The Alliance for the Great Lakes, founded in 1970 as the Lake Michigan Federation, seeks to conserve and restore the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem using policy, education, and local conservation efforts. Past general support from the Foundation helped the alliance engage in policy discussions pertaining to the Great Lakes Compact and a comprehensive Great Lakes restoration strategy, conduct organizational development activities, and deliver public education and outreach programs. Renewal support will enable the alliance to continue these efforts and complete a planning process to develop a new three-year action plan for the organization.

With this grant increase, the Nature Conservancy will continue to work with the agricultural community in the Saginaw Bay Watershed to implement best management practices that will improve water quality and restore freshwater habitat.

The Great Lakes governors and premiers have announced their intent to develop a new water management regime for the Great Lakes basin that will withstand legal challenge and protect the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem. As new water management policies are developed, the National Wildlife Federation will work closely with other conservation organizations to develop policy recommendations and positions, provide scientific and legal support to nonprofit organizations active on the issue, and lead education and outreach efforts aimed at a variety of audiences with interest in the issue.

Based in Toronto, Environmental Defence is a national environmental organization with a demonstrated commitment to protecting the Great Lakes. With previous Mott support, Environmental Defence worked in Ontario to improve Great Lakes water quality by increasing public engagement and influencing relevant policies. With this grant, Mott will support the full breadth of the organization's Great Lakes efforts, including both water quality and water management initiatives. Specifically, Environmental Defence will work with regional partners to inform the development and implementation of the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; strengthen Ontario's water policies, in part through research and analyses; and build public support for Great Lakes issues. The organization will also take measures to strengthen its own internal operations.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, a leading regional environmental group, works to protect the biodiversity of the Southeast's freshwater resources as states and localities make water management decisions. In recent years, the center has worked with partner organizations to improve water management policies in five southeastern states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. With continued support from Mott, the center will help implement policies recently adopted in many of these states and push for additional policy improvements in all of them.

Oxfam America is a nonprofit organization that seeks to elevate citizen voices in the decision making processes that impact social, economic, and environmental systems. In the aftermath of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster, Oxfam America helped its Gulf of Mexico partners respond to the ongoing impacts of crude oil contamination along the coast. With this grant, Oxfam America will continue connecting local groups to state, regional, and national efforts aimed at restoring and protecting the Gulf of Mexico's coastal wetlands and related ecosystems. Specifically, Oxfam America will collaboratively develop and disseminate maps and data to prioritize the restoration of areas that have both high ecological value and economic importance for vulnerable coastal communities in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Climate change is affecting the Great Lakes region making it necessary for regional resource managers to integrate this new reality into their plans and projects. There is a consequent need for consolidated information and case studies about how this can be done most effectively. EcoAdapt, a national organization dedicated to building the field of climate change adaptation, will address this need by surveying natural resource managers in the Great Lakes basin. The goal of the survey will be to identify and document model approaches to site-based freshwater conservation activities in the face of climate change. The results of the survey will be documented and disseminated through a variety of means, most notably by using the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange, a web site developed by EcoAdapt for the purpose of sharing climate adaptation knowledge.

The Institute for Conservation Leadership is a national technical assistance provider that builds the capacity of environmental organizations through a blended approach of training, consulting, facilitating, and coaching. With previous Mott support, the institute helped strengthen freshwater groups in the Great Lakes and Southeast by assisting with strategic planning, fundraising, leadership development, board engagement, and other organizational development needs. With this renewal, the institute will focus its services in a way that offers more intensive support to organizations and coalitions addressing high-priority freshwater restoration and protection issues in the Great Lakes and southeastern regions of the U.S.

Stormwater runoff in urban areas is one of the top water quality threats across Alabama. Fortunately, many of the state's stormwater pollution control programs are up for review. The Mobile Baykeeper, a well-established group with statewide reach, will lead a collaborative effort to influence the outcome of these policy review processes as well as the implementation of the rules that result. Specific activities will include coordinating the participation of citizens in the administrative rulemaking processes, educating local officials and private-sector partners on the benefits of environmentally friendly development practices, and training citizens to monitor implementation of the stormwater programs.

The National Wildlife Federation will work to improve water quality in the Great Lakes through policy efforts addressing water quality standards for the lakes and their key tributaries. Activities will focus on ensuring the states and the Environmental Protection Agency effectively implement Great Lakes water quality standards in permits, clean up polluted runoff that prevents the attainment of standards, and maintain and where necessary augment water quality standards established by the Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative.

American Rivers, an organization working throughout the U.S, will assist conservation leaders in the southeastern U.S. to attend a national conference on how to protect and restore natural river flows. Such flows are necessary to support aquatic life, floodplains, wetlands, water supply, and recreational uses.

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana seeks to protect and restore Louisiana's coastline and the associated freshwater systems. With prior support from Mott, the coalition implemented programs to increase protections for Louisiana's coastal wetlands, reinstate natural freshwater flows in key areas, and respond to the 2010 BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This grant increase will allow the organization to help restore priority coastal wetlands from oil contamination by providing technical information and assistance to state-level decision makers and a variety of local, regional, and national partners.

The Louisiana Environmental Action Network is a statewide membership organization that has been working for 23 years to protect the state's most productive and important freshwater systems. With prior Mott support, the network helped reform Louisiana's water permitting practices, improved specific water quality discharge permits, and responded to freshwater contamination resulting from the 2010 BP oil drilling disaster. This grant increase will allow the network to document spill-related damage to the wetlands, marshes, and estuaries along Louisiana's coastline. The network will provide the collected data, and related analyses, to the partners, communities, and decision makers working on Louisiana's restoration programs.

The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, a program of Tulane University, works to protect and restore Louisiana's important freshwater systems, including its coastal wetlands. With prior Mott support, the clinic partnered with community and environmental groups to clean up mercury contamination, reduce sewage pollution, and assist in responding to the 2010 BP oil drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. With this grant increase, the clinic will provide legal and technical assistance to partners and citizens working to maximize freshwater protections through the ongoing remediation and protection efforts related to the oil spill.

The Gulf Restoration Network is a regional environmental organization that represents a diverse partnership of groups working to protect and restore the Gulf of Mexico's coastline and its connected wetlands. With previous Mott support, the network coordinated groups across the five Gulf Coast states, provided technical information and policy analyses, and conducted public outreach in support of increased coastal protections. Currently, the network is focused on helping the coastline, and coastal communities, recover from the oil released during the 2010 BP drilling disaster. This general purposes grant increase will help the network lead a regional collaborative to guide resources to high-priority restoration projects and establish a regional citizens advisory committee to help oversee the safety of coastal and off-shore oil extraction activities.