GLRI grants contributing to improvements in St. Louis River Area of Concern

Federal, state and local officials recently celebrated the gains made at the St. Louis River Area of Concern on Lake Superior, where one major habitat restoration project has just been completed and another has received funding.

“The future health of Duluth is dependent on our stewardship of Lake Superior and improving the integrity of the St. Louis River,” Duluth, Minnesota Mayor Don Ness, whose city hosts the Chambers Grove Park, which was restored with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), said. “The river continues to be the backbone of Duluth’s economic health which is made stronger through partnerships with the EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and our state partners.”

Ness joined Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Susan Hedman, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN) and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on a tour of the park. The GLRI will also provide $2 million in funding for a habitat project in Duluth Harbor.

"Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding has played a major role in the significant progress that has been made in the St. Louis River Area of Concern during the past five years — and it will play an even greater role in the future.” Hedman said. "Federal, state and local partners are working together to restore habitat and to clean up contamination that accumulated in the river and harbor during decades of industrial activity that occurred before modern environmental laws were enacted."