Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 10, Number 1 • January-February 2002
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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Introduction
December 21, 2001 was a great day for everyone who cares about aquatic habitat protection. President Bush signed into law a bill creating the first ever International Wildlife Refuge, which will protect 18 miles of the lower Detroit River. The bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously.
With over 5 million people living near the River, it has been challenging to keep intact the diverse aquatic habitats of the Detroit River Watershed. The River connecting Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie has a history that includes discharge of untreated waste, excess phosphorous, industrial pollution, fish advisories, and loss of wetlands. While creation of the Refuge is a great beginning to protecting the Detroit River, more work will certainly be necessary to ensure the River’s ecological health in the years to come. Shawn Hupka, Director of the Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwest Ontario and Southeast Michigan applauds the U.S. efforts, but would like to see a larger contribution from Canada to the protection work.” Following are two stories about the collective struggle that was necessary to achieve this protection.
by Don A. Griffin, Friends of the Detroit River
A once in a lifetime gift came to The Friends of the Detroit River (FDR) and other Detroit River advocates in the form of a press release when, on December 21, 2001, President George W. Bush signed into law the “Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Establishment Act.” The law established the first refuge of its kind in North America.
There are more than 500 refuges in our National Wildlife Refuge system, however, the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge enjoys the distinction of being the only refuge that is international. When Canada designated the Detroit River as a Canadian Heritage River on July 19, 2001, it complemented the 1998 designation of the Detroit River as one of fourteen American Heritage Rivers. The refuge system is managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior, whose scientific studies, surveys, and reports provided evidence FDR used in stalling potential development of Humbug Marsh and Humbug Island, both within the boundaries of the new Refuge.
The collaborative and cooperative efforts of government officials, businessmen, and environmentalists from Canada and the United States were celebrated after the good news about the Refuge. Congressman John Dingell saw me standing behind the reporters and photographers at the celebration. He came over and threw an arm around my shoulders. I congratulated him on his success in steering the refuge bill through Congress. Congressman Dingell’s response was, “Don, you are the one who really caused this to happen . . . you and your other Friends of the Detroit River.”
Shortly after, Congressman Dingell publicly recognized the FDR and numerous other organizations and individuals who had been supportive of the legislation. “There is precious little remaining undeveloped wildlife habitat along the lower Detroit River and there is a great urgency to protect it. Our river is an invaluable resource that is essential to our economy, provides numerous recreational opportunities and is central to our quality of life,” Dingell said. After so many years of suffering the agony of defeat in efforts to preserve wetlands and other natural areas, his personal message coupled with the thrill of victory has increased the vigor and vitality of Friends of the Detroit River. Our board workshops and board meetings are well attended, better planned, more interesting and productive. We also anticipate that all of the events and activities FDR sponsors will be attended by a greater number of enthusiastic participants.
The U.S. Park Service and the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund awarded grants to FDR which assisted us in building our organization, publicizing open hearings, publishing newsletters, and increasing our membership from 35 members to over 500 dues-paying members. Also, because of these grants, we were better able to play an efficient and effective advocacy role, including the sending of timely information to the more than 5,000 interested parties on our mailing list.
FDR is considering establishment of a local Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Association and plans to send representatives to the first annual National Refuge Friends Conference entitled “Celebrate a Century of Conservation” on February 23-25, 2002 in Washington, D.C. FDR will continue to improve the quality of life by preserving all we can of what is left of the natural world.
An informative publication entitled “A Conservation Vision for the Lower Detroit River Ecosystem” has been released. For more information about the publication, the International Wildlife Refuge, or the Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative, go to www.tellusnews.com/ahr/ or contact John Hartig, River Navigator, Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative, U.S. Coast Guard, 110 Mt. Elliott Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 49207 (e-mail: jhartig@msodetroit.uscg.mil).
If you wish further information about Friends of the Detroit River, please contact: Jeannine Ansley, P.O. Box 3099, Melvindale, MI 48122 or Don A. Griffin at 313-274-8930 (e-mail: dgriffin1@Ameritech.net).
*For the full text of “The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Establishment Act”, go to: www.senate.gov/ and follow these links: Search: HR1230.EH then Bill and Summary & Status File 3. Text of Legislation.
by Dr. Bruce D. Jones, Grosse Isle Nature and Land Conservancy
In March of 1993, the Grosse Isle Nature and Land Conservancy (GINLC) hosted the first Lower Detroit River Ecosystem Conference, with citizens and representatives from local, state, and federal agencies in attendance. The American Heritage River Initiative hosted two other conferences in Windsor, Ontario, beginning an international dialogue about the problems facing the Detroit River and what could be done to protect it. Each conference generated more enthusiasm, knowledge, and more people who grew to understand the ecosystem and its value to wildlife and our human relationship to it.
The Friends of the Detroit River (FDR), an early ally of the Grosse Isle Nature and Land Conservancy in this effort, had more experience and regional contacts, so the two groups began working together. Over the next few years, more people became involved with the River, more eagles and osprey were sighted, and the walleye returned to the Trenton Channel in numbers large enough to justify its nationally-recognized fishing tournaments.
But, in 1997, another challenge almost brought progress to an ugly halt when developers announced plans for three hundred condos, a bridge, marina, and a golf course in the heart of the ecosystem — the Humbug Marsh — the last undeveloped mile of the River. Humbug includes a pre-settlement oak savannah with trees 4 to 6 feet in diameter and a pre-settlement shoreline with the greatest biological diversity in the lower river. The issues, challenges, and scope of the battle were great. FDR stepped to the forefront and set up a Marsh Protection Fund, hosted fundraisers, led voter and petition drives, and, with GINLC, fought to “Save the Marsh”. Grants from the U.S. Park Service and the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund helped build the organization, publicize hearings, publish newsletters, and increase membership. Together the groups brought over 1,000 development opponents to a public hearing, and ultimately led to the Army Corps of Engineers rejecting the developers’ permit requests.
If luck is “the residue of hard work”, along the way the two groups started getting lucky. Supported by FDR and GINLC, the Detroit River was declared one of only fourteen National Heritage Rivers in 1998, and a Canadian Heritage River in 2001, an encouraging example of two countries working together to protect the same resource. In another uphill battle, the two groups shared a vision for a Detroit River Greenway, connecting all 26 miles along the River. Few “movers and shakers” thought this anything more than a “green fantasy”, but now, to the surprise of everyone except those working for it, the Greenway planning is well established, the movement is picking up steam, and early construction is beginning.
Though it’s still not over, the battle now looks like it is going our way. Local communities, political representatives on city councils, the State Legislature, and the U.S. Congress are now galvanized. Incrementally, the pieces of a great wildlife refuge have begun to come together. The 120-acre Hennepin Marsh was donated to GINLC in 1997, the DNR purchased Stony Island in 1999 following recommendation by GINLC, and last year Calf Island was preserved. The collaborative efforts to protect the Detroit River have grown to include dozens of other grassroots groups, towns, city councils, media outlets, the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Greenways Program, Ducks Unlimited, Friends of the Huron, Rouge and Clinton Rivers, Great Lakes United, the International Joint Commission, UAW, The Nature Conservancy, CAW, the Michigan Land Trust, and various funding entities – all pulling in the same direction!
With the passage of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Act, a sense of exhilaration and accomplishment are being shared. Uniquely, the Refuge is not a large, federally owned core of land, but a partnership among many landowners. So the Refuge will continue to keep environmental activists working together, just as they did to bring it into existence.
When President Bush made the Refuge a reality, it may have been a final stroke of the pen for him, but for the two groups that started and shepherded the efforts, and who grew and evolved throughout the process, it’s just a beginning.
Don A. Griffin, Friends of the Detroit River
My personal attraction to the Detroit River began in the 1940s when I served as an Able Bodied Seaman on the Great Lakes ore carriers for seven seasons. I was enthralled and captivated by the beauty of the islands, shorelines, and the waters and wildlife so clearly visible from the deck and pilot house of the steamship.
Both the Detroit River and the St. Mary’s River, which border both Canada and the United States, are international waterways with incredible natural appeal. At dawn and dusk the colors and images are magnificent! I felt fifty years ago and still feel that the beauty of the Detroit River should be preserved. The huge numbers and wide variety of wildlife nurtured within the Detroit River and its marshes, shoals, islands, and shorelines challenge one’s imagination. Annually over three million waterfowl stop in the Detroit River to rest and feed. We are enriched by being at the intersection of the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways, important migration corridors for these ducks, geese, swans, and coots as well as raptors and other birds that migrate annually through this region. Also, sixty-five species of fish live in the Detroit River. Over forty species of fish spawn in the Humbug Marsh annually, and Trenton, Michigan has an annual Walleye tournament touted by some as the best walleye tournament anywhere.