DEC & New York Sea Grant announce nearly $200,000 in Great Lakes Basin Small Grants project awards

$2 million invested since 2015 to support projects that enhance health & resilience of New York’s Great Lakes lands & waters

New York Sea Grant Press Release & Photo

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York Sea Grant (NYSG) announced $199,696 in grants for five Great Lakes basin projects. The initiatives support local community plans to restore water quality, protect ecosystems, and strengthen community resilience and stewardship. These selected projects support measurable progress toward the priority goals of the Great Lakes Action Agenda for New York’s Great Lakes watershed.

“New York’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants support local science-based projects that restore habitats, combat invasive species, and engage communities while strengthening the resilience of our shared environment and the state’s economy,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “Through partnerships like this with New York Sea Grant, DEC is advancing the goals of the Great Lakes Action Agenda and delivering real, measurable results.” 

“New York’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants support local efforts to restore and revitalize the natural features that are vital infrastructure for their communities and economies,” said New York Sea Grant Associate Director and Cornell University Cooperative Extension Assistant Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth, Ph.D., J.D., said. “The projects apply a holistic approach that recognizes the dynamic interaction of ecological, social and economic systems.”

New York’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants program has awarded more than $2 million in small grants to date for a combined total of 66 projects since the program’s inception in 2015. The five projects selected for this round of New York’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants funding include: 

•Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper: $40,000 for “Sheridan Park Living Shoreline” to implement a living shoreline restoration at Sheridan Park in the Town of Tonawanda. This project will transform 6.75 acres and more than 2,700 linear feet of degraded land along Two Mile Creek into a resilient and ecologically functional riparian area.

•Western New York Land Conservancy: $40,000 for “Addressing Common Invasive Species in Western New York Forests with Education for Forest Landowners” to restore 49 acres at Kenneglenn Scenic Nature Sanctuary and Mossy Point Preserve. This project will include invasive plant species management and programming workshops to educate local forest landowners about invasive species identification and management strategies. 

New York Sea Grant, a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, administers the program in partnership with DEC’s Great Lakes Program. The program is funded through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund and Article 14: the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act outlined in the EPF. The 2025-26 enacted state budget increases the EPF to a record $425 million, helping support critical environmental programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, enhanced recreational access, water quality improvement, and an aggressive environmental justice agenda.

More information on the New York’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants program with past project profiles is online. Learn more about the New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda that applies ecosystem-based management to conserve, protect and enhance New York state’s Great Lakes natural resources on DEC’s website.