Resource Management and
Environmental Protection Initiatives
in the Lake Michigan Basin
Submitted to
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5
Submitted by
Great Lakes Commission
Argus n Building
400 Fourth St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103-4816
Ph: 734-665-9135
Fax: 734-665-4370
Email: mdonahue@glc.org
Date
September 15, 1999
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Table of Contents
Preface 1
Introduction 1
Proposed Projects 2
1) Lake Michigan Online Monitoring Database 2
2) Lake Michigan On-Line Atlas 5
3) Bi-State Coordination in the St. Joseph River Watershed 8
Overall Budget 10
Project Staff 11
Project Evaluation 11
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Preface
The Great Lakes Commission, an eight state compact agency founded in state and federal law and dedicated
to the use, management and protection of the water, land and other natural resources of the Great Lakes Basin,
provides leadership in the implementation of principles of sustainable development throughout the Basin. In
partnership with the Great Lakes states, the Commission addresses issues of resource management,
environmental protection, transportation and economic development by serving as an accurate and objective
source of information and an effective forum for the development and coordination of public policy; and an
active and committed advocate of Basin interests.
Established by joint legislative action of the Great Lakes states in 1955 and granted congressional consent in
1968, the Great Lakes Commission seeks "to promote the orderly, integrated and comprehensive development,
use and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes Basin" (Article 1, Great Lakes Basin
Compact). Objectives associated with this overall goal, as stated in the compact, include:
»• To plan for the welfare and development of the water resources of the basin as a whole, as well as for
those portions of the basin that may have problems of special concern;
>• To make it possible for the states of the basin and their people to derive the maximum benefit from
utilization of public works, in the form of navigational aids or otherwise, which may exist or may be
constructed from time to time; and
>• To advise in securing and maintaining a proper balance among industrial, recreational and other
legitimate uses of the water resources of the basin.
The Commission pursues this broad mandate via three principal functions: 1) information sharing among the
Great Lakes states; 2) coordination of state positions on issues of regional concern; and 3) advocacy of those
positions on which the states agree. The Commission addresses a range of issues involving environmental
protection, resource management, transportation and economic development. A committee and task force
structure, in which Commissioners and Advisors from all states participate, is the vehicle for identifying and
developing issues, and subsequently recommending the adoption of positions by the full membership. An
Associate Member program is open to the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. In addition, federal,
regional and tribal government Observers participate, but do not vote, in all Commission activities.
The Great Lakes Commission is the only Great Lakes organization with a statutory mandate to represent the
collective views of the eight Great Lakes states. As such, the Commission's structure, program and staffing
are determined by, and accountable to, its member states. The Commission is based in Ann Arbor, MI.
Introduction
This proposal presents the following three proposed projects designed to address resource management and
environmental protection needs in the Lake Michigan Basin:
»• Lake Michigan Online Monitoring Database
»• Lake Michigan On-Line Atlas
* Bi-State Coordination in the St. Joseph River Watershed
These projects support and build upon the Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan and associated efforts
in the basin. Specifically, the projects will be coordinated with the Commission's current work on the Lake
Michigan Tributary Monitoring Project and the Lake Michigan Monitoring Coordination Council. In addition,
the projects will benefit from the Commission's related work in the areas of online mapping and information
dissemination via the Internet; watershed management in Areas of Concern; and nonpoint source pollution
prevention and soil erosion and sediment control. Finally, as with all Commission efforts, the projects will
benefit from the Commission's strong connections with the Great Lakes states and provinces; its breadth of
staff expertise and experience; and its communication and outreach resources, including the Advisor
newsletter, the Great Lakes Information Network and active roles in numerous forums throughout the region.
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Proposed Projects
1) Lake Michigan Online Monitoring Database
Abstract: The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) proposes to develop a Lake Michigan Monitoring Inventory
Database and integrate it with a map-based Internet interface that can be linked to Lake Michigan watersheds
through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) "Surf Your Watershed" web site, among
others. Such a product will give decision makers and the public easy access to real-time information about
monitoring efforts throughout the Lake Michigan Basin. This database and Internet delivery model can be
used as a pilot project for similar designs in other lake basins, ultimately building up to a national inventory of
monitoring efforts. The database can eventually be developed further to serve actual monitoring data at
stream-level specificity. This project will build on current monitoring inventory work being conducted in the
basin, bringing together information from local, state and federal sources.
Amount Requested: $30,000.
Duration: Twenty-four months.
Applicable State(s): Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Applicable Basin(s): Michigan; as a pilot project, however, other basins will benefit from the project results.
Applicable AOCs/BIAs: The project will benefit all AOCs and BIAs in the Lake Michigan Basin.
Problem Statement: Extensive monitoring of ecosystem health indicators is conducted throughout the Great
Lakes basin by diverse federal, state and local entities. These monitoring programs have differing goals and
capacities. Often, two or more monitoring programs may have overlapping functions, while indicators in
other areas may go completely unmonitored. In essence, what remains is an uncoordinated network of
monitoring programs throughout the Great Lakes basin.
The absence of an organizing framework for monitoring programs does a disservice to decision makers and
the public who ultimately want to use the monitoring data. Currently, a new user interested in monitoring
information must complete an extensive and independent search for monitoring information. The user must
often employ a time-intensive combination of creative searching, background knowledge and luck to get the
desired information. Even after such an arduous effort, the user may end up missing target information.
There has been a recent push by several organizations to develop an inventory of monitoring efforts in the
Great Lakes Basin that can easily be accessed by the public through the Internet. U.S. EPA's Clean Water
Action Plan calls for federal agencies to "create a new, Internet-based Water Information Network to provide
consolidated information on water and watershed programs and services." Both Lake Michigan and Lake
Superior Lakewide Management Plans (LaMP) are supporting a similar system. State and federal
representatives on the newly-formed Lake Michigan Monitoring Coordination Council have agreed that such a
system is needed for the Lake Michigan Basin. Locally, Michigan environmental groups are calling for public
access to monitoring information via the Internet.
Project Outcome: The proposed project will result in the development of a geographically-referenced
database of ecological monitoring metadata for the Lake Michigan Basin. This database will exist on the
Internet and will be linked to relevant U.S. EPA and other pages housing Great Lakes information (such as the
Great Lakes Information Network). Users will be able to search the database by location and type of
monitoring information, among other variables.
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Methodology: The Great Lakes Commission proposes a six-step methodology comprised of the following:
Develop an Implementation Plan: The Commission will work with U.S. EPA staff, in consultation with
partner state and federal agencies, to determine the specifications for the web-based database. As part of this
process, the Commission will determine where the database and web site will be stored, and which database,
geographic information system (GIS) and web integration software will be used. The resulting
implementation plan will be based on an assessment of the existing database structure and the needs of the
ultimate users. This process will be conducted concurrently with the database construction being completed
under the U.S. EPA-funded Lake Michigan Tributary Monitoring Project.
Upgrade the Database into a GIS: While geographic information will be collected as part of the inventory
process, the resulting database was not originally intended to be part of a GIS. Therefore, each monitoring
effort listed in the inventory database will need to be geographically referenced onto a background map of the
Lake Michigan Basin. For a given monitoring project, this may be a small set of points along a waterbody or
a general area such as a township or county. This would involve follow-up contact with monitoring project
managers to establish precise geographic information. At the same time, the associated database fields for
each entry will need to be imported and referenced to background geographic layers (e.g., roads and streams)
to complete the conversion to a GIS database.
Develop and Test Navigation. Query and Update Functions: Once the GIS database is established, the
important functional components will need to be fully developed and tested. The first component is
navigation. Each user will ultimately need to be able to select a small watershed or stream section and find
the monitoring efforts being conducted within the selected area. For this function, it will be important to
obtain, label and verify background layers detailed to the stream level. The second necessary database
component is the query function. Users must be able to query the database for monitoring programs that meet
a variety of criteria, such as media, indicators monitored or type of program. This query function will need to
work with the map navigation component so that the user can search the database within a given geographic
region. The final component is the update function. The monitoring inventory will need to be updated
regularly to keep up with changes in existing monitoring programs, encompass new programs, and delete
those that have ended. An efficient and quality-controlled system must be established to allow managers to
update the database to reflect changes to their programs.
Design and Develop the Web Interface: The final step to complete the inventory database product is to
develop the web pages through which users will access the monitoring program information. This web
interface will be designed to be comfortable and intuitive for the user while allowing users from a variety of
backgrounds to quickly download information on monitoring programs of interest to them. Where possible,
the database will link to the monitoring data or organization collecting the data. The web site must integrate
seamlessly with the GIS database and must also be set up to eventually integrate efficiently with U.S. EPA's
"Surf Your Watershed" site and other common Internet access points.
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Testing. Publishing and Maintenance: Before the web-based database can be released to the public, the entire
system will need to be fully tested by objective users. Much of this testing will be concurrent with
development, but a rigorous final test is necessary to identify integration bugs. The final functional steps will
be to publish and widely promote the web site on GLIN and conduct ongoing maintenance to keep the
database functioning effectively. This task would also include the production of a limited number of
demonstration disks for use in highlighting the most effective uses of this information tool.
Presentations and Outreach: The final product will not be effectively utilized unless target users are made
aware of its presence. The Commission will develop promotional materials for distribution to key decision
makers and public groups. The Commission also will present the final product at targeted Lake Michigan and
other Great Lakes stakeholder meetings and conferences. The final monitoring database will also become a
component of the Lake Michigan Online Atlas (developed as an additional component of this proposal) and
GIS Online - the central point of access to GIS information in the Great Lakes Basin. Finally, the
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Commission will work with U.S. EPA to help promote the database through their web site and associated
resources and activities.
Basinwide Collaboration: The proposed project and its products will be highlighted at various events such
as Commission meetings. State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conferences, Lake Michigan Monitoring
Coordination Council meetings. Lake Michigan LaMP Forum and Technical Coordination Committee
meetings and other regional forums. In addition, the project will be publicized on GLIN and other Internet
sites, as well as through regional GIS components such as the Lake Michigan Online Atlas and GIS Online.
The promotion and packaging of the products will be conducted through media such as the Commission's
Advisor newsletter and other publications and events. The project will involve close collaboration with
representatives of relevant state and federal agencies, as well as local groups in the Lake Michigan AOCs and
other watersheds. Relationships with these individuals and groups have already been established through
Commission work on the Lake Michigan Tributary Monitoring Project and with the Lake Michigan
Monitoring Coordination Council.
Key Personnel: Dr. Michael J. Donahue, Executive Director, will provide administrative oversight and
advisory services on the project with the program managers for the Resource Management and Environmental
Quality and Communications and Information Management programs overseeing day-to-day project activities.
Commission staff with GIS expertise (Ric Lawson, Stuart Eddy and Tom Raybum, among others) will be
responsible for technical aspects of the project.
Project Partners: Numerous individuals from state and federal agencies will actively assist with the
collection of data and review of the final product. This includes support from the natural resources,
environmental quality, agricultural, and health departments of the four Lake Michigan states; U.S. EPA,
Region 5 and the Great Lakes National Program Office, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic
Atmospheric Administration, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, among others. In
addition, the Commission will work closely with local representatives within the 14 Lake Michigan
watersheds participating in the Lake Michigan Tributary Monitoring Project.
Project Milestones: The project schedule may vary based on the needs of the project partners. General
project milestones, however, are expected to include the following: Project Start-Up-10/99; Implementation
Plan-1/00; GIS-linked Monitoring Database-7/00; Fully-Tested Database and GIS Functionality-10/00;
Preliminary Web Interface-2/01; Final Publication of Internet Database-7/01; Publicity and Dissemination-
9/01..
Project Budget: The total amount requested is $30,000 and is allocated among the following budget
categories: personnel/salaries, $15,328; fringe benefits, $5,365; travel, $497; supplies and materials, $400;
other $600; and indirect, $7,810. A proportionate share of the Commission's matching funding will be
allocated to project under the personnel/salaries, benefits, and indirect cost budget categories.
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2) Lake Michigan On-Line Atlas
Abstract: The Great Lakes Commission proposes to develop and implement an Internet-based digital atlas of
the Lake Michigan Basin. The project's emphasis will be on coordinating ecosystem management information
and improving its accessibility within the Lake Michigan Basin. The data and map layers will be contributed
by various specialized agencies active within the region, including the Commission. Once gathered, the data
will be converted to the same geographic projection, indexed for processing by Internet users and saved to a
uniform computer file format. Once placed online, these data will be viewable using mapping and analysis
tools incorporated into the web site. All layers will be compatible with commercial geographic information
system (GIS) software, and most will be available for download to the user's computer. The project aims to
offer land-use planners, interest groups and regional and local decision-makers within the lake basin valuable
access to local and regional data sets, mapping and analysis tools and coordinating information.
Amount Requested: $70,000.
Duration: Twenty-four months.
Applicable State(s): Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Applicable Basin(s): Michigan.
Applicable AOCs/BIAs: The project will benefit all AOCs and BLAs in the Lake Michigan Basin. As a pilot
project, the results will ultimately benefit all AOCs and BLAs in the Great Lakes region.
Problem Statement: Basic knowledge of the Great Lakes region is growing steadily. Data about various
aspects of a given locale are developed and housed by a number of agencies. However, efforts to distribute
this material are often limited, at best. It is almost always up to end users, concerned with specific issues in a
specific place, to identify source agencies, develop contacts, gather data and coordinate anything found so it
can be incorporated into a decision-making process. In addition, effective land-use planning and ecosystem
management require not only local knowledge, but also knowledge of and interaction with neighboring
communities, river basins, Areas of Concern, political jurisdictions and interest groups.
The Lake Michigan On-Line Atlas was conceived as a tool for consolidating and coordinating data related to
the lake basin and the communities and special areas of which it is composed. The Commission will gather
maps and data from agencies active in the region. These data will then be converted to a consistent set of
computer-based mapping parameters and placed on the Internet as a digital atlas, where they will be
distributed throughout the region. They will be detailed enough for use at all levels from local to state to
basinwide. Applications will include education, planning, community development and ecosystem
management, among others. And the readily available data, much of it presentable as maps, will help clarify
existing issues and stimulate the identification of new ones.
Project Outcome: The proposed project will yield a web site that includes: 1) reference maps of the Lake
Michigan Basin, including agencies and organizations active in the region; 2) an online spatial data library
heavily oriented toward local- and ecosystem-level land-use planning issues; and 3) basic online mapping
features and links to more extensive data and analysis tools. Together, the data and tools will provide
individuals, agencies, interest groups and others throughout the region with a broad set of resources for
participating effectively in many of the decision-making processes that relate to their watershed.
Methodology: The Great Lakes Commission proposes a six-step methodology comprised of the following:
Map and Data Library: The data library developed for the project will consist of high-resolution (min.
1:24,000) reference data describing the basin as a whole, as well as specialized data sets gathered locally or
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for special studies of particular areas. Other than the reference data sets, no particular layer of data will be
mandated to cover the entire basin.
Commission staff will acquire the majority of the digital data sets for the project from agencies identified as a
result of other Commission projects, in particular Great Lakes GIS Online and Area Contingency Planning.
Data sets deemed important but not yet available in digital format, such as the Monitoring Inventory Database,
will be created in-house and made available to the project.
The Commission's GIS staff will orient all data layers to the same geographic projection so they can be
looked at in relationship with one another. The data sets will be searchable using database and mapping tools,
but an indexing scheme will be also be developed to facilitate using the On-Line Atlas as a tool for achieving
an overview of the basin according to locales and key themes.
As far as possible, these data layers will also be available for downloading to the user's computer. If and
when data sharing agreements prohibit distribution directly from the Atlas's web pages, contact information
will be provided so the user can attempt to obtain the data directly from its source agency.
Internet GIS and Mapping Applications: The data analysis goals of the project call for map overlay capability,
summarization tools for data within the layers being mapped, and output tools that allow users to produce
maps showing the results of their work. These basic tools will be built into the map server that places the data
onto the Internet. Atlas users will be able to save their results to a local computer, print them, and otherwise
incorporate them into projects.
Interface Design: The web interface for the project will be designed around the Atlas' planning and ecosystem
emphasis. Every effort will be made to render both the data sets and the mapping tools clearly
understandable. Overviews of the basin will be offered as pre-compiled reference sets, and data will be
organized both by theme and locale for initial presentation to the user. A data index tool will allow for other
approaches to the data, such as by creating or copyright-holding agency. The interface itself will be fully
integrated into the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN) Great Lakes GIS Online site.
Data Partnerships: Where they do not already exist, data sharing partnerships will be pursued with
organizations and agencies within the Lake Michigan Basin. In certain cases, these will be formal agreements
defining the extent to which the partner's data may be presented on the Internet. In others, where the data are
readily available and in the public domain, the 'partnerships' will consist more realistically of closer contacts
between the Commission and data managers at the partnering institution. Beyond acquisition of initial data
for the On-Line Atlas, these partnerships are aimed at maintaining viability of the data by opening a channel
for the transmission of updates.
Testing and Revisions: The mapping tools, web interface and data library will be fully tested prior to
publication of the Atlas on the Internet. The web site and data library will be housed on a fully-equipped
server accessible to Commission staff, contributing agencies, and U.S. EPA's Lake Michigan Team and
GLNPO offices. This review committee will carry out routine data sorting, analysis, and presentation tasks,
and errors and suggestions for improvement will be sent back to Commission staff.
Dissemination and User Community Awareness: Upon publication of the On-Line Atlas to the Internet, a
direct link to the tool will be established on GLIN. Another link will be established between this locally
focused tool and the more regional data sets housed at Great Lakes GIS Online. The GLC will feature the
Atlas at presentations, stakeholder meetings and conferences and in its publications. Promotional efforts will
be coordinated with U.S. EPA, state and local agencies, and planning/ecosystem management resource
groups.
Key Personnel: Dr. Michael J. Donahue, Executive Director, will provide administrative oversight and
advisory services on the project. Julie Wagemakers, Program Manager, Information and Communications
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Management, will provide general project oversight. Among others, Tom Raybum and Stuart Eddy will
provide technical oversight and design implementation; Morgan Anderson will assist with feature design; and
Richard Garcia and Karl Geil will be involved with data creation, acquisition and conversion.
Project Partners: Agencies and organizations throughout the Lake Michigan Basin will contribute data to the
project. The bulk of the material will come from federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and state natural resources and environmental agencies. In addition, county and regional
planning commissions, nonprofit organizations and local interest groups will be asked to provide specialized
data layers they have developed.
Project Milestones: Project Start-Up-10/99; Map and Data Library Populated-3/01; Internet GIS and
Mapping Applications Developed-6/01; Interface Design Completed-6/01; Data Partnerships
Established-ongoing starting 11/99; Testing and Revisions-6701-9/01; Dissemination/User Community
Awareness-9/01.
Project Budget: Total funding requested for this project is $70,000, to be distributed among the following
categories: Personnel/Salaries, $34,845; Benefits, $12,196; Travel, $1,500; Equipment, $1,800; Supplies,
$200; Other, $700; Contractual, $1,500; and Indirect costs, $17,259. A proportionate share of the
Commission's matching funding will be allocated to project under the personnel/salaries, benefits, and
indirect cost budget categories.
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3) Bi-State Coordination in the St. Joseph River Watershed
Abstract: The St. Joseph River stretches for 210 miles through southwestern Michigan and northern Indiana,
encompassing a watershed of approximately 4,600 square miles. It passes through 14 counties and flows into
Lake Michigan at Benton Harbor, Mich. Because land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural, runoff of
pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and other pollutants is a major concern to public health officials and resource
managers developing the Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) for Lake Michigan. In particular, the river is
the largest contributor of the herbicide atrazine to the open waters of Lake Michigan. The goal of the
proposed project is to build local capacity in the watershed to facilitate a bi-state process to address
environmental problems affecting the river and, ultimately. Lake Michigan. The primary mechanism for
achieving this goal will be the Friends of the St. Joseph River Association Inc. (FOTSJRA), a nonprofit
organization established in 1994 to bring together stakeholders in communities in the St. Joseph.River
watershed to cooperate in cleaning up and restoring the river. The Great Lakes Commission will provide
technical assistance and policy/management guidance to FOTSJRA to enable it to lead a bi-state effort to
coordinate the resources and expertise of the many stakeholders with management responsibilities for the St.
Joseph River. This will include administering financial support to FOTSJRA. The project will be closely
coordinated with related efforts, including the LaMP, the Lake Michigan Tributary Monitoring Project, and
the St. Joseph River Interstate Anadromous Fish Project.
Amount Requested: $30,000.
Duration: Twenty-four months.
Applicable State(s): Indiana and Michigan.
Applicable Basin(s): Michigan.
Applicable AOCs/BIAs: By reducing loadings of atrazine and other critical pollutants to Lake Michigan, the
project will benefit all of the lake's BIAs, particularly those in the lake's southern basin.
Problem Statement: The Lake Michigan Mass Balance Project and other studies have shown that the St.
Joseph River is the largest contributor of atrazine to Lake Michigan. Atrazine is the most widely used
herbicide in U.S. com and sorghum production. Atrazine's breakdown rate is relatively slow, it is toxic to
aquatic biota and it is considered a possible human carcinogen based upon an increase in mammary gland
tumors in female laboratory animals. The Lake Michigan LaMP lists atrazine as an Emerging Pollutant
because of its potential to impact the physical or biological integrity of the lake. As an Emerging Pollutant,
the LaMP process seeks to prevent atrazine from becoming a lakewide problem.
Reducing loadings of atrazine and other pollutants to Lake Michigan will require careful bi-state coordination
and substantial local outreach and education. The agricultural community, in particular, must be active
stakeholders in efforts to promote sustainable agricultural practices involving less reliance on pesticides and
herbicides and increased use of management practices that prevent or minimize harmful impacts from farming
operations. Finally, activities in the St. Joseph River watershed must be integrated with larger management
efforts to ensure the proper exchange of information; the coordination of resources and technical assistance;
and the establishment of consistent goals, objectives and methodologies.
As with most watershed-based initiatives, efforts in the St. Joseph River must incorporate strong local
leadership and a sense of "ownership" of the resource. The Friends of the St. Joseph River Association is the
primary watershed-based organization and is the logical leader for efforts to promote sustainable agriculture
and associated watershed management objectives. However, the organization is relatively new and, to date,
has been largely focused on organizing river clean-ups and citizen monitoring programs. Coordinating a bi-
state effort will require a higher degree of technical and organizational expertise. Thus, an outstanding need
exists to assist the group in developing this expertise; forming partnerships with the many federal, state.
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regional and local entities with a role to play in the collective effort; and developing a long-term plan and
management structure for addressing critical environmental problems in the watershed.
Project Outcome: The proposed project will build capacity within the St. Joseph River watershed to address
critical environmental problems affecting the river and the larger Lake Michigan Basin. Through technical
guidance and management assistance, the Friends of the St. Joseph River Association will lead a bi-state
process to build partnerships and focus resources on environmental impacts from agriculture and other
sources. Ultimately, this effort will help protect and restore both the river and its watershed as well as Lake
Michigan.
Methodology: The Great Lakes Commission proposes a four-step methodology comprised of the following:
Project Scoping and Coordination with Core Stakeholders: The Commission will convene a group of core
stakeholders (FOTSJRA, state and federal agency staff, etc.) to assess problems in the watershed, establish
preliminary goals and objectives, and coordinate roles and responsibilities. Related activities and initiatives
(e.g., the tributary monitoring project, the LaMP and Remedial Action Plans for Lake Michigan) will be
carefully integrated into these discussions.
Financial and Technical Assistance to Friends of the St. Joseph River Association: The Commission will
establish a memorandum of agreement with and administer funding to the FOTSJRA to lead an effort to
address the goals and objectives identified in the scoping process.
Formation of an Advisory Group and Workplan Development: The Commission will work closely with staff
from the FOTSJRA to form an advisory group and develop a workplan to guide local efforts and facilitate
support from other appropriate entities. Through its long-term role and interest in Great Lakes agricultural
and nonpoint source pollution issues, Commission staff can help establish linkages with the agricultural
community. Additionally, the Commission has strong connections with the watershed management
community in the Great Lakes and will ensure that experiences and successes in this area are brought to bear
in the St. Joseph River watershed.
Ongoing Assistance: Commission staff will provide advisory services to FOTSJRA on an ongoing basis as
resources allow. Resources such as the Great Lakes Information Network and the Commission's Advisor and
Keeping it on the Land newsletters will be used to facilitate communication outreach and the Commission will
rely on its Commissioners and other contacts to help FOTSJRA establish linkages with state and federal
agency staff, funders and other stakeholders.
Basinwide Collaboration: The project will involve substantial collaboration within the Lake Michigan Basin
and among state agencies in Michigan and Indiana. Additionally, the Commission will solicit the active
participation of other critical entities, including the Indiana-based St. Joseph River Basin Commission, Lake
Michigan Forum, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Association of
Conservation Districts, Conservation Technology Information Center, Michigan Agricultural Stewardship
Association, Lake Michigan Federation, and other entities with special expertise related to the problems
affecting the St. Joseph River.
Key Personnel: Dr. Michael J. Donahue, Executive Director, will provide administrative oversight and
advisory services on the project. Tom Crane. Program Manager. Resource Management and Environmental
Quality, will provide general project oversight. Matt Doss will serve as project manager and will administer
day-to-day project activities. The project also will benefit from the Commission's communications and GIS
staff, as needed.
Project Partners: In addition to the Commission, FOTSJRA. and U.S. EPA, project partners are expected to
include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey. Army Corps of Engineers. USDA-NRCS,
Michigan departments of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources and Agriculture, Indiana departments of
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Environmental Management, Natural Resources, and Agriculture, St. Joseph River Basin Commission, Lake
Michigan Forum, National Association of Conservation Districts. Conservation Technology Information
Center, Michigan Agricultural Stewardship Association, Lake Michigan Federation. Great Lakes Sport
Fishing Council, and the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. Participation also will be solicited from
jurisdictions and community-based organizations (e.g., community foundations) in the St. Joseph River
watershed.
Project Milestones: The project schedule may vary based on the needs of the project partners. General
project milestones, however, are expected to include the following: Project Scoping and Coordination with
Core Stakeholders-12/99; Financial and Technical Assistance to Friends of the St. Joseph River
Association-3/00; Formation of an Advisory Group and Workplan Development-9/00; and Ongoing
Assistance-ongoing through 9/01.
Project Budget: Total funding requested for the project is $30,000, to be distributed among the following
budget categories: personnel/salaries, $3,944; benefits, $1,380; travel, $600; supplies, $100; other, $900;
contractual, $20,800; and indirect costs, $2,276. A proportionate share of the Commission's matching
funding will be allocated to project under the personnel/salaries, benefits, and indirect cost budget categories.
Overall Budget
Budget
Categories
1) Personnel/Salaries
2) Benefits
(35% of Salaries)
3) Travel
4) Equipment
5) Office Supplies
6) Other
a) Meeting
b) Phone
c) Postage
d) Printing and
Reproduction
e) Newsletter and Annual
Report
7) Grants and Contracts
3) Indirect Cost Recovery
(36% excluding Travel.
Equipment and
Grams/Contracts)
Total
Proposed Projects
Lake Michigan
Online Monitoring
Database
$ 15,328
$ 5,365
$ 497
3 400
3 300
3 200
S 100
3 7.310
3 30.000
Lake Michigan
On-Line Atlas
S 34,845
S 12.196
S 1,500
S 1.800
S 200
S 300
S 200
S 200
S 1.500
S 17.259
S 70.000
Bi-State Coordination
in the St Joseph River
Watershed
S 3,944
S 1,380
S 600
3 100
3 500
S ISO
S 150
3 100
3 20.800
S 2.276
S 30.000
Federal
Funding
Requested
S 54,117
S 18.941
S 2,597
S 1.800
S 700
S 500
3 750
S 550
3 400
3 22.300
S 27.345
SI 30.000
Great Lakes
Commission
Matching
Funds*
S3.727
$1,305
S1.8I2
S6.344
Total
Project
Budget
S 57,844
$ 20,246
$ 2,597
S 1.800
$ 700
$ 500
S 750
S 550
S 400
S 22.300
S 29.157
SI 36.344
* The Great Lakes Commission's matching funding will be distributed proportionately among the three projects included in the
proposal.
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Project Staff
The following Commission staff, among others, will provide a wide range of experience, skills and expertise
to the proposed projects:
Executive Director: Michael J. Donahue, Ph.D.
Program Managers: Tom Crane and Julie Wagemakers
Project Managers: Matt Doss, Christine Manninen and Tom Rayburn
Program Specialists: Ric Lawson, Stuart Eddy, Richard Garcia, Karl Geil and Morgan Anderson
Administrative Support: Cappy Bilakos, Rita Straith, Pat Gable and Marilyn Ratliff
Regular meetings of the project team will ensure proper coordination among the staff working on the project
and communication of ideas and opportunities for enhancing the project results. In addition to the staff
expertise outlined above, the Commission's Advisor newsletter, the Great Lakes Information Network and the
Commission's biannual meetings will all be utilized to promote and publicize the projects to the appropriate
target audiences in the Lake Michigan Basin and beyond.
Project Evaluation
Each project element of the overall proposal will be subject to an extensive evaluation process with three
components. At the staff level, a project manager will develop specific project objectives and timelines and,
on an ongoing basis, evaluate progress and make necessary adjustments in consultation with project partners.
At the regional level, state members and designated Observer agencies of the Great Lakes Commission will
formally assess progress at biannual meetings, and provide staff with input to ensure that project activity is
responding to current/evolving regional policy needs. At the project level, multi-disciplinary/multi-
jurisdictional advisory committees and task forces are typically formed to provide project oversight. Periodic
meetings and review of products will ensure that comments are received and incorporated into project
activities. Augmenting this evaluation, for some projects, are user group surveys (mailed or in-person at
workshops) yielding advice on project conduct and outcomes.
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