Ohio sea grant (ohsg) strives to, through a compliment of research, education and outreach, to improve the environmental health and economic vitality of lake erie and its watershed

Ohsg is regularly sought-after for its unbiased and science-based approach to address pressing environmental and economic issues, often in collaboration with other federal, state, and local entities, as well as private industry and nonprofit organizations. Activities to be performed by ohsg include: (1) conducting needed and impactful research driven by agency and stakeholder needs while utilizing a combination of national oceanic and atmospheric administrations (NOAA) national sea grant research funding, leveraged state funding, and competitive research funding awarded to ohsg staff; (2) numerous extension outreach program related to fisheries, aquaculture, coastal recreation and tourism, development use and planning, natural hazards, water quality; and (3) a variety of formal educational offerings and opportunities that occur at stone laboratory (ohio state universitys island campus managed by ohsgs director) and through the great lakes sea grant networks center for great lakes literacy (cgll). Cgll is CO-managed by all great lakes sea grant programs. Expected outcomes include: (1) environmentally literate lifelong learners who utilize knowledge to support, build, and restore healthy natural and human communities; (2) production and dissemination of innovative tools; (3) removal of barriers to achieving coastal resilience and adaptation to changing economic, environmental, and social conditions; (4) lake erie communities that have greater awareness and understanding of ecosystem functions and the services they provide; (5) evidence-based science and innovative solutions to inform and improve the management and conservation of coastal habitats; (6) restored and sustained biodiversity, habitats, and ecosystem services; (7) collaborative and inclusive planning and decision-making; (8) informed resource managers that understand the risks, tradeoffs, and impacts of their management decisions; (9) lake erie and ohio residents and seafood consumers that understand the benefits of domestically produced seafood for individual and environmental health; and (10) lake erie economic sector leaders that understand how they can become more resilient by expanding renewable, regenerative, and clean practices. The ohsg communications team will disseminate research information via (1) webinar and podcast series; (2) videos, infographics, animations and story maps; (3) research newsletters; (4) targeted social media campaigns; and (5) reports and factsheets for state and regional initiatives. The management team will operate to ensure we are: (1) responsive to our strategic plan, yet flexible enough to capitalize on unanticipated opportunities; (2) facilitating collaboration and communication across all program elements (i.e., research, education, outreach, and management/administration); (3) identifying research priorities in a manner that is thorough and includes relevant stakeholders; (4) building and maintaining appropriate stakeholder advisors; and (5) responsively managing the budget while growing matching dollars. Intended beneficiaries include elected officials, state and federal management agencies, private industry, non-governmental agencies, coastal residents, students (grade school, undergraduate, and graduate), academic institutions, farmers/producers, municipalities, marina owners, boaters, anglers, and community groups/organizations. Subrecipient activities that are associated with ohsg will include research, formal education, and informal outreach programming that leverages ohsgs research, teaching, and communication assets. Much of the research will be accomplished by academics that are supported by the research funding that ohsg manages on behalf of NOAA, other federal agencies, and state funding initiatives.