The DNR Lake Michigan Coastal Program (LMCP) is seeking public input on funding priorities for the 2016 funding cycle of the Coastal Grants Program.

The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, June 17, at Woodland Park, 2100 Willowcreek Road, Portage.

Those unable to attend also can submit suggestions to Maggie Byrne, LMCP grants specialist, at mbyrne@dnr.IN.gov before the meeting.

The Coastal Grants Program is a competitive grants program that awards funding to units of local government, regional and state agencies, colleges and universities, and non-profit organizations. The funds may be spent on public access or habitat improvements, land acquisition, planning and coordination, education and outreach, applied research, and emerging issues projects. Multiple suggestions may be submitted for each category. Projects must be located entirely within the Lake Michigan Coastal Area, the northern portions of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties.

Since 2001, the Coastal Grants Program has funded more than $12 million in projects.

LMCP was created to provide technical and financial assistance and to coordinate efforts between local, state and federal governments, and local non-profit organizations, and to support projects that protect and restore natural, cultural and historical resources in Indiana's Lake Michigan Coastal region.

The LMCP is funded through the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Coastal Resource Management.

For more information visit the program's website: dnr.IN.gov/lakemich.

To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.


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Media contact: Maggie Byrne, grant specialist, DNR Lake Michigan Coastal Program, (219) 983-9912, mbyrne@dnr.IN.gov.