Grant money for stream monitoring set to be awarded

The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) will award up to a total of $50,000 this year to fund both the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Grant Program and the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Start-Up Grant Program.

The MiCorps program is a network of volunteer monitoring programs in Michigan established to assist the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) in collecting and sharing water quality data for use in water resources management and protection programs.

Local units of government and non-profit organizations are eligible to receive the grants.

The Volunteer Stream Monitoring Start-Up Grant Program provides funding to help establish volunteer monitoring programs and design strategies for the community. Start-up grant recipients will have access to training and resources from MiCorps. Grants of up to $10,000 will be available for start-up programs.

The Volunteer Stream Monitoring Grant program provides funds for volunteer groups to monitor benthic macroinvertebrate communities and habitat characteristics of streams and rivers, as well as funds to provide training and support to collect water quality data. The grant money may also be used to fund a local monitoring coordinator and to purchase water quality monitoring supplies. Multiple grants in the $1,000 to $3,000 range will be awarded.
Grant application packages, which include grant information and application instructions, are available online at: www.micorps.net/app/gap11.html and www.micorps.net/app/startup11.html. Grant applications are due by Feb. 14, 2011.