Jumana Vasi: Healthy rivers essential to the Great Lakes
For more than 25 years, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has supported efforts to secure sustainable levels of clean water for people and the environment, with an emphasis on the Great Lakes region. In this Q&A, Environment Program Officer Jumana Vasi discusses our Great Lakes grantmaking priorities and support for efforts to restore the Flint River, which flows through the Foundation’s hometown.
Mott: Since 2000, the Mott Foundation has provided more than $65 million in grants for Great Lakes projects and organizations — in all eight states and the Canadian Province of Ontario. What are the Foundation’s overall goals for the lakes?
Jumana Vasi: We support the Great Lakes through the grantmaking program named “Addressing the Freshwater Challenge.” The goal is to secure sustainable levels of clean water for people and the environment, with an emphasis on the Great Lakes region. The Foundation seeks to meet this goal by building the capacity of nonprofit groups working on the Great Lakes and supporting water policy reform efforts that protect the quantity and quality of water in lakes, rivers and wetlands. We place a special emphasis on the Great Lakes region for two reasons: our home state of Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes, and the lakes comprise the largest source of surface freshwater on Earth. The Great Lakes ecosystem is home to thousands of plant and animal species. These inland, freshwater seas are also the foundation for one of the world’s largest regional economies. The lakes support a $7 billion dollar fishing industry and provide drinking water and for over 30 million people in the U.S. and Canada.
Mott: The Great Lakes are facing so many different challenges. What are Mott’s grantmaking priorities?
Vasi: In order to achieve our goals, we pursue two priority grantmaking objectives. One is to build the capacity of environmental organizations working to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Grants are made to support nonprofit organizations that are in the best position to work on freshwater issues as opportunities emerge. Our funding enables groups to invest in their own organizational development, regional collaboration and networking, and leadership development. Our second grantmaking objective provides project grants for specific policy initiatives efforts at the state and regional levels. We focus on improving water quality and maintaining natural water levels and flows by supporting policy implementation and the development, and testing, of innovative new approaches.
Mott: The Foundation provides grants that support efforts to restore its home river, the Flint River, along with many other tributaries feeding into the Great Lakes. Discuss the significance and value of rivers in the larger context of the Great Lakes ecosystem.
Vasi: Rivers and their associated wetlands provide the range of habitats needed for a variety of plants, fish and animals. Rivers also provide flood protection, drinking water and recreational opportunities for nearby communities. Michigan alone has over 51,000 miles of rivers that empty into the Great Lakes. Pollution, water withdrawals, invasive species, and shoreline damage can decrease the quality and amount of water in rivers. To keep the Great Lakes healthy and clean, we must pay attention to the rivers that flow into them.
Mott: The Foundation recently produced an educational video about the Flint River. Why?
Vasi: The video is part education, part celebration. It’s important to take time to recognize successes, and this video does a great job of that. The Great Lakes, and many of the rivers that flow into them, are much healthier today than they were 30 years ago. Water quality in the Flint River has shown steady improvement: fish and wildlife populations are rebounding and the river is becoming increasingly popular among anglers and kayakers. Bald eagles, which live only along healthy rivers, are now nesting at several sites along the Flint River. Unfortunately, many people questioned the health of the river during Flint’s recent drinking water crisis. Mott recently provided a $4 million grant to help resolve the problem. This video helps demonstrate the many ways the Flint River has been — and will continue to be — a valuable community asset.
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