Lake Champlain Basin Program Seeks Proposals for Projects to Improve Water Quality

The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), in partnership with NEIWPCC is pleased to announce a Request for Technical Pre-Proposals for services to further the goals and objectives of the Lake Champlain management plan Opportunities for Action. The total request for each project may range from $25,000 to $300,000 for projects anticipated to begin in early 2023.

Applicants may propose projects that address any strategies and tasks outlined in Opportunities for Action. LCBP is particularly interested in funding projects that address the following priorities (priorities are not listed in order of importance):

• Projects that will focus on improving soil health on agricultural land across the basin, especially those that include technical support and educational programming to producers about the benefits and techniques to improve soil health.

• Projects that develop a plan to improve our understanding of emerging contaminants in the Lake Champlain Basin. Contaminants may include pesticides and/or others that are not well understood or are not monitored as part of the Lake Champlain Long-Term Monitoring Program. Projects may include synoptic sampling, literature review, suggested methodology and relevant endpoints, prioritized contaminants for monitoring, and a resulting plan with estimated costs for LCBP and/or partners to establish a basin wide long-term monitoring program for emerging contaminants that will close knowledge gaps critical for public and ecosystem health.

• Projects that develop plans and strategies for early detection and prevention of aquatic invasive species introduction to the Lake Champlain Basin.

• Assessment, research, or prioritization projects at a larger landscape scale that support conservation or restoration of vulnerable native species and their habitats.

• Projects that use post-implementation monitoring to quantify ecosystem benefits of water quality or habitat improvement projects.

The two-page pre-proposals submitted in response to this request will be evaluated by the LCBP Technical Advisory Committee, and a subset of pre-proposal applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal for funding consideration for projects to begin in early 2023. Grant award recipients will be selected from the pool of full proposals and will be notified of their anticipated award in early summer 2021.

We anticipate these projects will be supported with funds awarded to NEIWPCC by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in support of the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

Pre-proposals must be submitted to the LCBP by 12:00 noon on November 8, 2021.

Full details about the Request for Technical Pre-Proposals, including the on-line application form, eligibility, timeframe, and other project requirements, can be found at www.lcbp.org/grants. For more information contact Dr. Matthew Vaughan, LCBP Technical Coordinator (mvaughan@lcbp.org).