Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
The U.S. Geological Survey funds a partner to support cisco restoration in Lakes Huron and Erie through a decision-making workshop and experiments to improve hatchery fish quality.
Funder: Geological Survey
Due Dates: November 14, 2026 (Applications, 11:59 p.m. ET)
Funding Amounts: $1–$485,000; one expected cooperative agreement for up to two budget years
Summary: Supports structured decision-making workshops and hatchery-rearing research to advance cisco restoration in Lakes Huron and Erie.
Key Information: Applicants must be participating partners of the Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.
Description
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers this cooperative agreement to support cisco restoration priorities in Lakes Huron and Erie. The project combines two structured decision-making workshops to help Lake Erie fisheries managers evaluate uncertainties and plan restoration strategies with wet-lab experiments at USGS examining artificial rearing of ciscoes for reintroduction. Experimental priorities include how water temperature and light during embryo incubation affect hatchery-produced fish quality.
Ciscoes have been extirpated from Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron and throughout Lake Erie since the 1950s. The research is intended to inform management choices amid ecological uncertainty and differing jurisdictional priorities. USGS and the recipient will work in close partnership, with substantial federal involvement and collaborative dissemination through presentations, publications, and communications with natural-resource management agencies.
