Lake Conservation Grant

Lake Conservation Grant is a grant from the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (administered by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) that funds projects to restore and protect fish habitat in glacial lakes and their watersheds across nine Midwestern states.

Projects may include watershed-level nutrient control, water quality and erosion control, native vegetation or wetland rehabilitation, natural riparian and in-lake habitat restoration, fish passage barrier removal, and community outreach. Past awards have ranged from $9,163 to $133,425.

Funded through the National Fish Habitat Partnership via the America's Conservation Enhancement Act, the next request for proposals for FY2027 funding is expected in August 2026. Eligible applicants include organizations involved in aquatic conservation and habitat restoration.

Lake Conservation Grant – Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership The MGLP is one of twenty partnerships that span the nation under the umbrella of the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP). The MGLP area of focus is glacial lakes and their watersheds. Nine Midwestern states, numerous federal agencies, tribal governments, and private natural resource entities have been integral partners in the development and operation of the MGLP.

The MGLP service area (black stippling) and states that are at least partially covered by the MGLP footprint. Examples of past MGLP projects that have restored natural shorelines (left; photo by Mark Keiser), removed fish passage barriers (center; Joe Nohner), and assessed nutrient loading in the watershed (right; Jerry Sweeten).

Projects considered for funding must align with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and can range in scale from single-site projects to multiple sites to entire glacial lake watersheds. Projects should address the processes that cause fish habitat impairments as opposed to managing or treating the symptoms of those causes.

Examples include, but are not limited to: projects that implement or demonstrate new approaches watershed-level nutrient control projects; water quality and erosion control measures; native vegetation or wetland rehabilitation; natural riparian or in-lake habitat restoration and protection; barrier removal for improved native fish passage; fish population or watershed assessments needed for project evaluation; habitat assessment, prioritization and planning for future habitat projects; evaluating current and future habitat conditions; projects addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation through fish habitat; projects training biologists and managers on inland lake fish habitat management tools and approaches; and community outreach and education on the importance of and how to better conserve glacial lake fish habitat.

In addition to conducting independent outreach and/or education, successful applicants will be expected to work with the MGLP to coordinate media and public outreach to raise the profile of MGLP-funded projects. The MGLP Lake Conservation Grant allocates federal funding provided through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in support of the National Fish Habitat Partnership.

Successful grant applicants identified by the MGLP will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop and implement grant agreements in accordance with relevant federal financial and administrative rules. If you have a lake conservation project aligned with the goals and objectives of the MGLP and need financial assistance, we encourage you to submit a proposal for project funding.

The MGLP will hold a webinar to provide information about the Lake Conservation Grant on December 10, 2024; those interested in attending can register on the MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars webpage . If you have any additional questions, please contact Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan. gov or 517-599-6825.

For the past few years, the MGLP has announced its request for proposals in November, so we would typically be announcing our request for fiscal year 2027 proposals in November 2025. We’ve worked to reduce the time it takes for our decision-making process, providing partners with a faster turnaround time on their grant applications. So, starting in the upcoming grant cycle, we’ll be sending that same request out in August 2026.

We’ll still be awarding Lake Conservation Grant funds every year, but with no request for proposals until August 2026, it may feel like there hasn’t been a request for proposals for a long time while we catch up with the grant cycle. The timeline below illustrates the revised schedule for the 2027 Lake Conservation Grant.

The new timeline was enabled by legislative changes supported by the National Fish Habitat Partnership and the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership. Funding for the Lake Conservation Grant is overseen by the National Fish Habitat Partnership and administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service through the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act (ACE Act).

Changes to the ACE Act now allow fish habitat partnerships such as the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership to submit our ranked project lists to the National Fish Habitat Partnership Board at a later date, shortening the decision-making process and providing quicker responses on grant applications. NOTE: The deadline for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 proposals has passed.

We expect to release a request for proposals for FY2027 funding in August 2026 on this website and through our newsletter email list . The information below reflects the FY2026 process, which may change in FY2027. Please click on the links below to download the application documents.

If they don’t automatically download, try right-clicking, copying the link address, and then pasting into a new window or simply email Joe Nohner at nohnerj@michigan. gov . 2026 Request for proposals, instructions, and handbook 2026 Grant application form 2026 Budget and metrics template You can find a map of past projects on the National Fish Habitat Partnership’s Project and Accomplishments Dashboard .

Acre-for-acre restoration of lake hydrology and Northern Pike spawning habitat for Cedar Lake (Michigan) – Cedar Lake Improvement Board ($84,310) Advancing a statewide Lake Steward Program to promote natural shorelines and fish habitat – Minnesota Lakes and Rivers ($58,250) Ottawa County (Michigan) natural shoreline restoration project – Ottawa Conservation District ($68,385) Walleye habitat engagement in Wisconsin – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ($12,741) Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership operations – Michigan Department of Natural Resources ($81,898) Assessing and restoring shoreline vegetation to improve lake habitat, Comfort Lake – Forest Lake Watershed District ($60,000) Designing and engineering wetland restoration to protect aquatic habitat and benefit a Cisco population at Long Lake, Springfield Township ($40,000) Local partners collaborate to solve fish passage issues in priority systems and train local teams, Hubbard County Soil and Water Conservation District ($35,621) Restoration of Turkey Creek and Martin Creek to reduce nutrients and sediment entering Lake Wawasee, Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation ($42,000) Stearns County shoreline habitat restoration projects, Stearns County Soil & Water Conservation District ($75,000) Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Operations, Michigan Department of Natural Resources ($78,082) Fostering Stewardship on Michigan’s Glacial Lakes ($68,910) Linking Forests Water & Fisheries in the Midwest Glacial Lake Region: Building a Shared Conservation Funding Vision ($30,000) Nutrient and sediment loadings in Clear Lake, Indiana: Water quality improvement and sustainable fish habitat ($59,450) Phase 4: Data and Approaches to Support Conservation Efforts of the MGLP ($133,425) Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership operations ($60,271) Assessing relationships between fisheries and aquatic vegetation to improve lake habitat management (MGLP Region; $60,155) Shoreline habitat restoration projects (MN; $75,000) Identifying and prioritizing lakes of biological significance (MN; $37,646) Lake Goguac stormwater diversion (MI; $75,000) Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership operations (MGLP Region; $76,436) Crooked Lake Basin Landowner Outreach (MN; $30,000) Quantifying multi-scale drivers of hypolimnetic oxygen to inform management of Cisco habitat (MN & MI; $58,505) Citizens Protecting and Maintaining iconic Chain of Lakes fisheries (MN; $97,122.

10) Stearns County Shoreline Habitat Restoration (MN; $75,000) Lake Goguac stormwater diversion (MI; $75,000) Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Operations (MGLP Region; $47,886) Assessing and conserving high-quality Michigan lakes for Cisco and Walleye (MI; $86,357) Systems-level perspectives on fish habitat: capacity building workshops with lake associations across the Midwest (MGLP Region; $56,043) MGLP Database Management (MGLP Region; $40,000) Prairie Lake and Lizzie Lake fish passage (MN; $30,000.

00) Pickerel Lake shoreline restoration project (SD; $30,000. 00 ) Nutrient and sediment loads entering Lake Wawasee: A scientific approach to assess lake restoration strategies (IN; $15,000.

00) MGLP Database Management (MGLP Region; $40,501) Promoting Bioengineering Options for Erosion Control on Michigan Inland Lakes ($22,500) Lake Carlos fish passage project (MN; $30,000) Assessment of oxythermal habitat of Cisco in Minnesota lakes for prioritizing habitat protection efforts ($47,750) Assessment of critical thermal fish habitat in Midwest Glacial Lakes Fish Habitat Partnership lakes: Phase II (MGLP Region; $30,000) Reconnecting Mason Creek to Duck Lake Restoration Project (MI; $50,000) MGLP Database Management (MGLP Region; $17,495) Crane Lake Fish Passage (MN; $25,000) Stearns County Shoreline Habitat Restoration Project (MN; $63,000) Eagle Lake Nearshore Habitat Restoration & Septic System Discharge Mitigation with Native Vegetation (MI; $35,300) Growing degree day assessment in the MGLP (MGLP Region; $22,881) Habitat Assessment and Prioritization for Cisco and Walleye Lakes in the Midwest Glacial Lakes Fish Habitat Partnership (MGLP Region; $40,000) Michigan Shoreland Stewards: Partnering to Protect our Inland Lakes through Outreach and Education ($11,256) Island Protection Projects on Webster and Loon Lakes (IN; $25,000) Knutson Dam Modernization Project Cass Lake (MN; $25,000) Partnering with MGLP to Restore Habitat in St.

Croix Headwaters Watershed Lakes (WI; $9,163) Phase II Assessment for MGLP using Science to Evaluate Lake Health and Fish Potential in Lakes (MGLP Region; $18,875) Protecting the Unique Sinkhole Lakes in the Pigeon River Country State Forest (MI; $20,504) Healthy Shorelines Initiative in the Upper Tippecanoe River Watershed (IN, $25,000) Greenbelt Workshops for Lakefront Property Owners in Northern Michigan ($17,200) Near Shore Woody Habitat Restoration Long Lake, Chippewa County (WI; $13,756) Strategic fish habitat conservation directed through GIS modeling (MGLP Region) Human Disturbance Index Development for Glacial Lakes Based on Dock Frequency (MGLP Region) Large Woody Habitat Rehabilitation Project in the Northern Lakes and Forest Ecoregion of Wisconsin ($18,571) Protection for Sensitive Fish Habitats in Cass County, Minnesota ($28,571) Lakescaping Demonstration Projects in Eastern South Dakota ($21,429) Using GIS to prioritize fish habitat conservation for the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP Region; $71,429)