Reversing historical losses and changing practices which result in the direct discharge of polluted municipal and industrial runoff into streams, rivers, and lakes, are important goals for the State, its communities, and its citizens. Although much progress has been made in cleaning up our Great Lakes and their contributing watersheds, much remains to be accomplished.

In 2001, Congress appropriated $30 million to NOAA for grants to Great Lakes states for projects that protect and restore coastal resources and water quality in the Great Lakes watershed. The Division, in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Conservation, is administering New York's share of this program. New York's share of the Great Lakes Coastal Watershed Restoration Program was $4.5 million and has been awarded for 24 projects in the region.

Projects selected represent a mix of activities to address existing impairments or threats including:

• erosion control and debris removal,
• restoration of tributary streams flowing into the Great Lakes,
• improvement of fish passage,
• establishment of vegetated buffer zones around water bodies to improve wildlife habitat,
• stormwater runoff treatment improvements,
• purchase of conservation easements for preservation of water quality and habitats, and
• coastal habitat and watershed management planning to maintain benefits in perpetuity.

In Niagara County, a habitat restoration project along Eighteen Mile Creek will assess and restore a one mile stretch of this important tributary to Lake Ontario. Work will include removing debris, stabilizing streambanks, improving stream beds and planting native vegetation.

In Monroe County, a regionally critical 35 acre complex of coastal forest and wetlands in the Town of Parma will be protected through acquisition.

On the Tug Hill Plateau, a 45,000 acre acquisition/conservation easement will protect a large forested tract of land at the headwaters of several important rivers, eliminating the threat of development, improving the protection of municipal water supplies by maintaining intact a natural watershed and protecting riparian and woodland habitats.

Further inland in the Great Lakes watershed, the Division of Coastal Resources is working in partnership with the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council to assist implementation of the Cayuga, Canandaigua, and Conesus Lake watershed plans. Lessons learned in this project will be shared throughout the Great Lakes watershed.

The Great Lakes Coastal Restoration Grant Program is making a difference in New York. However, the fight to protect these majestic waterways and counter the detrimental water quality and habitat effects of past activities is far from over. Many more excellent projects in the Great Lakes watershed await future funding.