U-M researchers and their colleagues have been awarded two state grants, totaling more than $140,000, for projects to protect the Great Lakes.

The research grants were among 10 announced recently by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The Coastal Zone Management grants, totaling $501,700, are for projects that enhance public access to coastal areas, encourage stewardship through beach cleanup programs, promote public safety at beaches and support local and regional waterfront redevelopment plans.

U-M researchers are part of a team that received a $92,200 grant to inventory and assess critical dune areas on Lake Michigan and to model ecological impacts to the dunes resulting from typical development projects under current and historic regulations. The project is led by the Michigan Environmental Council and also includes researchers from Calvin College and Hope College.

A $50,000 grant to U-M will be used to analyze shoreline management options as part of a collaborative master planning effort that will incorporate research on the response of Great Lakes shorelines to water level changes. The project will result in a new local shoreland management plan for a selected community.