Photo by Jerry Jourdan

Trenton, Mich. – Much like the television program called “Extreme Makeover” that showcases efforts to renovate houses and makeover people to achieve remarkable results, an industrial brownfield in Trenton, Mich. is undergoing an extreme makeover into the gateway to North America’s only international wildlife refuge.

For 44 years, beginning in 1946, automobile component manufacturing occurred on this 44-acre tract of waterfront property in Trenton, Mich. This facility was remediated to industrial standards, closed, and sat vacant as an industrial brownfield for 12 years starting in 1990. Then in 2002, it was purchased by Wayne County to become the gateway to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. This property is now known as the Refuge Gateway.

A master plan for the Refuge Gateway was then developed by Wayne County, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many partners to serve as a blueprint for the cleanup and restoration work at the Refuge Gateway necessary to establish the site as an ecological buffer for Humbug Marsh, now Michigan’s only “Wetland of International Importance” designated under the international Ramsar Convention.

The Refuge Gateway will also become the future home of the Refuge’s visitor center. Everything people will see and do at the Refuge Gateway will teach them conservation and how to live sustainably. Since the completion of the master plan, much work has been accomplished, including: cleanup and capping brownfield lands; daylighting Monguagon Creek and constructing a retention pond and emergent wetland to treat storm water prior to discharge to the Detroit River; completion of a first access road that brings visitors into the Refuge Gateway and adjacent Humbug Marsh; and the development of trails and an education shelter in Humbug Marsh for visitor’s to experience our great outdoors. In fall 2011, the Shoreline Restoration Project was completed at the Refuge Gateway that included restoring a natural shoreline, removal of human-placed fill and debris to restore over three acres of riparian buffer habitat, and construction of a second access road and kayak landing. These projects have resulted in an “Extreme Makeover” of the Refuge Gateway landscape. Now, this former industrial site includes wildlife habitat, innovative storm water management practices, opportunities for outdoor recreation and environmental education, and one of the most exceptional views of the Detroit River.

Also announced today was $1.39 million in new funding to complete all cleanup and restoration work in 2012 necessary for future construction of the Refuge’s visitor center. A capital campaign is underway to raise money for construction of the Refuge’s visitor center.

The funding for completion of all cleanup and restoration work at the Refuge Gateway comes from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation ($500,000), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfield Cleanup Program through Downriver Community Conference’s Brownfield Consortium ($750,000), and the U.S. Forest Service ($113,700). With this funding, the overall project will realize goals of achieving a net gain of 16 acres of coastal wetlands, restoring 25 acres of upland buffer habitat at the Refuge Gateway, treating invasive Phragmites along 2.5 miles of shoreline, and control of invasive species on 50 acres of upland habitats in Humbug Marsh and the Refuge Gateway. In an area that has lost 97% of historic coastal wetland habitat, these accomplishments are significant for conservation of fish and wildlife habitat, and for protection of our Detroit River that provides world-class outdoor recreational opportunities.

“The work being done at the Refuge Gateway is a wonderful story to be told,” notes Congressman John D. Dingell. “Right in the middle of a populated urban area, we are taking the site of an old and abandoned automotive manufacturing facility, cleaning it up, and restoring it to its natural wonder to provide habitat for thousands of plant and animal species. I remember hunting in Humbug Marsh with my dear old dad when I was a kid and promised it would be my life’s mission to make sure these types of opportunities exist for the generations to come. By cleaning this site up, we are paving the way to build a beautiful visitor center and allow the nearly seven million residents in the area to experience and learn about the importance of the almost 6,000 acres of North America’s only international wildlife refuge. Without the support of our public and private partners, especially the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this work would not be happening. Everyone should be proud of their contributions to the work that has been done and continues to be done at the Refuge.”

“U.S. EPA is proud to support this ambitious environmental restoration project,” said EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman. “The Agency has committed a total of $1.2 million to help transform this abandoned industrial site into a refuge that will provide high quality habitat for wildlife and opportunities for people to enjoy the outdoors and learn about nature.”
“This Refuge Gateway project can best be described as transformational for our region,” notes Paula Boase, Director of Economic Development at Downriver Community Conference. “This project is literally transforming an industrial brownfield into the gateway to our international wildlife refuge, showcasing southeast Michigan as an international leader in sustainable redevelopment and conservation, helping attract and retain employees for our businesses, and enhancing quality of life.”

The Detroit International Wildlife Refuge covers 48 miles of shoreline along the lower Detroit River and western basin of Lake Erie. It stretches from southwest Detroit to the Ohio-Michigan border. The Refuge focuses on conserving, protecting and restoring habitat for 300 species of birds, including 30 species of waterfowl, 23 species of raptors, and 31 species of shorebirds, and for 117 species of fish.

Humbug Marsh is located on the lower end of the Detroit River in the cities of Trenton and Gibraltar. It represents a significant portion of the last unaltered U.S. wetlands in the Detroit River and the last mile of natural shoreline on the river’s U.S. mainland. Humbug is a unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The marsh serves as a vital habitat for 51 species of fish, 90 species of plants, 154 species of birds, seven species of reptiles and amphibians, and 37 species of dragonflies and damselflies.

For more information, please contact John Hartig of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (734-692-7608;john_hartig@fws.gov) or Allison Krueger of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (734-692-7672;krueger.ali@gmail.com).

For more information on the Midwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service visit http://midwest.fws.gov.

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The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Editorial: Restoring the river: Cedar Creek residents can play a crucial role

Published: Wednesday, June 01, 2011, 6:57 AM

By Paula Holmes-Greeley | The Muskegon Chronicle

CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO The flooded Muskegon River put the majority of Terry Bayne’s 52-acre Cedar Creek Township farm under water in April. â??The problem is, there’s no place for it to go,â? Bayne said about the water.

Cedar Creek Township residents, especially those living along Maple Island and River roads, should do everything they can to assist with the survey of the Muskegon River in their neighborhood.

It’s their chance to help fix a long-standing problem and possibly improve the use of Muskegon County’s natural resources and the land they own. The survey may also result in suggestions that prevent the thousands of dollars in damage or losses created when extensive flooding occurs.

Mike Wiley, a professor in the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, and doctoral student Mike Fainter are surveying the Muskegon River, particularly in the floodplain near Maple Island and River roads, to explore the effects of reopening the Maple River. The Maple River was blocked more than a century ago during the lumbering era to increase the flow in the Muskegon River and more quickly move logs to the lumber mills downstream.Wiley predicts the Muskegon River will change its course in Cedar Creek Township in the next 50 years because of the closing of the Maple River and partial damming of the Muskegon River under U.S. 31. He said sediment in the Muskegon River has raised the river channel, creating a delta prone to flooding.

He’s already held a community meeting to ask residents what they want the Muskegon River to look like in the future. The researchers are seeking photos of the river and past floods, especially those that show how high the water was. Photos can be dropped off at Maple Island Grocery, 3465 N. Maple Island, Twin Lake.

While the flooding is on a much larger scale, perhaps there are lessons for Muskegon County residents from the Netherlands, where two-thirds of the people live and 70 percent of the Dutch economy is generated in a floodplain.

In the past, the Dutch response has been to build up the dikes and install other manmade devices to further control the river. But since unprecedented flooding in 1993 and again in 1995 there’s been a change in strategy.

Beginning in 2006, the Dutch implemented 35 “Room for the River” projects that will restore natural floodplains and marshes that serve as water storage areas. They are focused on restoring natural floodplains in the places where it is least harmful in order to protect more heavily populated and developed areas.

Dutch water managers also are teaching communities to retain water where it falls, using cisterns, green roofs and floodable parks. This reduces the flow into the river as it washes off of large paved parking lots and roads with nowhere else to go.

The idea is to prevent the recurring hundreds of millions of dollars in flood damage by learning to live with the main rivers running through the Netherlands rather than trying to control them. A side benefit has been the creation of new recreational areas and improved animal and fish habitat.

Again, Muskegon County doesn’t face near the threat that the Netherlands does. But working with our natural resources instead of against them is a valuable concept.

As Cedar Creek Township farmer John Thiel told Chronicle reporter Megan Hart, “I would rather have water flow naturally (through my property) than have it overflow and have nowhere to go.”

In the end it all comes down to that well-known adage, you can’t fool Mother Nature.

Let’s find out if restoring the Maple River will improve the lives of those living on the former riverbed and improve the health and the use of both the Maple and Muskegon rivers.

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