The mission of the GLFT is to provide funding
to enhance, protect, and rehabilitate Great Lakes fishery
resources to compensate for lost use and enjoyment caused
by the operation of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant.
Funding priorities reflect the GLFT
strategic plan adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2005.
Funding Goals, Themes, and Priorities
The overarching goal of this funding category
is to develop knowledge and management capability that will
restore and maintain the biological integrity of the Lake
Michigan fish community so that production of desirable
fish is sustainable and ecologically efficient. Proposals
submitted under this funding category should be focused
on activities -- based upon the application of science,
technology, and policy -- that can lead to habitat enhancement
and rehabilitation, promote sustainable fish populations,
and prevent the introduction and/or control the abundance
and distribution of invasive species. Moreover, since the
GLFT board and Scientific Advisory Team members represent
either the agencies involved in the development of the Lake
Michigan Fish-Community Objectives or the constituent
organizations that provide advice to state, federal, and
provincial governments (under the auspices of the Great
Lakes Fishery Commission), the GLFT goals and related grant
outcomes are intended to be consistent with those objectives
and support the consensus already achieved.
Funding Goals
The GLFT will fund projects that
- Provide funding for projects that have
direct management implications (e.g., applied research
or development/enhancement of management tools;
- Support basic research only when there
is a clear consensus that such efforts are essential to
address a critical issue facing fishery managers; and
- Encourage collaborative projects among
researchers and between management organizations to address
high-priority issues.
Funding Themes
The GLFT recognizes that the goals stated
above represent a wide range of potential activities, so
the research themes are explained in more detail below to
assist in the preparation of proposals.
- Lake Sturgeon
rehabilitation (GLFT's funding priorities for
its lake sturgeon grant category are based largely on
proceedings from four Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon coordination
meetings from 2000-2006, which can be viewed in the Resource
Library.)
- Lake Trout rehabilitation
- Ecosystem stress and energy dynamics related
to food web disruption caused by invasive
species
- Recruitment related to
(1) health problems that impact the sustainability of
valuable sport and commercial species and (2) implications
on trout and salmon stocking rates based upon assessment
of available forage base
- Innovative research intended to lead to
effective means to prevent the introduction of invasive
species in the Great Lakes or to limit the range
and/or abundance of invasive, exotic species already present
in the Great Lakes
- Seminars, symposia, and similar activities
to ensure broad dissemination of research findings
among Great Lakes researchers, management agencies, and
stakeholders
- Research that models
critical ecosystem components essential to sustainable
population management of the most valued species
- Research and analysis that documents the
economic, environmental, and/or social
contribution of various elements of the fishery
Note: While the GLFT strategic plan adopted
by the Board of Trustees in 2005 denotes habitat assessment,
inventory, and classification as fundable activities, they
will not be funded under this RFP. In 2005, the GLFT, in
collaboration with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, funded a project
titled, Identifying and quantifying critical fisheries habitat
for Great Lakes lower riverine and nearshore zones. The
goal of this project is to assess the type and extent to
which varying scientific and management techniques are being
employed to conduct habitat research and monitoring that
promotes sustainable fish populations and the relative level
of success of such efforts to meet objectives. The study
is intended to help funding organizations identify and establish
collaborative funding priorities related to habitat. Recommendations
from the project will be incorporated into the 2009 RFP.
Priority Focus Areas
Among the research themes the GLFT funds,
two are considered a priority for funding:
- Food web disruption:
In 2001 the Great Lakes Fishery Trust entered into a partnership
with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and members of
the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network to focus research efforts
on food-web disruptions caused by ongoing introductions
of non-native aquatic invertebrates. The scientific rationale
for the partnership is identified in a white paper, Exotic
invertebrates, food-web disruption, and lost fish production:
understanding impacts of dreissenid and cladoceran invaders
on lower lakes fish communities and forecasting invasion
impacts on upper lakes fish communities. The white paper
can be accessed electronically at: www.foodwebdisruption.org.
- Diporeia
decline:
The GLFT will prioritize
projects that address the collapse or disappearance of
the amphipod Diporeia spp. in the Great Lakes, based on
a workshop in October 2005 and its proceedings and recommendations.
While a number of studies have documented the collapse
of Diporeia in several regions of the Great Lakes, these
studies have not specifically examined reasons for its
decline, and cause and effect mechanisms remain unknown.
On a broad spatial scale, the decline of Diporeia is often
circumstantially linked to the expansion of dreissenids,
however, on a more local scale this relationship is not
always supported. The GLFT seeks research proposals that
address the mechanistic effects that are leading to declines
of Diporeia in the Great Lakes. Applicants are encouraged
to review the workshop
proceedings document.
Application Information
Geographic Scope
In an on-going effort to expand the portfolio
of projects and researchers from the Great Lakes region
and beyond, projects outside of the Lake Michigan basin
will be considered if their results and outcomes are transferable
to Lake Michigan. While the GLFT's primary objective is
to manage its resources to compensate for the lost use and
enjoyment of the Lake Michigan fishery resulting from the
operation of the Ludington Pumped Storage Facility, the
GLFT encourages grant applications focusing on issues and
techniques in which the results of the projects will lead
to better understanding and management of the Lake Michigan
fishery.
Project Amount
Up to $2 million in grants will be disbursed
in 2008. There is no cost or time limitations on grant requests.
However, projects will be evaluated on the cost versus the
expected benefits as well as upon the reasonableness of
the time requested to complete the project.
Who Can Apply?
Proposals are encouraged from educational,
governmental, tribal, and nonprofit institutions with a
501(c)(3) designation from the IRS. Canadian public and
nonprofit organizations are also eligible.
Application Process
The GLFT has a two-step application process:
pre-proposals and, for successful applicants, full proposals.
Pre-proposals for 2009 are due January 20, 2009. Pre-proposals
must be submitted through the GLFT eGrant system on or before
the deadline. Preproposals submitted after this date and
time will not be considered. The eGrant system will be made
available in early December of each year.
Supplemental Information
Projects that focus on the human health implications
of environmental contaminants will not
be considered for funding. However, projects that consider
the consequences of environmental pollutants on the recruitment
or health of a Great Lakes fish species are eligible.
