The Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) recently received a Great Lakes grant to benefit water quality, coastal habitat and climate adaptation in the City of Marquette. The $323,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Sustain Our Great Lakes Program will be used to install green infrastructure that incorporates native plant species to improve stormwater runoff at numerous sites along the ten miles of Lake Superior coastline within the City of Marquette.
Green infrastructure can include bioswales, infiltration planters, rain gardens and other practices. The City of Marquette Engineering Department in cooperation with the SWP will finalize installation sites, project designs and related scheduling. The Great Lakes Climate Corps (GLCC) and the Great Lakes Tribal Conservation Corps (GLTCC) will assist with incorporating native plant, shrub and tree species recommended by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) Natural Resources Department.
“An increase in development and impervious pavement can often mean an increase in warmer, untreated stormwater entering Lake Superior. This Great Lakes funding allows the city and SWP to install a series of green infrastructure projects that help protect Lake Superior water quality and water temperature while improving coastal habitat conditions. Green infrastructure also provides beautiful landscaping; especially when the native wildflowers and shrubs are in bloom!” said SWP Executive Director Carl Lindquist. He also noted that the majority of sites will be on city-owned lakeshore property but the SWP will also consider a couple of residential and small business sites if the conditions are appropriate.
The project will result in improved water quality and improved aquatic and terrestrial habitat conditions, including migratory bird and pollinator habitat, by capturing and filtering untreated stormwater runoff and incorporating native plant species in all green infrastructure installations.
Marquette City Engineer Mik Kilpela said “This grant funding will allow for improvements at many stormwater discharge locations along the City of Marquette public shoreline. Improvements will be in the form of green infrastructure which prioritizes water quality and a diverse native plant and animal habitat. We look forward to collaborating on this unique project to further protect Lake Superior”.
The public will be invited to participate in several restoration and planting events over the life of the project which runs through 2025 . The project is also designed to serve as a model for possible replication by other coastal communities in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes (US and Canada).
Comments