Contacts
Lisa Williams, East Lansing Field Office 517-351-8324
Georgia Parham, External Affairs 812-334-4261 x 203
A final plan for restoring 900-acre Tobico Marsh near Bay City
is complete, calling for measures that will improve fish passage between
Saginaw Bay and Tobico Marsh and minimize the risk of flooding to nearby
residents. Fish move between the bay and the marsh for spawning, so enhancing
fish passage will benefit fish populations, especially those of northern
pike. The final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment were announced
today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Some highlights of the plan include modifications to the flap
gate at Tobico Lagoon and improvements to the existing culverts under Parish
Road. The Service and its partners restoring the marsh had considered additional
measures to improve water flow – including installation of additional
culverts under Parish Road and Boutell Road.
However, it was determined through information gained during
a public comment period that these additional measures, which would have
rerouted water from Hadd Drain into the marsh, were not feasible.
The final plan incorporates information and suggestions given
by the public during a public comment period earlier this year, at a meeting
in January 2002, and an engineering study of water level fluctuations. The
plan is available at the Bay City State Recreation Area Visitor Center in
Bay City, Michigan, and on the internet at http://midwest.fws.gov/nepa/.
In 1998, the Service, the State of Michigan and the Saginaw
Chippewa Tribe, acting together as natural resource trustees, negotiated
a settlement with General Motors and the cities of Bay City and Saginaw under
a Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA).
The settlement provided for cleanup of contaminated sediments
in Saginaw River, construction of boat launches and a nature park, and restoration
of wildlife habitat in portions of the bay and river, including Tobico Marsh.
More information on the settlement and its benefits can be found at http://midwest.fws.gov/nrda/saginaw
The goals of NRDA are to restore the habitats and resources to the condition
they would have been had the contaminants not been released into the environment,
and to compensate the public for the loss of use or enjoyment of natural resources.
The parties responsible for the contamination are required to pay for these
activities.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife
and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands,
and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes
hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment
to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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