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Wetland Restoration Projects

We completed the coastal wetland and lakeplain prairie restoration projects in the fall of 2001, with the exception of two footbridges which were installed in 2002. All of the projects were completed on lands acquired through the settlement and then transferred to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). Previous owners used drainage systems and dikes to make the land suitable for agriculture.

The goal of these projects was to restore naturally fluctuating water levels that are necessary for coastal wetland and lakeplain prairie habitats. We removed or plugged existing drainage systems, breached dikes to allow water levels to fluctuate with Saginaw Bay levels, and built up other dikes to protect neighbors from any changes in their drainage. We also removed structures and debris to provide as much habitat as possible and to remove hazards for people visiting the sites. Photographs of the properties before, during, and after restoration have been assembled into a virtual tour of the restoration process. (This links to an executable file and you will need to select "open" rather than "save" to run it, if prompted by your browser.)

We are working with the MDNR, Ducks Unlimited, and other partners to enhance and restore native plant communities on these parcels now that the earthwork is completed. Parts of the Saginaw NRDA settlement were used as matching projects for a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant for this part of the work and for additional wetland restoration projects impacting 3,000 acres in the watershed.

Parcel (County)	Acres	Activities
Robinson (Arenac)	204	breach SE dike by bay and raise dikes by neighbors fill ditch adjacent to SE dike contruct borrow area with habitat benefits remove pumps and disconnect drains establish native vegetation in upland area demolish structures and remove utility poles
Badour 1 (Bay)	34	breach N dike and raise adjacent sections remove pumps and disconnect drains construct footbridge for access remove utility poles
Badour 2 (Bay)	107	breach SE dike disconnect drains construct footbridge for access remove existing structures and utility poles
Rievert (Huron)	46	breach N dike by bay and raise dikes by neighbors fill ditch adjacent to N dike demolish existing dewatering structures and disconnect drains
Sieja (Arenac)	280	remove existing structures and utilities
Eastman/KBC Tool (Arenac)	118	remove existing structures and utility poles
Fritz (Bay)	40	remove existing structures and utilities
Hughes (Bay)	99	remove existing structures and utility poles
5 additional parcels(Bay and Tuscola)	351	minor debris removal and other clean-up activities

Restoration Links

Ducks Unlimited press release "$1 Million Grant Approved for Saginaw Bay Wetlands", April 20, 2001. A coalition of citizen organizations and resources agencies successfully used parts of this settlement as matching projects in order to get a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant for additional wetland restoration projects impacting 3,000 acres in the watershed.

To learn more about lakeplain prairie, one of the habitat types we are trying to restore, visit Michigan Natural Features Inventory and look at their Lakeplain Prairie (link to pdf file) and Lakeplain Wet-Mesic Prairie (link to pdf file) Abstracts

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Last updated: July 17, 2008

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