Muskegon Lake Habitat Restoration Project

Topics concerning muskellunge and fisheries research, diseases, stocking and management.
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Hamilton Reef
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Muskegon Lake Habitat Restoration Project

Post by Hamilton Reef » Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:35 pm

The full announcement was forwarded to Will. This is one more major step toward the goal of reestablishing the fishery and spawning habitats needed for the re-introductions of native species such as GLS muskie. Habitat restoration and reintroduction stocking of GLS are two parallel projects that can proceed at the same time. As the GLS muskie are growing to spawning maturity, the lower river spawning habitats can be in the process of improvements, both coming together in few years.

Snippet from Great Lakes Commission invitation letter.

Dear Friend:
As chair of the Great Lakes Commission, I am pleased to invite you to join me this Friday to celebrate an important new partnership to restore Muskegon Lake. I will join representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership and the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission to kick off the Muskegon Lake Habitat Restoration Project, part of a broader partnership between the Great Lakes Commission and NOAA to restore fish and wildlife habitat in the Great Lakes. Muskegon Lake will be the first area in the Great Lakes to benefit from NOAA’s Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program, under which NOAA establishes partnerships with state, local and tribal agencies to restore critical fish and wildlife habitat. (more)
John D. Cherry, Jr., Chair

What: Muskegon Lake Habitat Restoration Project Kick-Off Ceremony and Tour
When: Friday, July 11, 10:00 a.m.
Where: Grand Trunk boat launch, Lakeshore Drive at McCracken Street, Muskegon

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:05 pm

Snippet: The three-year, $3.4 million project will restore 73 acres of wetlands, soften 18,000 feet of hardened shoreline, and remove nearly 9 acres of fill.

Muskegon Lake Habitat Restoration Project
New federal-state partnership highlights need to protect and restore Great Lakes fi sh and wildlife
http://glc.org/announce/08/07aoc_muskegon.html

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:20 am

$3.4M cleanup to restore lake shoreline

http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/ind ... xml&coll=8

07/12/08 By Jeff Alexander jalexander@muskegonchronicle.com

The south side of Muskegon Lake -- a historic dumping ground for sawmills and foundries -- is going back to nature.

A three-year, $3.4 million plan to restore natural features along five miles of the lake's southern shoreline was announced Friday by the Great Lakes Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Friday. The project area extends from the mouth of the Muskegon River to the Muskegon Lake Channel into Lake Michigan.

Plans call for removing nine acres of fill material from the lake, restoring 73 acres of wetlands and softening five miles of shoreline hardened by seawalls, chunks of concrete and foundry slag dumped into the lake prior to 1985. The work will begin this year.

"We want this to be a place of beauty for our children and grandchildren," said Matt Doss, an environmental quality manager at the Ann Arbor-based Great Lakes Commission. "We want to change Muskegon Lake and its shoreline from a toxic hot spot to a vacation hot spot."

Years ago, lumber mills, foundries and factories dumped industrial wastes along the coastal wetlands to create more land, reducing the size of Muskegon Lake by 27 percent, according to a report by the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership.

The restoration project will remove the refuse or cover it with native vegetation.

The Great Lakes Commission donated the first $50,000 for the project and NOAA is seeking Congressional approval of another $1.5 million for the initiative. The remaining funds are expected to come from federal agencies.

Muskegon Lake is the first Great Lakes site targeted for restoration under NOAA's Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program.

The project is part of a larger effort to remove lingering pollutants from Muskegon Lake and restore degraded fish and wildlife habitat. Muskegon is one of 43 Great Lakes "toxic hot spots" areas where water pollution and the loss of wetlands and other natural features has damaged water quality and decreased fish and wildlife populations.

State and federal officials are working on the project with the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership and the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission.

By 2012, people who boat on Muskegon Lake or ride bikes on the Shoreline Trail will see dramatic changes in large sections of the lakefront, said Kathy Evans, director of the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership.

"It's going to be green and it's going to be beautiful," Evans said. "It's not enough just to remove pollution. We have to restore the lake in a way that is sustainable and that will benefit our community."

Toxic wastes discharged into the lake prior to completion of the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System in 1974 contaminated parts of the lake bottom and some of the lake's tributaries, according to government records.

State and federal agencies in 2006 completed a $13.5 million cleanup of Ruddiman Creek and lagoon, which flow into Muskegon Lake. That project removed 90,000 cubic yards of toxic mud laden with heavy metals and chemical pollutants.

Government officials now are working on a $26 million plan to remove 176,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments on the bottom of Muskegon Lake near Hartshorn Marina. That area of lake bottom contains elevated mercury concentrations.

The lake is dramatically cleaner than it was 30 years ago and supports a thriving fishery. But the toxic hot spot designation continues to stigmatize a lake that has been transformed from an industrial sewer into a recreational haven for boaters and anglers.

The contaminated sediments must be cleaned up and the shoreline restored to provide more habitat for fish and wildlife before federal officials will consider taking Muskegon Lake off the list of Great Lakes toxic hot spots. Evans said it might take another 10 years of work before that can happen.

Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry, who chairs the Great Lakes Commission, said Muskegon organizations working to restore the lake are a model for other communities. Cleaning up Muskegon Lake and other pollution sites on the Great Lakes, the largest source of fresh surface water on the planet, will help efforts to resurrect Michigan's sagging economy, said Cherry, who was in Muskegon Friday to announce the project.

"Throughout Michigan history, whether you're talking about fur traders, loggers or the auto industry, the Great Lakes have provided the foundation for our economy," Cherry said. "Michigan's future economic vitality will rest on the health of the Great Lakes."

Larry Porter
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Post by Larry Porter » Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:41 pm

This sounds like great news. I hope it comes to fruition.

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:42 pm

Check out the link for limited time photos. I sent the full article and photos to Will for filing. MMA can work on getting the GLS ready and we'll work on getting Muskegon Lake ready.

Muskegon Lake - Restore the shore
5 miles of Muskegon Lake targeted for cleanup

"This is the right thing to do from an environmental perspective and from a fisheries and wildlife perspective," said Kathy Evans, director of the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership. "The payoff is that it will attract more sustainable development to the area by restoring natural habitat, which is a good thing for the lake."

Crews could begin work next year. The project is expected to take at least three years to complete.

The partnership is working with the Great Lakes Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service on plans to restore miles of shoreline between the Muskegon Lake channel and the Muskegon River.

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/09 ... shore.html

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Sun Dec 14, 2008 4:08 pm

Price tag $29M for Muskegon Lake 'healing'

http://www.mlive.com/chronicle/news/ind ... muske.html

12/13/08 by Jeff Alexander | The Muskegon Chronicle

Muskegon Lake could benefit from a $4.3 billion proposal to clean up the Great Lakes and revitalize the regional economy by dredging toxic sediments, restoring coastal wetlands and upgrading faulty sewage treatment systems.

Included in the plan is a request for $29 million to remove toxic mud from two sites in Muskegon Lake.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition wants Congress and president-elect Barack Obama to spend $4.3 billion on Great Lakes restoration as part of a national economic stimulus plan. The incoming president is expected to consider such an initiative shortly after taking office on Jan. 20.

"We can put thousands of people to work, boost the regional economy and restore the Great Lakes if Congress seizes the opportunity now and funds these important priorities before the problems get worse and more costly," said Jeff Skelding, national campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

The coalition, comprised of more than 100 environmental and conservation groups, claims that spending $4.3 billion on Great Lakes restoration projects would create 170,00 new jobs in the region, including 20,163 in Michigan.

Removing toxic mud from two sites in Muskegon Lake are among the coalition's long list of proposed projects.

Past industrial pollution poisoned bottom sediments in Muskegon Lake near the mouth of Ryerson Creek and at the end of Division Street, where a storm sewer empties into a bay in front of Heritage Landing and Hartshorn Marina.

There are about 180,000 cubic yards of toxic mud on the lake bottom near the Division Street sewer outfall. Removing those contaminated sediments, which are laced with mercury and other toxic compounds, will cost about $24 million, according to government estimates.

"It's a huge cleanup, twice as big as the Ruddiman Creek cleanup," said Kathy Evans, director of the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership.

Evans said the Division Street/Hartshorn Marina cleanup could begin in the fall of 2009. State and federal officials are currently studying cleanup and funding options for the project.

Removing 30,000 cubic yards of mercury-laden mud on the lake bottom near the mouth of Ryerson Creek will cost about $5 million, according to the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

Efforts to clean up the lake bottom near Ryerson Creek are not as advanced as the Hartshorn Marina/Division Street site, Evans said. But she said developers, local businesses and property owners near the site -- adjacent to the former Teledyne Continental Motors factory -- want the polluted sediments removed.

"Everyone wants that site cleaned up," Evans said. "The last thing anyone wants is a slug of pollution of contamination offshore that limits public access to the lake."

Obama pledged during the presidential campaign to spend $5 billion over a ten-year period to clean up and restore the Great Lakes.

Last year, the nonpartisan Brookings Institution found that investing $26 billion to restore the Great Lakes would lead to between $80 billion and $100 billion in economic return for the region.

The Great Lakes are far cleaner and healthier now than they were forty years ago. But serious problems remain, particularly at 42 sites around the lakes where past pollution and coastal development has poisoned bottom sediments and destroyed fish and wildlife habitat. Muskegon and White lakes are on the list of 42 Great Lakes areas of concern.

Lingering toxins, invasive species and sewage overflows from aging wastewater treatment systems around the lakes harm ecosystems, force beach closures and threaten the health of humans, fish and wildlife, according to government records.

On average, more than 23 billion gallons of untreated sewage is discharged into the Great Lakes annually, according to the Healing Our Waters coalition.

The problems associated with aging sewer systems were highlighted in September, when heavy rains overwhelmed Chicago's sewer system. To prevent sewage from backing up in residential basements, the city dumped 99 billion gallons of partially treated sewage and rainwater into Lake Michigan.

Chicago city officials said less than 1 percent of the total discharge, or 1 billion gallons, was raw sewage.

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Thu Apr 07, 2011 1:47 pm

Cleanup of toxic Muskegon Lake sediments to begin in May

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/inde ... _clea.html

04/06/11 By John S. Hausman | Muskegon Chronicle The Muskegon Chronicle

After years of talk and planning, a $12 million cleanup of toxic mud from the bottom of Muskegon Lake in the Division Street Outfall area is finally scheduled to start next month. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality have given the green light to the project.

The sediment cleanup had been expected to start last spring, but tight budgets slowed the process.

The cleanup will combine dredging and disposal of the most contaminated sediment, near Hartshorn Marina, with placement of a 6- to 12-inch cover of clean sand over the less toxic portion.

The work is expected be mostly completed by year’s end.

It will disrupt marina and shoreline use while work is under way, but the outcome is expected to be a safer lake and a long step toward removal of Muskegon Lake from a federal list of polluted sites — a scarlet letter local leaders would love to lose.

“I’m happy that the project is moving forward, especially in the economic crisis we’ve got going on in the state and the (federal government),” said Dennis Kirksey, a member of the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership who owns shoreline property just west of the project.

The first step of the project involves dredging and safe disposal of 41,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the bottom of the lake between Heritage Landing and Hartshorn Marina, near where the Division Street storm sewer drains into the lake.

The goal is to clean up a 46.4-acre area of lake bottom.

Much of the mud contains elevated levels of mercury and petroleum products called polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, believed to have been dumped into storm sewers before 1980 by foundries and other industries. The Division Street drain is believed to discharge only storm water nowadays.

The contamination is not dangerous to swimmers, but eating too much mercury-laced fish is harmful to humans. And the toxins pose a health risk to the lake’s aquatic life.

The dredging-sand cover combination is cheaper and less disruptive than removal of all of the mercury-contaminated sediment — estimated to cost more than $20 million — but more effective and permanent than simply covering all of it with sand or a cap.

The project also includes placement of a sand cover over 120,000 cubic yards of sediment with lower levels of contamination.

Workers will also restore shoreline habitat, providing improved ecological conditions for fish and other aquatic life.

The federal government will contribute 65 percent of the cost, $7.8 million, through Great Lakes Legacy Act funding. Michigan will provide 35 percent, $4.2 million, through the Clean Michigan Initiative bond fund.

Muskegon Lake is among 30 Areas of Concern identified by the International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes.

In 2005-06, a $10 million cleanup of contaminated sediment was completed at nearby Ruddiman Creek, which flows into Muskegon Lake. As the 30 AOC sites are cleaned up, they become eligible for “de-listing.”

LonLB
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Post by LonLB » Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:53 pm

While this is great news, won't the shoreline development prevent any successful Musky spawning despite these clean up efforts.

Again, it is good news, I'm only looking at this from the Musky spawning success position.

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Fri Apr 08, 2011 5:38 am

This specific spot is trying to address two major problems. The drain has been a source of nasty disposal from a wide area into Muskegon Lake for decades. The lake dredging will help provide cleaner habitat for benthic life to survive and feed larval fish. The shoreline restoration is to convert hard shoreline rock, straight steel, and industrial whatever into softer sloped more natural shoreline that can be used by wildlife. Future specific spawning areas for GLS are elsewhere around Muskegon Lake. True it is tough to restore 150-years of historical abuse, but restoring Muskegon Lake into a more natural lake as possible will help the public take more responsible care of the lake in the future.
We also had more meetings with project engineers yesterday at White Lake for a stretch of shoreline covering several connected properties.

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Mon May 16, 2011 9:06 am

Coastal restoration generates major economic gains for Muskegon

$66 million in economic benefits over ten years—a 6-to-1 return on investment—and nearly 65,000 new visitors annually

Contacts:
Matt Doss, Great Lakes Commission, 734-971-9135; Cell: 734-474-1985
Kathy Evans, West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission 231-722-7878, ext. 17; Cell: 231-903-7224

A large-scale coastal restoration project on Muskegon Lake, located in West Michigan on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, will generate more than $66 million in economic benefits (a 6-to-1 return on investment) over ten years and attract nearly 65,000 new visitors annually according to a detailed economic analysis presented today in a briefing to local officials. With $10 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Muskegon Lake Habitat Restoration Project is removing 180,000 tons of unnatural fill from the lake bottom and rehabilitating nearly a mile of shoreline. The project will create habitat for valuable fish and wildlife resources and improved recreational opportunities for local residents and tourists. Building on more than two decades of cleanup efforts, the project marks a transition from “remediation” to “restoration” for the degraded lake and brings it closer to being removed from the list of Great Lakes “toxic hotspots.”

Proponents of habitat restoration have long cited the relationship between environmental quality and economic well-being. New results from the study, conducted by Grand Valley State University (GVSU), reaffirm this relationship, showing that the coastal restoration project will generate greater economic gains than anticipated, including rising property values and increased recreational uses.

The $10 million project is restoring multiple sites along the south shore of Muskegon Lake and is led by the Great Lakes Commission and the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission. It builds on more than two decades of cleanup work on former industrial areas along Muskegon Lake, including large-scale removals of toxic sediments funded by U.S. EPA and the State of Michigan.

Conducted by Dr. Paul Isely, chair of GVSU’s Economics Department, the study quantified the economic benefits that will result from the coastal restoration project. Using well established methods and rigorous reviews from outside experts, the study found that the project will generate a $12 million increase in property values and up to $600,000 in new tax revenues annually. It also will result in an annual increase of more than $1 million in new recreational spending and nearly 65,000 new visitors to Muskegon Lake annually. In the long term, the project is expected to result in an overall economic benefit to Muskegon of $66 million – yielding more than a 6-to-1 return on investment.

According to Dr. Isely, “we used a variety of widely accepted methods to evaluate the economic benefits associated with habitat restoration and the results have been reviewed by other leading economists. The results are clear and we are excited to know that this restoration project will have a significant beneficial economic impact on the community.”

Speaking at the briefing, Congressman Bill Huizenga, stated that “this restoration will bring a valuable boost to the community and local economy by inviting more resident and tourist recreation to the southern shores of Muskegon Lake, and ensuring we have a strong legacy of fish and wildlife resources that will keep people coming back.”

Coastal restoration efforts in Muskegon reflect a broader, regional strategy to create jobs and stimulate economic development in waterfront communities. “This project showcases the immense economic potential of the Great Lakes for Michigan’s coastal communities,” said Patricia Birkholz, Director of Michigan’s Office of the Great Lakes. “Cleaning up degraded areas along the Great Lakes isn’t just about correcting mistakes of the past. It is also an investment that will build a better future for Michigan,” Birkholz added.

Kathy Evans, environmental planner for the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission and the manager of the restoration project, emphasized that “we are increasing fish and wildlife habitat on Muskegon Lake and creating an environmental and economic benefit for the community.”

The restoration project builds on nearly 25 years of work by federal, state and local agencies, in cooperation with landowners, businesses and community groups, to restore environmental quality in Muskegon Lake. The lake was designated an Area of Concern in 1987 under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement due to historic filling of open water, wetlands and pollution discharges that contaminated the lake bottom.

Restoration efforts on Muskegon Lake and other degraded areas along the Great Lakes are being expedited under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a five-year, $2.2 billion program begun in 2009 that is supporting implementation of a comprehensive restoration strategy for the Great Lakes. In its first year alone, the Initiative is providing over $100 million for more than 175 Great Lakes restoration projects in Michigan.

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:13 pm

Wetlands revival money rains down 'for now' on Muskegon County http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/inde ... ins_d.html Includes photos.
09/27/11 By John S. Hausman | Muskegon Chronicle , Photos by Ken Stevens|Muskegon Chronicle

Video: http://video-embed.mlive.com/services/p ... 3344314001

After many years of funding drought, a gentle rain has been falling on Muskegon County's damaged wetlands the last couple of years.

It probably won't last. So environmental groups are doing what they can to restore the wetlands that nourish Mona, White and Muskegon lakes before the money dries up again.

The stakes of success include stopping toxic algae blooms, restoring fish and wildlife populations and boosting public recreation opportunities on those lakes, all of which empty into Lake Michigan.

The biggest funding source has been the federal government's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, launched in 2009 through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

To highlight projects funded or proposed for grants, a national environmental alliance — Ducks Unlimited and Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition — last week hosted a bus tour of Muskegon County wetland remediation sites, one of several the groups have conducted around the Great Lakes. Nearly three dozen representatives of environmental groups and local governments, as well as staffers of federal lawmakers, took part in the tour. Most of the sites were former celery flats.

“Telling success stories” was the point, said Jennifer Hill, field director for Healing Our Waters. Organizers' main message to lawmakers and the public: “This is a really good federal investment,” Hill said.

Participants in the tour stressed three concepts:
• Partnership — the need for multiple agencies, groups and individuals to cooperate to get projects done, and the success in getting that to happen in Muskegon County.

“We need partners,” said Brenda Moore, the sole, part-time staffer for the Mona Lake Watershed Council. “Without them, there's no way we could get out of the water.” She credited many agencies and individuals for helping the council's research, planning and remedial work.

• Planning — the importance of getting ducks in a row, so to speak, during the long lean years when funding dries up. That makes for “shovel ready” projects once the money comes.

“You're having a good day, but it's a long time coming,” said Tom Hamilton of Whitehall Township, a retired fisheries biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who works as a volunteer on natural-resource projects.

Hamilton credited Muskegon County's recent success in getting Great Lakes grants to the help of scores of volunteers “doing the boring stuff” like attending meetings and writing planning documents during the long years of no funding.

• Economic development — the potential for recreational or other growth once cleanup is completed.

In some cases, that might include redevelopment of blighted sites. Kathy Evans, environmental planner for the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission, said that's the hope for the former Zephyr oil refinery site in Muskegon Township, which pollutes wetlands around Muskegon Lake and Bear Creek.

The Sept. 20 road trip featured six stops.

Mona Lake Celery Flats
Just upstream from Mona Lake, the old celery flats along Black Creek in Fruitport Township — reflooded in 1996 after celery production ceased — have been the chief source of tremendously high levels of phosphorus flowing into the lake.

Sampling of the celery flats' water and sediment in 2009 was eye-opening. “What we found was quite astonishing,” said Mary Ogdahl of Grand Valley State University's Annis Water Resources Institute. “There's a ton of phosphorus in those flats, and it is getting into Mona Lake.”

The results for the lake have included blooms of toxic blue-green algae, elevated bacteria and public beach closings.

Remediation of this site is still in the planning stages. But — as Hamilton, the fisheries biologist, noted — planning is crucial to making a site “shovel ready.” And this site is just about there, with hopes for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding in the next grant cycle.

The Mona Lake Watershed Council's Moore credits numerous partners for getting it there, including a $24,000 gift through the Community Foundation for Muskegon County and cooperation from the Muskegon Conservation District, Ducks Unlimited, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the federal Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Muskegon Count drain commissioner and wastewater management system.

Black Creek Filter Marsh
Further upstream in the Black Creek-Mona Lake watershed, a 102-acre patch of Moorland Township ground at the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System site will be flooded soon to create a manmade wetland — a filter or flow-through marsh.

Funded by a nearly $1 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant already awarded, the marsh will help keep phosphorus from entering Black Creek upstream of the celery flats. It will also alleviate flooding in part of Moorland Township and improve drainage in a large portion of the county.

In addition to cutting phosphorus intake, planners hope the new marsh will capture a lot of sediment, improving the fish habitat of Black Creek — traditionally a trout stream, but not anymore because of excessive sediment, said Dana Strouse of the DEQ's nonpoint source program in Grand Rapids.

Bosma property, Muskegon Township
This 80-acre site on the Muskegon River's north bank, in Muskegon Township a short distance upstream of the Causeway, is also a former celery-growing site.

Privately owned by the Bosma family, the property next to the old Zephyr Oil site is targeted for a hoped-for eventual purchase for protection, habitat restoration and public recreation. The goal for the site, which is still being de-watered by pumps, is to restore it to a protected wetland status. That's expected to help with the effort to clean up the Muskegon Lake watershed to the point where it's removed from the federal government's Great Lakes Areas of Concern list of toxic hot spots.

Any grant funding would require local matching funds, which so far have not materialized. But planners aren't giving up. “We haven't quit trying to raise money,” Evans said.

Heckema tract, city of Whitehall
At this 100-acre site near the mouth of the White River — yet another old celery farm — the organizers had news last week: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had just approved funding for the city of Whitehall to acquire the property. The Muskegon Conservation District, holding a conservation easement, will restore and manage it as a permanently protected wetland, restoring bird and wildlife habitat. The acquisition will be part of a $1 million North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant for wetlands protection and restoration in a 12-county area of West Michigan.

As with the other projects, long years of planning was essential to the eventual funding. “We've been working on it for 15 years,” said Jeff Auch, executive director of the Muskegon Conservation District.

Wetland restoration here and at other White Lake shoreline sites, a total of some 1,000 acres, is expected to help get the lake removed from the Areas of Concern list.

White Lake Causeway
Here, participants viewed the early stages of one of seven White Lake shoreline sites that are undergoing habitat restoration as part of a $2.1 million, federally funded project. At the causeway site, native Michigan plants have been planted on a 20- to 30-foot-wide shoreline strip, and dead trees have been laid in the shallows to create a habitat for small fish and aquatic birds such as the great blue heron and green heron.

Altogether, the seven projects will restore more than 35 acres of wetlands and aquatic habitat, restore more than 5,000 feet of shoreline, reconnect eight acres of now-disconnected habitats and remove more than 27,000 cubic yards of shoreline debris. These projects, too, will help White Lake move toward “de-listing” as an Area of Concern.

Willbrandt Property
Once again, a former celery farm. The Willbrandt property is on Bear Creek at the mouth of Bear Lake, part of the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern.

The West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission is working with the city of North Muskegon and the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership on wetlands restoration. Evans said the plan is to test sediment for phosphorus and other contaminants and eventually re-create the wetland. In addition to an existing federal grant to WMSRDC to design the project, Evans said, the city was just awarded a grant to acquire the property.


Editorial: Wetlands revival: Federal, state investment pays off in Muskegon County
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/muskegon/i ... l_fed.html
09/29/11 By Paula Holmes-Greeley | The Muskegon Chronicle The Muskegon Chronicle

A recent tour of Muskegon County environmental toxic hot spots did two things. It demonstrated how far this area has come in cleaning up and restoring its shoreline — and how far it has to go.

It also showed the impact federal and state grants can have on the restoration process, especially during this poor economy.

Hopefully, tour organizers mentioned the results of a recent Grand Valley State University study that estimated a 6-to-1 return on the $10 million federal investment in Muskegon Lake shoreline restoration, including a $1 million annual increase in tourism spending. A similar impact is expected from the $2.1 million investment in White Lake restoration efforts, which began in July, and would be felt from projects on Mona Lake as well.

Even at the lower estimate of a 2007 Brookings Institution study of a 2-1 return in economic development from federal investment in shoreline restoration, any project is a proven benefit to Muskegon County and a worthwhile use of federal funds.

While the tour emphasized the lengthy planning process involved in cleanup efforts and the importance of having projects “shovel ready,” the organizers also stressed the importance of partherships and subsequent economic development.

They should add community involvement and perseverance to the list.

Without the hard work of area officials, environmentalists and citizens over the last three decades, restoration efforts on Mona, Muskegon and White lakes would not be this far along. These citizens have attended meetings, lobbied lawmakers, created public advisory councils for each lake, demanded action and refused to back down.

Without this hard work, Muskegon County never would have gotten the attention it has. Originally, this area's toxic hot spots were at the bottom of the state's cleanup list.

Muskegon County is home to two of Michigan's 14 designated Great Lakes toxic hot spots —Muskegon Lake and White Lake. That means there have been limitations on the uses of the lakes including frequent beach closings, a loss of fish and wildlife habitat, and restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption.

The Muskegon and White lakes environmental disaster areas are among 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern identified in 1985. About 30 of the toxic hot spots are in the U.S. and only one site, located in New York, has been cleaned up enough that it could be formally de-listed.

But the major cleanup efforts ongoing in Muskegon County have moved White Lake within a few years of being removed from the Areas of Concern list.

Muskegon Lake, which is much larger, is still more than a decade away from reaching that goal.

The six stops on the Sept. 20 bus tour, hosted by Ducks Unlimited and Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, were a mix of sites that have been funded and are undergoing restoration and sites that need restoration but have yet to be funded. While the tour stopped at only one of the major cleanup sites, on the White Lake causeway, it pointed out ongoing efforts at smaller sites, contaminated either by industry or agriculture, to prevent additional pollution from flowing into Mona, Muskegon and White lakes and eventually into Lake Michigan.

Clearly, shoreline restoration will be a decades-long effort in Muskegon County that will require a determined, coordinated effort and continued federal funding. And, in order to protect that federal investment, new regulations must be put in place to protect the environment from whomever develops or uses property near sensitive environmental resources.

Area residents must work as hard at protecting the restored shoreline as they have in reclaiming it.

Hamilton Reef
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Post by Hamilton Reef » Sun Oct 02, 2011 7:29 pm

Sorry about the double posting. Screen said server error try again.

All of these wetland projects on Mona Lake, Muskegon/Bear Lake, and White Lake will create muskie spawning habitats. First things first is to get the properties and access for the projects. We've made great progress. It will take time and more funding for the restorations, but the GLS muskie are still years off before they need the spawning habitat. We'll keep working on the fishery habitats and MMA can expand the GLS culture for the future. The two will match up eventually.

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