EMPIRE -- There will soon be new work aimed at restoring wildlife habitat and the lakeshore, while giving people new job opportunities.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and the National Parks Service will announce details of a new project Thursday at 10:30 a.m.. The restoration project will be taking place at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Several projects planned for the Huron-Manistee National Forest were announced Wednesday. The EPA said it will devote $592,400 to the projects.
They'll include improving habitat for several threatened or endangered species, including the Karner blue butterfly, the piping plover, the Kirtland's warbler and the Massasagua rattlesnake. Other work will focus on removing invasive species and stabilizing stream banks.
The money will come from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a wide-ranging plan to fix environmental problems in the lakes and their tributaries.
In August, EPA announced that $6 million of the Great Lakes money would be directed to projects designed to hire unemployed workers.
