UPEC Community Conservation Grants

UPEC Community Conservation Grants

Funder: Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC)

Status: Applications accepted for 2026 round; next round announcement coming later in 2026.

Geographic Scope: Upper Peninsula (UP) communities only

Award Amount: $1,500 - $10,000 per grant (varies based on project merit)

Program Purpose: Challenges UP communities to promote conservation values within their watershed or local area. Encourages proactive stewardship and protection of conservation values in localities.

Fund Origins: Program honors the late Tom Church of Watersmeet, a long-time UPEC member whose bequest made this fund possible. Program also supported by the Saari Family Fund and many individual donors.

Historical Funding (As of 2025)

Total awarded: $240,200
• 2016: $30,000 (land acquisition)
• 2017: $12,500 (various projects)
• 2018: $25,500 (land acquisition)
• 2019: $21,500 (land acquisition and educational campaigns)
• 2020: $32,000 (land acquisitions and water monitoring)
• 2021: $36,700 (various projects)
• 2022: $32,000 (land acquisition, river protection, ecosystem restoration)
• 2023: $19,000 (land acquisition/public access assurance and Native land rematriation)
• 2024: $23,000 (land acquisition)
• 2025: $8,000 (invasive plant removal)

Project Types Eligible

• Enhancing native plant and animal life and supporting ecosystems
• Starting a community forest or preserve
• Restoring streams or wetlands
• Educational programs (medicinal plants, rare frogs, top predators, etc.)
• Land acquisition with community support
• Stream/river protection
• Ecosystem restoration
• Invasive species management
• Educational videos and campaigns
• Legal expenses related to conservation
• Wildlife inventories
• Conservation easements

Priority Areas

• Permanent acquisition of ecologically rich parcels of land
• Community support and vulnerability to loss considerations

Eligibility

• Conservation activists and groups inspired to step up conservation values
• Applicants must have 501(c)3 status
• Projects must take place in the UP
• Target: organizations engaging variety of stakeholders (recreational groups, naturalists, township officials, churches, schools)

What Will NOT Be Funded

• Salaries

Funding Decision Criteria

• Will the grant have a lasting impact on conservation values?
• Are diverse community stakeholders engaged?
• Are motivated activists and strong groups involved? (Keys to long-range protection)

Post-Award Requirements

• Detailed budget required
• Final report required on how money was spent
• Report must demonstrate lasting impact

Context

Despite extensive public land in the UP, privately-owned land (corporations and individuals) offers new opportunities to enhance protection through community action. Degraded landscapes can be restored and good ones protected from development through creative use of tools such as conservation easements and educational campaigns.