Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Notes

The following notes were originally posted on the Great Lakes Hikes Yahoo Group:

Detroit IWR

07/10/02

Hey guys!

The posts on the two articles about Sleeping Bear, etc. got methinking again about the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The Fish and Wildlife Service is taking public comment for the first refuge management plan. The refuge currently starts at Zug Island and stretches to the mouth of the River Raisin at Sterling SP in Monroe. Future plans call for the refuge to extend to Sandusky. And the Canadians are working on a similar extention along the DetroitRiver/Lake Erie coast - possibly to Pointe Pelee.

This is one of those long term kind of projects. The FWS is more in coordination on this until it can purchase more shoreline. However,the possible boundaries include Pointe Mouillee SGA, Sterling SP, Erie Marsh Preserve/SGA, West Sister Island Wilderness, Middle Sister Island Provincial Park, Point Pelee NP, Ottawa NWR, Little Cedar Point NWR, Maumee Bay SP and bunches of smaller areas. It's the kind of place that might eventually be really natural again. Lots of it is marshy and old industrial area that is not really all that built up.

Anyway, I went to their public comment session in Monroe recently to ask about trails and they seemed very positive. Of course, it's early. Comments can be made to the Shiawassee NWR office in Saginaw.

07/10/02

Re: Detroit River IWR

Oh, I know. Zug Island is a tough place. Another way to look at it is that the lower Rouge won WWII for America. There was no comparable hub for industry like it in America. And it still is a pretty powerful industrial area. Of course, lots was sacrificed for that.

Still, in terms of ecological diversity, you'd be hard pressed to find a place more valuable than western Lake Erie and the lower Detroit River. It's amazing what is out there. If you'd like to hike out there sometime, I'll take people on tours. I'll bet there are more species of animals/fish/birds/plants in that area than any other section of the state. And those fences keep people away -leaving some habitat undisturbed.

And, Michigan had no trees a hundred years ago. Things can get better with effort.

05/28/03

There was a good article in the Toledo Blade today about the expanded Detroit River IWR and Ottawa NWR complex in the Lake Erie West region. There is a cool map which shows the
project boundaries. This is my home hiking turf. I've spent countless hours on the trails in this complex and just love the fact that the area is expanding. I was at one of the original brainstorming meetings and find it pretty neat to see some of the plans already coming to fruition.
www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030528/NEWS06/105280040

07/06/03

Hello!

The Toledo Blade had a small article about 150 acres that will soon be purchased for the Detroit River Int. Wildlife Refuge near Estral Beach. Add this to the 200+ acres that have recently been transferred to the refuge in the same area and the thousands of acres in the Pointe Mouillee SGA. It's going to be interesting to see this corridor develop. Perhaps it might eventually connect to the Pointe Aux Peaux State Game Area and Sterling State Park.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030705/NEWS06/107050105/-1/ARCHIVES30

07/08/03

The Michigan Seagrant is a partnership between MSU and U of M that promotes the Great Lakes. They have a website that shows the Greenway projects currently in the works for the Detroit River.

http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/greenways/map.html

09/27/03

Hi guys!

The DRIWR has been expanded by 600 acres. Detroit Edison is turning over 600 acres at Fermi II for wildlife management in the refuge tothe FWS. I'm interested to see what the specifics of this are. Is Detroit Edison donating the land? It doesn't sound like it. Will there be public access? Considering the several times I've tried to visit the Michigan Nature Association Lotus Preserve at the site and been turned away by the guards, I'd doubt it. I do know that the Boy Scouts were working on hiking trails on this land before 911.

So, this could be very good news or not much at all.

Mike

http://www.monroenews.com/articles/2003/09/26/news/news03.txt

09/30/03

The Trust for Public land has taken title to the 400 acre Humbug Marsh - the last undeveloped mile of the Detroit River shoreline. It will become part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Hooray!

Also, some follow-up on the Fermi property. Apparently, DTE Energy donated the 600 acres around Fermi to the DRIWR. It will not be open to public access in the current security climate.

01/09/04

The City of Monroe planning documents, however, do include plans for trails on the old interurban tracks between Toledo and Detroit. Also, the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is off to a fast start. There are many miles of trail along the shore that are unconnected. With a good overall plan, these could be connected for a really nice shoreline route. I could see that happening in the next 20 years.