Metromode received an abundance of provocative and inspiring ideas via our guest bloggers throughout the year, and it's our pleasure to share with you a selection of the most compelling.
Happy 10th Birthday, Detroit International Wildlife Refuge!
Posted By: Best Blogs of the Year
Posted: 12/22/2011
By, John Hartig
In 2000, then Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Herb Grey,
U.S. Congressman John Dingell, and the late Peter Stroh charged a group
of scientists and managers to define a desired future state for the
Detroit River ecosystem. The output of that 2000 visioning workshop was a
consensus document titled "A Conservation Vision for the Lower Detroit
River Ecosystem." All U.S. and Canadian participants agreed to the
following:
In ten years the lower Detroit River ecosystem will be
an international conservation region where the health and diversity of
wildlife and fish are sustained through protection of existing
significant habitats and rehabilitation of degraded ones, and where the
resulting ecological, recreational, economic, educational, and "quality
of life" benefits are sustained for present and future generations.
This vision was then used by Congressman John Dingell to introduce legislation creating the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
that was signed into law by the President of the United States in
2001. Canada responded by using a number of existing Canadian laws to
work in a similar fashion. North America’s only international wildlife
refuge was born.
This year marks the 10th birthday of our refuge. In ten years, we have seen:- The refuge grow from 300 acres to over 5,700 acres devoted to conservation
- The
preservation of Humbug Marsh, the last mile of natural shoreline on the
U.S. mainland of the Detroit River, and its incorporation into the
refuge in 2004
- The designation of
Humbug Marsh as a "Wetland of International Importance" under the
Ramsar Convention (1,900 Ramsar sites have been designated throughout
the world, 29 in the United States, and only one in Michigan)
- The 2005 documentation of lake whitefish reproduction in the Detroit River for the first time since 1916
- Our
region singled out at the 2005 White House Conference on Cooperative
Conservation for leadership in public-private partnerships for
cooperative conservation
- The
creation of a ByWays to FlyWays bird driving tour in 2007 that
highlights 27 exceptional birding sites in southeast Michigan and
southwest Ontario
- FLW Outdoors host the Chevy Open fishing tournament in 2008 that offered $1.5 million in prize money
- The
2008 construction of the Fighting Island sturgeon reef that represented
the first-ever Canada-U.S. funded fish habitat restoration project in
the Great Lakes
- The 2009
documentation of lake sturgeon reproduction on the Fighting Island reef,
representing the first time in 30 years that lake sturgeon reproduction
had been confirmed in the Canadian waters of the Detroit River
- The
2009 documentation of osprey reproduction in Gibraltar, representing
the first successful nesting in Wayne County since the 1890s
- The 2010 designation of the Detroit River as an "Important Bird Area" by The Audubon Society
- The 2011 designation of Detroit as one of the top ten metropolitan areas for waterfowl hunting by Ducks Unlimited
- Restoration of common tern (threatened species in Michigan) habitat at three locations in the Detroit River
- The
daylighting of Monguagon Creek at the Refuge Gateway in Trenton and the
restoration of 67 acres of coastal wetlands at the refuge's Brancheau
Unit in Monroe County; and
- The completion of 38 soft shoreline engineering projects in the watershed
Clearly,
much has been accomplished, yet much remains to be done. The Refuge's
Comprehensive Conservation Plan calls for the refuge to grow to 12,000
acres. The potential on the Canadian side is even greater. I would not
be surprised to see our international wildlife refuge grow to 25,000
acres in the next ten years. This would be an amazing accomplishment
and a gift to future generations. Can you imagine this major urban area
with 25,000 acres devoted to conservation? These natural resource
assets are critically important to: changing the perception of our
region from that of the "rust belt" to one of a "green" urban area with
exceptional outdoor recreational opportunities; enhancing "quality of
life"; providing ecosystem services and benefits that ensure community
competitive advantage; and attracting and retaining the next generation
of employees for businesses.
Our refuge is now a major source of
community pride. If you haven't experienced your international wildlife
refuge, I encourage you to go birding at one of the sites along our
Byways to Flyways Bird Driving Tour, come to one of the open houses at
Humbug Marsh or the Gibraltar Bay Unit, go kayaking on our Detroit River Heritage Water Trail,
go fishing for a trophy walleye, go hunting in one of the most historic
waterfowl hunting areas in the Great Lakes, bicycle along our regional
greenway trail system, take part in one of the refuge stewardship
activities, and much more. If you are looking for a close-to-home,
exceptional, outdoor recreational experience, you will not be
disappointed!
Humbug Marsh - Michigan's
only "Wetland of International Importance" designated under the Ramsar
Convention (photo courtesy of Visual Image Productions)