EPA awards Great Lakes grants to Central Michigan, Clarkson

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded grants to Central Michigan University and Clarkson University to continue monitoring coastal wetlands and fish contaminants throughout the Great Lakes basin.

Central Michigan will receive $10 million to monitor approximately 1,000 wetlands over the next five years. The money will help the school monitor the health and trends in plant, invertebrate, amphibian, fish, and bird communities as well as water quality.

'œThe Great Lakes program ensures that managers can make decisions about these critical ecosystems based on sound science while being proactive rather than reactionary,'ť said Donald Uzarski, director of Central Michigan's Institute for Great Lakes Research.

Clarkson in Potsdam, New York, will get about $6 million to monitor contaminants in top predator fish in the Great Lakes. The research will evaluate trends in contaminant concentrations in fish and assess changes in contaminant transfer through the food web.

'œGlobal commerce, recreation enthusiasts and municipalities within the entire Great Lakes ecosystem rely upon the extraordinary science and innovative solutions from this research team addressing contaminant trends in fish and ensuring healthy water supplies,'ť said Robyn Hannigan, Clarkson provost.