Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Wildlife thrives in unique urban setting along Detroit River September 7, 2006 BY ANNE RUETER Ann Arbor News Staff Reporter See map at http://www.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/se_mich/detriv.jpg Bruce Bowman 9-8-2006 Imagine you're floating down the Detroit River, on your way to Lake Erie. If you like the uncut versions of real cities, you'll take in the sights - lake freighters, the tall round towers of a DTE electric power plant and islands made of industrial waste, where tall, raggedy grasses have taken hold. But no way is this a nature trip, you might say - smugly, perhaps, thinking of the woods and lakes of western Washtenaw. Yet you'd be wrong. "People don't realize the great diversity of wildlife we have," says David Sanders, executive vice president of the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, which works on projects to raise the area's profile for recreation and tourism. Three upcoming events in the Detroit River International Widlife Refuge will make it easy to cast off your ignorance. The refuge, created in 2001, is the core of a new way of thinking about "downriver," the string of towns and industries, mostly auto-related, downstream from Detroit. "People think about us as a rust belt. But if you take a satellite view, we look like the blue belt," says Sanders. "In the Southwest, they've got the sunshine, but we've got the water." Mary Bohling, extension educator at Michigan Sea Grant, is involved in several of the revival efforts. She grew up in nearby Alien Park. In those days, she says, "You didn't tell people you were from downriver." People upstream in Detroit looked down on the blue collar area where all the pollution flowed. That's changed. "It's now a source of pride to say you're from downriver," she says. "We're getting the message out about the resources that are still here." This weekend and next, the refuge is celebrating its riches with a Waterfowl Festival at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area; a guided kayak tour of its prized new purchase, Humbug Marsh; and Hawkfest, a premier birdwatching event tied to the fall migration of thousands of hawks, eagles, osprey and kestrels streaming across from Canada. (See related box for details.) If you come, you'll be joining the growing numbers of southeast Michigan residents in the know about the refuge. In five years, the refuge has expanded from 394 acres to 2,122 acres protected through public ownership or conservation agreements with landowners. Bohling says the refuge acreage is expected to double in the next year, with more coastal wetland management agreements like existing ones at the Fermi II power plant and a Visteon Automotive Holdings, Inc. plant. Backers point to signs the Detroit River, which in pre- industrial days teemed with breeding and feeding fish and birds, is rebounding, after decades when industries piled up wastes like the Black Lagoon near Trenton. It was one of the first federal Superfund sites to get cleaned up. * Bald eagles have begun nesting on Fighting Island, a Canadian island across from Wyandotte owned by BASF Corp. Canadian school groups have helped monitor insects and sample water during plant restoration projects in the island's alkaline flats. * Whitefish have begun to spawn again in rocky spots built by fish scientists to replace spawning grounds dredged out decades ago for the river's shipping lane. * Scientists anticipate that lake sturgeon will soon spawn in the river again. The Detroit River was their major spawning ground until the early 1900s. * Peregrine falcons are nesting on Zug Island, finding a handy diet of pigeons at a nearby Detroit Edison facility on the Rouge River. The lower Detroit River is a landscape of crazy contrasts. * Near Trenton, Humbug Marsh and Humbug Island sit like Sleeping Beauty's castle, an aged chain link fence separating them from nearby Solutia chemical plant and an idle steel rolling mill. Refuge backers call the marsh their '^jewel," the only undeveloped section of Detroit River frontage that's left on the U.S. side. Its 465 acres of upland oak woods and coastal marsh, rich in plant, fish and bird species, are not open to the public yet. But a hiking and hiking trail and other paths through Humbug Marsh are in the works, using nearly $1 million in federal and local matching funds as part of the larger Downriver Linked greenways Initiative, a trail from Trenton to Lake Erie Metropark. By next May a wildlife observation deck and interpretive signs will go in, using $100,000 from Wild Birds Unlimited and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The marsh attracts many kinds of waterfowl because of its large beds of wild celery Backers are raising funds for a visitor's center on a former Daimler-Chrysler paint plant site adjacent to the marsh. Meanwhile, the birds and birders aren't waiting for more birdwatching amenities. At Lake Erie Metropark and Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, nature has for centuries provided ideal conditions for large concentrations of songbirds, waterfowl and birds of prey Two major migratory bird flyways converge in this zone where the Detroit River opens into Lake Erie, explains Bohling. From September through November at the metropark and at adjacent Pointe Mouillee, visitors can spot waves of migrating osprey, peregrine falcons, golden eagles, broadwinged and red shouldered hawks, turkey vultures and other raptors. For a great introduction to the birds of the area - and to the days when millionaires and commercial duck hunters flocked to Pointe Mouillee - visitors should stop by the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center in Lake Erie Metropark. And stay tuned for further recreation opportunities in the downriver area. The Metropolitan Affairs Coalition is working on a "heritage water trail" on the Detroit, Rouge and Huron rivers for kayakers and canoeists. Next spring, expect word that a new observation deck will open at Humbug Marsh. Bohling hopes to have a new birdwatching driving tour map for southeast Michigan and southwest Ontario ready, too. Reporter Anne Rueter can be reached at 734-994-6759 or arueter@annarbornews.com. REFUGE HIGHLIGHTS The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge protects a major bird flyway and is working to restore former fish spawning grounds along one of the nation's most urban rivers. * What: Established in 2001,the refuge is one of more than 500 wildlife refuges in which the U.S. government protects valuable fish and wildlife habitats. It's the only international one, with U.S. and Canadian officials working together. * Where: 48 miles of Detroit River and Lake Erie shores and islands, from the mouth of the Rouge River to the outskirts of Toledo. * How big: 2,122 acres of protected uplands, coastal wetlands and islands * Places to visit: Elizabeth Park in Trenton, Lake Erie Metropark, Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, Sterling State Park, Erie State Game Area. * What's special: Hunting and birdwatching groups, government experts and school groups are helping manage and restore habitats for 29 species of waterfowl, 65 kinds offish and 300 species of migratory birds. * What's next: A birdwatching deck and interpretive signs are slated to open in May at Humbug Marsh, a recently acquired key parcel; a driving tour brochure and map for birdwatching in southeast Michigan and southwest Ontario also are expected to be available in the spring. TAMMIE GRAVES, THE ANN ARBOR NEWS