Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program Seeks Proposals for Education and Organizational Capacity Initiatives
Grand Isle, VT – The Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) seeks proposals for projects that support local watershed groups and provide opportunities for informing and involving the public in Lake Champlain outreach initiatives. The Program anticipates awarding nearly $1,700,000 to local organizations, municipalities, and educational institutions through four grant categories:
- LCBP Annual Organizational Support grants (up to $20,000 per award)
- Organizational Support and Workforce Development in the New York Portion of the Lake Champlain Basin ($25,000 – $150,000 per award)
- Small Education and Outreach Implementation grants (up to $15,000 per award)
- Large Education and Outreach Implementation grants (up to $50,000 per award)
- Stream Wise Participation grants (up to $15,000 per award)
Dr. Eric Howe, Program Director for the LCBP, said, “We are awed and inspired every year by the work local organizations do through these projects to improve the water quality and habitat in their communities. As always, we look forward to the proposals we receive in response to these RFPs.”
Local organizations play a critical role in implementing projects to achieve water quality and habitat protection goals. Recent projects funded through outreach or organizational support grants include:
- The Ausable River Association led guided watershed tours that explored wildflowers, birding, lake and aquatic ecology, geology, and night skies where participants learned about long-term water quality sampling and invasive species identification and removal.
- The Lake St. Catherine Association developed a “Libraries Love Lakes” program with Wells Village Library, which created a special “Lake St. Catherine” section and provided families lake-themed kits with books and activities, hands-on learning and stewardship opportunities, and boat tours.
- The Poultney-Mettowee Natural Resource Conservation District updated computer hardware, financial and point of sale software, file management systems, and website resources.
- Eight Stream Wise partners each conducted between four and twelve assessments of riparian buffers and stream habitat on private parcels and provided information to landowners about the benefits of healthy streams in Vermont and New York.
The LCBP anticipates awarding nearly $1,700,000 by April 2024 in these four categories. Projects located in the New York, Québec, and Vermont portions of the Lake Champlain basin will be eligible for consideration in this grant opportunity. Grant guidelines, applications, deadlines and electronic application submission links for each category can be found on the Lake Champlain Basin Program’s website at lcbp.org/grants.
The grants will support projects that advance the goals of the long-term Lake Champlain management plan Opportunities for Action. These projects are supported by funds awarded to NEIWPCC on behalf of the LCBP by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
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The Lake Champlain Basin Program coordinates and funds efforts that benefit the Lake Champlain Basin’s water quality, fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, recreation, and cultural resources. The program works in partnership with federal agencies, state and provincial agencies from New York, Vermont, and Québec, local communities, businesses, and citizen groups. NEIWPCC—a regional commission that helps the states of the Northeast preserve and advance water quality—serves as the primary program administrator of LCBP at the request of the Lake Champlain Steering Committee and administers the program’s personnel, finances, and contracts. NEIWPCC is a program partner of LCBP. For further information, contact the Lake Champlain Basin Program, 54 West Shore Road, Grand Isle, VT at (802) 372-3213 / (800) 468-5227 or visit https://www.lcbp.org/.
