In a win for West Michigan, the Ottawa Conservation District (OCD) has received a total of $1,314,213 through a variety of grants and contracts to support both Ottawa County surface water quality monitoring efforts and hemlock woolly adelgid surveys and treatments in West Michigan.
On May 14th, 2024, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved awarding the OCD a $995,465 contract for a Water Quality Monitoring Initiative through the Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office. The Ottawa Conservation District, in collaboration with the ODC Network, will utilize the funding to conduct water quality sampling, habitat surveys, and land surveys to better understand the concentrations, effects, and potential sources of nonpoint source pollutants within Ottawa County watersheds and target critical areas for future pollutant reduction efforts. The initiative will help fill knowledge gaps where water quality impairments are suspected or have been observed, but no official data exists to back up claims. Additionally, OCD was also awarded a $5,300 Volunteer Stream Monitoring Start-Up grant through MiCorps to start putting together a volunteer stream monitoring program. This program will educate members of the public interested in learning more about surface water quality monitoring methods and better understanding their local surface water quality by hosting water sampling & habitat survey workshops and having volunteers conduct regular water quality sampling.
The West Michigan Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (WMCISMA), which OCD is the fiduciary of, has also recently received a collective $313,448 to continue hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) treatments to protect and conserve native Eastern hemlock trees, as well as continue treatments for other invasive watch list species. $200,000 received through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will target HWA treatments along the northern edge of the HWA containment area, primarily in Mason County and above, to help contain the spread of the invasive insect. $17,448 received through the Environmental Protection Agency (subawarded by Michigan DNR) will focus HWA treatments on US Forest Service land near Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area. $91,600 received through the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program will help provide continuous funding to support the WMCISMA Coordinator and includes funding for West Michigan Conservation Network projects that would allow for watch list species treatments, priority Right of Way treatments, excavation company treatments, black swallow-wort treatments, and invasive species treatment workshops.
OCD and WMCISMA is thankful for the generous support and is excited to continue its mission: helping people conserve, maintain, and improve natural resources and the environment for future
