Happy Friday everyone!  Restoration practitioners in the Midwest-Great Lakes region have been busy planning, implementing, and celebrating restoration.  Check out some links from around the region.

Iowa:  Iowa Rivers Revival is advocating a statewide river restoration framework to prioritize rivers in need of restoration. More information at http://iowarivers.org/legislative/river-restoration/

Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin:  Researchers have implemented three projects to evaluate the potential for harvesting Typha, Phragmites, and/or Phalarus for use as low-carbon green energy.  Details at http://greatlakesphragmites.net/blog/restoration-through-biomass-utilization/

Wisconsin:  NOAA has proposed an 875 square mile portion of Lake Michigan as a new Wisconsin-Lake Michigan national marine sanctuary.  Public comments can be submitted through January 15th.  More information is available at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/wisconsin/.

Wisconsin:  Congratulations to Travis Olson for receiving the 2015 Annual Wetlands Award from the Wisconsin’s Wetlands Association.  Travis received the award for his work as the Wetlands and Habitat Restoration Program Coordinator at the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. Visit WWA online at www.wisconsinwetlands.org.

Indiana, Michigan,  Minnesota, and Wisconsin:  US Army Corps of Engineers hosts a website with fact sheets and project updates for several restoration projects throughout the region (Project Information Sheets)

Michigan: The University of Michigan Water Center is working to build a 4-acre fish spawning reef in the Detroit River near Wyandotte, Michigan.  More information at http://graham.umich.edu/water/news/science-action-restoring-fish-habitat.

Michigan:  Several new projects will be funded in/near the Clinton River under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, as announced by USEPA:

  • Clinton River Corridor Project – City of Sterling Heights ($4,500,000) will improve habitat diversity along a nine-mile section of the Clinton River by creating riffle-pools, managing woody debris, stabilizing stream banks, controlling invasive species and enhancing native vegetation.
  •  Partridge Creek Commons, McBride Drain and Clinton River Spillway Projects – Macomb County ($6,300,000) will restore more than 32,000 linear feet and almost 90 acres of in-stream, streamside and upland habitat. The projects will control invasive species, plant native vegetation, stabilize and naturalize the shoreline, increase habitat diversity through restoration of riffle and pool complexes, and improve habitat connectivity.
  • Clinton River Spillway Project – Macomb County ($2,500,000) will restore the eastern end of the spillway in partnership with NOAA. The project includes invasive species removal and other restoration efforts near the area where the spillway meets Lake St. Clair.
  • Wolcott Mill Metropark Wetland Project – Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority ($335,374) will restore sections of the north branch of the Clinton River floodplain to native grassland and forested wetlands as part of a long-term strategy to address stormwater impacts to the watershed. This project will help restore native wildlife species such as pollinators and grassland birds.
  • Galloway Wetland Project – City of Auburn Hills ($140,000) will restore wetlands adjacent to Galloway Creek, a key tributary to the Clinton River, in the City of Auburn Hills. The project includes removing significant debris that had been previously dumped at the project site, allowing for the re-establishment of native wetland vegetation that had historically occupied the site. The wetlands will improve habitat as well as buffer the impacts of stormwater run-off.
  • Sylvan Glen Project – City of Troy ($375,000) will restore 3,500 feet of stream, reduce sediment loads from reaching the Clinton River, and improve habitat for aquatic life.
  • Harley Ensign/Clinton River Mouth Project – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interagency Agreement ($2,694,201) will improve fish and wildlife habitat and restore former coastal wetland habitat where the Clinton River meets Lake St. Clair. This project will control invasive species, establish 14 acres of fish habitat andrestore 4 acres of upland habitat as well as 6,000 feet of shoreline.
  • Shelby Township Stream Bank Stabilization Project – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interagency Agreement ($914,412) will restore the aquatic and terrestrial habitat on the main stem of the Clinton River by reducing stream bank erosion and re-establishing near-shore habitat.
  • The Galloway Creek Fish Passage Project – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interagency Agreement ($2,202,000) will restore approximately 3,000 linear feet of channel and 2 acres of riparian habitat in Galloway Creek, which will improve floodplain and in-stream connectivity, increase stream channel stability, provide in-channel aquatic habitat, increase habitat diversity and increase shade for riparian wetlands.