nonprofit organization; or
- A partnership of community-based nonprofit organizations
- A partnership between— a federally recognized Tribal government and a community-based nonprofit organization
- A partnership between— an institution of higher education and a community-based nonprofit organization.
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2023 Michael Curry Summer Internship Program |
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The Michael Curry Summer Internship Program offers college juniors, seniors, and graduate students in all disciplines (including law) an opportunity to work in one of the agencies under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Governor on a full-time basis for ten (10) weeks during the summer. Positions are available in both Springfield and Chicago.
- Eligible applicants must be Illinois residents who have not previously participated in the Curry Internship Program.
- Curry interns will receive a stipend of $2,500 per month.
Applicants are asked to choose their top three (3) preferred placements from the various State agencies.
Applications are due April 17 at 11:59 p.m.
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What's going on in the Great Lakes this month? Click to read more!
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Climate
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Chicago had its 4th warmest winter in 70 years, and spring flowers are weeks ahead of schedule
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International Policy
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Indigenous leaders demand a seat at international water negotiations
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Conservation
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If You Build It, They Will Come: Study Supports Marsh Creation As A Tool To Restore Coastal Louisiana
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Environmental Justice
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Southwest Side activists call on next mayor to address pollution: ‘We have to change this’
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Wildlife
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Chicago birders rejoice as Arctic gull makes rare visit to local beaches: ‘This is about as good as it gets.’
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Lake Conditions
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It's mid-March and the Great Lakes are virtually ice-free. That's a problem.
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Share Your Announcement! |
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Have an event, funding opportunity, or job posting that you'd like us to share? Send us an email and we'll include it in our newsletter next month.
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