Over $890,000 in grants will benefit Michigan fish and aquatic systems

Funding will support 10 projects across the state

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has announced recipients for the 2025 Fisheries Habitat Grants. Ten conservation projects on lakes and streams throughout the state will share $892,200. The funds are matched by more than $240,000 in partner contributions, for a total conservation value of over $1.1 million.

Funded projects are located in the following counties: Allegan, Calhoun, Cheboygan, Crawford, Grand Traverse, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Newaygo, Oceana, Shiawassee and Wayne.

“Supporting partner organizations with these projects is crucial to create healthier lakes and streams with healthier fish populations, better habitat and cleaner water,” said Randy Claramunt, chief of the DNR Fisheries Division. “Michigan’s natural resources are an important part of our culture and economy, and these projects will provide long-lasting benefits to protect and enhance aquatic ecosystems in the state.”

The funded projects will rehabilitate and protect valuable fish habitats that provide the foundation for Michigan’s fisheries. DNR Priority Habitat Conservation Projects — those proactively identified by the department as important to sustaining healthy habitats, fisheries and aquatic communities — accounted for five of the funded projects. Seven of the selected projects directly benefit priorities of Michigan’s Wildlife Action Plan.

The Fisheries Habitat Grant program provides funding for a variety of activities including fish habitat conservation, dam removal and repair, and resource assessment studies. Funding for the program comes from fishing license sales and state of Michigan general funds.

For this grant cycle, fishing license sales contributed $542,200, and an additional $350,000 comes from general funds for dam management grants, applied to two eligible projects this year. Partners leverage matching funds and additional grants and funding sources to complete projects that would otherwise be financially out of reach for a single organization.

Fisheries Habitat Grant funds also were used to support dam removal projects throughout the state, providing $50,000 in match for a $5 million federal America’s Ecosystem Restoration Initiative grant as a broader project to remove over 27 dams and barriers to fish passage in Michigan.

Joe Nohner, a resource specialist with the DNR Fisheries Division, said the funded projects will protect and rehabilitate aquatic habitats across the state, while in many cases also improving public safety through the removal of dams.

“These projects are critical to strengthening and maintaining populations of fishes and other aquatic species,” Nohner said. “They will contribute to fish migration in over 147 miles of Michigan streams and boost public safety by working toward the removal or replacement of five dams."

Funded projects

This year’s projects (and counties where projects are located) include:

• Caledonia Charter Township — Brick Plant Causeway removal (Shiawassee County), $87,600.
• Calhoun Conservation District — Athens Dam feasibility study (Calhoun County), $65,000. (Athens Dam pictured above)
• DNR Wildlife Division — Swan Creek Dam Removal, Highbanks Dam Modification and Koopman Marsh restoration (Allegan County), $270,000.
• Friends of the Rouge — Johnson Creek culvert inventory and monitoring (Wayne County), $80,600.
• Grand Traverse Conservation District — Boardman River woody habitat project (Grand Traverse County), $123,600.
• Little Manistee Watershed Conservation Council — Little Manistee River woody habitat project (Lake, Manistee and Mason counties), $54,100.
• Michigan Trout Unlimited — Au Sable River woody habitat project (Crawford County), $27,000.
• Michigan Trout Unlimited — Pigeon River ice storm wood management (Cheboygan County), $30,000.
• Pentwater Lake Improvement Board — Pentwater Lake habitat improvement project (Oceana County), $35,000.
• Village of Hesperia — Hesperia Dam fish passage project (Newaygo and Oceana counties), $119,300.

Fisheries Habitat Grant funding is available to local, state, federal and tribal governments and nonprofit groups through an open, competitive process.

Learn more about the Fisheries Habitat Grant program and other grant opportunities at Michigan.gov/DNRGrants.

Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows.

• Athens Dam: Athens Dam (Calhoun County), one of the project sites awarded Fisheries Habitat Grant funding in the current grant cycle.
• Little Manistee River: The Little Manistee River (Manistee County) will be the site of a woody habitat project supported by Fisheries Habitat Grant funds in the current grant cycle.