Senators Stabenow, Peters Applaud Great Lakes Investment in Upper Peninsula

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow, Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, and Gary Peters, member of the Great Lakes Task Force, today applauded the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative announcement to allocate $330,403 to reduce pollution and improve water quality in two rivers near Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding will be used to ensure healthy stream banks and natural habitats along the Salmon-Trout and Dead Rivers, which run into Lake Superior.

"This support will clean up the Salmon-Trout and Dead Rivers, restore wildlife habitat, and protect Lake Superior," said Senator Stabenow. "Today's announcement further underscores the importance of partnerships like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which invests in the health of our Great Lakes and waterways."

"The Great Lakes and Michigan's rivers are critical to our state's economy and way of life," Senator Peters said. "This project will help ensure that vital waterways like the Salmon-Trout and Dead Rivers and Lake Superior are protected for generations to come."

"Thanks to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and Senators Stabenow and Peters for supporting both urban and rural watershed protection in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan," said Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Trust Executive Director Carl Lindquist. "Lake Superior is the headwaters of all the Great Lakes. Protecting water quality and restoring important habitat in the headwaters not only has local benefits but also benefits everyone downstream."

The "Lake Superior: Urban and Rural Watershed Restoration" project - one of seven projects chosen in Michigan to receive a total of more than $5.7 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative awards - will implement watershed management plans in the Salmon-Trout and Dead Rivers. The Superior Watershed Partnership's Great Lakes Conservation Corps will conduct the restoration work. Additionally, the project will integrate K-12 classroom and experiential education through the Upper Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative.

Sens. Stabenow and Peters have been strong advocates for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which is a multi-year plan to restore and preserve the Great Lakes by eliminating toxins, combating invasive species, restoring habitats, and promoting the general health of the Lakes.