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Ecosystem restoration takes a big effort and big engineering

July 12th, 2012 by
 
One of the unsung agencies that is heavily involved in restoring coastal ecosystems just happens to be one of the biggest and most crucial – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
 
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and their Ecosystem Restoration Program are heavily involved in planning, developing, and executing projects that restore damaged ecosystems and areas and provide environmental benefits to communities, including several projects in and around the Great Lakes.
 
From the U.S. Army website: 
“The USACE works to restore degraded ecosystems to a more natural condition through large-scale ecosystem restoration projects, such as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration, Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration, Chesapeake Bay Oyster Recovery, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Beneficial Use of Dredged Material (restoration of marsh critical to the endangered Whooping Crane), and Houston Ship Channel Beneficial Use of Dredged Material (marsh restoration in Galveston Bay), and by employing system-wide watershed approaches to problem solving and management for smaller ecosystem restoration projects.”
Read more about this terrific program and about the substantial work that goes into these projects at the article linked above.

Lake Zurich water resources planning report now available

June 12th, 2012 by
The Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) all collaborated on a recently released report, “Recommendations for Integrated Water Resources Planning in Lake Zurich.”

The report combines study and information of a wide range of factors in order to provide appropriate recommendations for planning the community’s use of water. 

 
From the Metropolitan Planning Council’s website: 
 
“This report is the culmination of one year of cooperative work, from March 2011 through March 2012, between the Village of Lake Zurich and a project team led by Metropolitan Planning Council in partnership with the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. Through MPC’s Community Building Initiative, the team also convened a 13-member task force consisting of volunteer members with expertise in ecology, economics, engineering, law, planning, and utility management, to assist and advise the project team.”
 
The report not only provides information to water planners and local officials in Lake Zurich, but can be a model for other communities, laying out a variety of factors to consider and ways to meet the needs of customers while planning for the future. 
 
The complete report is available for download at the link above.

IISG Instagram

Happy Juneteenth from all of us at Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant!

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Happy Juneteenth from all of us at Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant!

Got a research idea for southern Lake Michigan?

IISG’s 2026 Seed Grant Research Competition is open. Up to $150,000 total funding for pilot studies that could become your next big project.

💵 $10,000 to $50,000 per project
⏰ Applications due August 17, 2026

Two info webinars coming up: July 2 and July 21.

🔗 Full details at the link in bio.

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Got a research idea for southern Lake Michigan? IISG’s 2026 Seed Grant Research Competition is open. Up to $150,000 total funding for pilot studies that could become your next big project.💵 $10,000 to $50,000 per project⏰ Applications due August 17, 2026Two info webinars coming up: July 2 and July 21.🔗 Full details at the link in bio.

Add a Great Lakes twist to your summer reading! Discover stories inspired by our region with Great Lakes Great Reads. Check out reading lists perfect for beach days or quiet evenings.
https://greatlakesgreatread.org/

#BeachReads

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Add a Great Lakes twist to your summer reading! Discover stories inspired by our region with Great Lakes Great Reads. Check out reading lists perfect for beach days or quiet evenings.https://greatlakesgreatread.org/#BeachReads

Real-time coastlines, real-world insights. Check out the LIVE feed of Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes State Park Beach – supporting recreationalists, researchers, and the broader public at the link in bio.

This work is in partnership between Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (@secoora_org), the Great Lakes Observing System (@greatlakesobservingsystem), Indiana Dunes State Park (@indianadunessp), Indiana Department of Natural Resources (@indianadnr), and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant with support from Surfline (@surfline).

Check out IISG’s website for more information on this collaborative project at the link in bio.

Also featured on Seagull and Indiana Coastal Atlas.

Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources
University of Illinois Extension
Southern Lake Michigan Water Safety Task Force
US National Weather Service Chicago Illinois
Save the Dunes
Shirley Heinze Land Trust
Indiana Dunes National Park
Indiana Dunes
Friends of Indiana Dunes, Inc.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18101106293323952
Real-time coastlines, real-world insights. Check out the LIVE feed of Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes State Park Beach – supporting recreationalists, researchers, and the broader public at the link in bio.This work is in partnership between Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (@secoora_org), the Great Lakes Observing System (@greatlakesobservingsystem), Indiana Dunes State Park (@indianadunessp), Indiana Department of Natural Resources (@indianadnr), and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant with support from Surfline (@surfline).Check out IISG’s website for more information on this collaborative project at the link in bio. Also featured on Seagull and Indiana Coastal Atlas.Purdue Forestry and Natural ResourcesUniversity of Illinois ExtensionSouthern Lake Michigan Water Safety Task ForceUS National Weather Service Chicago IllinoisSave the DunesShirley Heinze Land TrustIndiana Dunes National ParkIndiana DunesFriends of Indiana Dunes, Inc.