Images Of The
Coastal Program (Page #1)

The pictures shown below represent just a few of the before and after images from various projects that have been sponsored by the Coastal Program. 

Please click on the thumbnail pictures to view a larger image

Restoration at Barnes Park (Lake Michigan Shoreline) where “Afton Stone” was used to stabilize a dune trail to the beach that had been severely eroded by foot traffic.  Click here to see a before and after view.

Treatment of invasive and competitive plant species as well as removal of black oak scrub to allow for more open areas for oak savanna.  Where possible, large black oak trees were left to provide variation in the oak savanna and to allow for different shade areas in support of the habitat requirements of the Karner blue butterfly and the host plant wild lupine.   Click here to see a before and after view.

While most coastal features retain a high degree of their ecological integrity, the Oak Island sandscape is one of the most impacted and threatened.  The Oak Island Sandscape Restoration Project is being conducted by the National Park Service and is funded in part through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Coastal Program.  The project is in the process of restoring the ecological integrity of the Oak Island sandscape and will provide restoration protocols to be used in other efforts within or outside the park.  Click here to see a before and after view.

At the Wilcox-Palmer Shah Preserve, the Grand Traverse Regional land Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created a wooden boardwalk to both prevent erosion to the main access trail and to funnel visitors to the beach along this route. Naturally-occurring downed logs and brush were used to further discourage use of the unofficial trails created by visitors that were a potential threat to colonies of the Federally-listed Pitcher's thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) and State-listed plants onsite. Due to the extreme weather conditions on the open dunes and the sensitive natural habitat, a sustainable forest lumber was selected as the main building component of the boardwalk. This particular Amazon lumber has a life-expectancy of over 60 years without any chemical treatment and as a sustainable forest product, it's use enhances tropical rain forest preservation.  Click here to see a before and after view.

An original Coastal Program Project, "Born of the Wind" received a national award for "Outstanding Government Publication" last year. One of Fiscal Year 2002's Coastal Program Projects, "Muskegon Lake and Estuary Emergent Vegetation Restoration Demonstration Project", recently received the 2003 Muskegon Area Environmental Excellence Award. With $11,000 in Coastal Program funding, and $7,000 in local match, five areas, constituting over eleven acres, have been planted, and will be re-planted as needed over the next 2 years, with wild rice and emergent vegetation. Each site will be a demonstration area on private or State bottom lands for restoration in Muskegon Lake, which has lost over 75% of its historic aquatic habitat due to development and industrial fill. After months of planning and preparation, the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly held a unique "kickoff" ceremony last November that included a blessing by the Little River Band of Odawa Indian Nation and viewing of Peace Art by Bunker Jr. High Students before local volunteers casted over 500 pounds of seed and planted over 5000 native aquatic plants in the chilly waters over 2 days. This spring Bob Kavetsky (East Lansing Field Office) and Nikki Lamp (Michigan State University Intern) visited the sites and discovered 4 of the 5 sites had sprouted wild rice, some reaching the "floating leaf" stage. Great hopes for seed heads and wild rice stands remain for the remainder of the demonstration.