DEC and New York Sea Grant Announce $200,000 Funding Now Available for Projects to Implement Great Lakes Action Agenda Priorities

Projects to Restore and Protect Great Lakes Lands and Waters Locally

Contact:

Megan Cochran, NYSG Great Lakes Outreach Coordinator, E: mk2236@cornell.edu, P: (716) 270-2490

Buffalo, NY, March 27, 2025 - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York Sea Grant today announced $200,000 funding is now available for projects benefitting New York’s Great Lakes basin by demonstrating the application of ecosystem-based management approaches to local watershed challenges— Deadline to apply is May 2nd 4:30 pm EST.

Projects selected will implement the goals of the New York Great Lakes Action Agenda and address actions specifically identified in locally-supported water quality, natural resources, or sustainable land use plans.

“The Great Lakes are integral to the health of the region’s ecosystems, drinking water quality, and local economies and DEC is grateful to have New York Sea Grant and grant partners helping advance the New York Great Lakes Action Agenda’s goals,” Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “This program provides $200,000 of crucial funding to locally-driven efforts that benefit New York’s Great Lakes communities and protect this vital resource.”

“Through this grant program, New York Sea Grant and the Department of Environmental Conservation are supporting innovative, community-driven projects that address critical challenges and opportunities in the Great Lakes region,” New York Sea Grant Institute Associate Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth, J.D., Ph.D., said. “We look forward to seeing the positive impact of this year’s funded projects.”


Recording from March 26, 2025 Great Lakes Small Grants webinar

Those eligible to apply include not-for-profit organizations; municipalities, county and local government entities; public agencies, such as regional planning and environmental commissions; and educational institutions including, but not limited to, public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. Budget requests cannot exceed $40,000. The application form and guidelines can be found at New York's Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program.

The New York Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program supports stakeholder-driven efforts to restore and revitalize the state’s Great Lakes region using ecosystem-based management and is funded through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and Article 14 of Environmental Conservation Law. New York Sea Grant administers the New York Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program in partnership with the DEC's Great Lakes Program. 

Among the many environmental highlights in the 2025-26 Executive Budget, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed to maintain the historically high level of $400 million in EPF funding. The EPF supports climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, improves agricultural resources to promote sustainable agriculture, protects water sources, advances conservation efforts, and provides recreational opportunities for New Yorkers.

For more information on New York's Great Lakes Action Agenda, visit DEC's website. More information on New York Great Lakes Basin Small Grants projects and other New York Great Lakes-related information is available at New York Sea Grant's website.


Birdseye view of Ellicott Island Park in Amherst, NY during the construction for a living shoreline restoration project to address significant erosion issues along the bank. This work was completed by Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper in 2024 and supported by funds from the NY’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program. Credit: Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper


Before (Inset) and after photos of a living shoreline restoration at Ellicott Island Park in Amherst, NY completed by Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper in 2024. Credit: Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper


Local community members of the Town of Butler, NY installed a new public park adjacent to Butler Mill Pond as a result of a NY’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grant awarded to the Atlantic States Legal Foundation. The Friends of Butler Mill Pond, a new community group, will oversee park maintenance and continue to connect the local community to the pond. Credit: Atlantic States Legal Foundation

More Info: New York Sea Grant

Established in 1966, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Sea Grant College Program promotes the informed stewardship of coastal resources in 34 joint federal/state university-based programs in every U.S. coastal state (marine and Great Lakes) and Puerto Rico. The Sea Grant model has also inspired similar projects in the Pacific region, Korea and Indonesia.

Since 1971, New York Sea Grant (NYSG) has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

NYSG historically leverages on average a 3 to 6-fold return on each invested federal dollar, annually. We benefit from this, as these resources are invested in Sea Grant staff and their work in communities right here in New York.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

New York Sea Grant, one of the largest of the state Sea Grant programs, is a cooperative program of the State University of New York (SUNY) and Cornell University. The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Oswego, the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark, and in Watertown. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County on Long Island, in Queens, at Brooklyn College, with Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC, in Bronx, with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County in Kingston, and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County in Elmsford.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org, follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and YouTube). NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which it publishes 2-3 times a year.