UW-Stevens Point projects receive federal funding
8/17/2016
 

Projects led by University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point faculty members are among those receiving $1.58 million in federal funding. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the awards as part of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act grant program to restore sustainable populations of fish and wildlife resources, and their habitats, in the Great Lakes Basin. 

Among the seven research and restoration grant projects funded are three led by faculty members in the university's College of Natural Resources. With $650,000 in grants, the projects and leaders are:

  • Spawning Site Contribution and Movements of Lake Whitefish in Northwestern Lake Michigan, $276,962 – Dan Isermann
  • Maximizing Capture of Lake Sturgeon and Other Species in the Fish Elevator on the Menominee River, $191,346 – Joshua Raabe and Isermann
  • Genetic Origin and Movements of Lake Sturgeon in the St. Louis River and Western Lake Superior, $180,693 -- Justin VanDeHey

Dams reduce connectivity and habitat access on many Great Lakes tributaries, limiting the recovery of lake sturgeon and negatively influencing other migratory fishes, said Raabe, assistant professor at UW-Stevens Point. "Our research will greatly increase understanding of factors that influence successful captures in a fish elevator and lake sturgeon behaviors as they approach and use upstream and downstream passage structures on the Menominee River."

Since 1998, the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act has provided more than $24.4 million dollars in federal funding to 157 research and restoration projects. When combined with required matching funds, this equals more than $36.1 million of benefits to Great Lakes fish, wildlife and the habitats on which they depend. More than 100 organizations have contributed more than $11.7 million in matching non-federal partner support.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to a collaborative vision for conservation in the Midwest Region envisioned in the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act. I am pleased we can continue to support the valuable work of our partners through this legislation," said Tom Melius, the Service's Midwest regional director.

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