Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program Reissues Request for Proposals for Community-Scale Lake Champlain Economic Valuation Studies
Grand Isle, VT – The Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) seeks proposals for studies that assess the economic value of Lake Champlain at the community scale. The LCBP anticipates awarding up to $50,000 per award, with $200,000 of funding available for this grant category.
NEIWPCC/LCBP is announcing the re-issuance of this request for proposals (RFP) to align with the recent Executive Orders and to allow for all potential projects to be proposed that are in direct support of the ongoing efforts to preserve and advance water quality initiatives across the Lake Champlain Basin.
The Lake Champlain Community-level Economic Valuation Studies will provide an economic analysis and public-facing outreach materials for communities connected to the analysis. These projects will demonstrate the economic value of investing in watershed practices at the community level.
Dr. Eric Howe, NEIWPCC Program Director of the Lake Champlain Basin Program, said, “Economic valuation studies can describe the benefits of clean water and healthy ecosystems as dollar values, allowing resource managers and decision makers to better understand and act on the economic rationale for protecting our waterways and ecosystems. We anticipate that these studies will be of immense value to our shared efforts to protect and restore the Lake Champlain Basin.”
These projects are supported by funds awarded to NEIWPCC on behalf of the LCBP by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Proposals are due at 12pm on March 20th, 2025. Awarded projects will begin work in August 2025. More information, including grant guidelines and applications, is available on the Lake Champlain Basin Program’s website at lcbp.org/grants.
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The Patrick Leahy 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, quality management 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/.
