Executed independently of the Platform, these projects align with the Platform’s structure and environmental goals. The Platform welcomes future participation by similar projects.
Wilderness Lake Reserve
The Wilderness Lakes Reserve is a 6,108-acre contiguous, undeveloped working forest in Baraga County Michigan, that was acquired by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in August 2017. TNC completed a site review and developed a new forest management plan that allowed the acreage to remain enrolled in Michigan’s Commercial Forest Program, and to be certified under the Forest Stewardship Council standards for sustainably managed forestland.
ESG OUTCOMES:
- Environmental certification of land
- Carbon sequestration
- Drinking water supply protection
- Habitat conservation
Shoreline Consolidation Sewer & E-09 CSO Control and Relief Sewer
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewage District’s (NEORSD) Shoreline Consolidation Sewer & E-09 CSO Control and Relief Sewer project (SCS) is part of Project Clean Lake – a $3 billion, 25-year program NEORSD designed to meet Clean Water Act standards and address water quality issues. The SCS project will reduce wet weather combined sewer overflows released into Lake Erie in the Greater Cleveland area by 220 million gallons annually.
ESG OUTCOMES:
- Nutrient Reduction
- Drinking Water Supply Protection
- Reduction of Combined Sewer Overflows
Shoreline Storage Tunnel Project
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewage District’s (NEORSD) Shoreline Storage Tunnel (SST) project is part of Project Clean Lake – a $3 billion, 25-year program NEORSD designed to meet Clean Water Act standards and address water quality issues. The SST is the fifth of seven new large diameter tunnels, along with other projects, that NEORSD will use toward Project Clean Lake’s overall goal to reduce the 4.5 billion gallons of wet weather combined sewer overflows released into Lake Erie and its tributaries in the Greater Cleveland area.
ESG OUTCOMES:
- Nutrient Reduction
- Drinking Water Supply Protection
- Reduction of Combined Sewer Overflows
Big Trout Bay
The Conservation Fund in partnership with Nature Conservancy Canada invested $1.1 million in the Big Trout Bay property in Neebing, Ontario. The property boasts more than 2,500 acres of undisturbed habitat along 12 miles of pristine shoreline that supports several rare plant species such as inland bluegrass, western cliff fern and Missouri goldenrod. Its high-quality coastal cliff habitat and dense forests provide a home for wildlife species like the bald eagle and peregrine falcon. The property has one of the highest concentrations of species and natural communities in the Great Lakes region. Six miles of hiking trails provide hikers with spectacular views of the Lake Superior shoreline.
ESG OUTCOMES:
- Environmental Certification of Land
- Nutrient Reduction
- Carbon sequestration
Lyme St. Croix and Lyme Solon Springs
The Lyme Forest Fund III and The Lyme Forest Fund IV invested in 85,000 acres in northern Wisconsin between 2011 and 2015. In what became the largest land conservation effort in Wisconsin’s history, Lyme, in collaboration with The Conservation Fund, conveyed to Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources conservation easements on 72,500 acres of timberland in three separate transactions.
ESG OUTCOMES:
- Protection and restoration of streams and wetlands
- Drinking water supply protection
- Habitat conservation
- Carbon sequestration
- Flood management
- Maintenance of air quality
- Soil regeneration
DISCLAIMER:
If you are interested in participating in the Great Lakes Impact Investment Platform, please contact the Conference staff. The Platform project team includes experts in environmental metrics, project design, and public policy that can assist with developing and implementing projects. Participation in the Platform is completely free and voluntary.
Developers of investment products and strategies participating in the Platform are not affiliated in any way with the Conference, the States, or Provinces and the developers are solely responsible for the management of those investment opportunities and strategies.