Educating the public about what it will take to restore and maintain Detroits Belle Isle through hands-on projects will be the focus of the Belle Isle Volunteer Stewardship Program on Saturday, September 23, 2000, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Belle Isle.
Volunteers should register in advance with the Belle Isle Nature Center, at (313) 852-4056.
Volunteer adults and children will plant upland and aquatic plants along Blue Heron Lagoon as part of a habitat rehabilitation plan, and will help with shoreline cleanup. Follow-up activities will include building a small boardwalk at Blue Heron Lagoon, propagating plants in the Conservatory, restoring Oak Openings, and undertaking a botanical survey of the island.
This is the second in a series of projects planned by the Detroit Recreation Department and the Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative aimed at restoring fish and wildlife habitat on Belle Isle and developing a stewardship ethic. Other event sponsors include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Friends of Belle Isle, Friends of the Detroit River, Detroit Audubon Society, U.S. Forest Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Detroit Edison Foundation, and Detroit Edison, a DTE Energy Company.
Belle Isle Park Superintendent Marchel McGehee says the development of a stewardship ethic is an essential ingredient in implementing the proposed Belle Isle Master Plan. "The Detroit Recreation Department needs a committed core of volunteer stewards to help keep Belle Isle clean and green for future generations. There is no better way of developing volunteer stewards than to work with our children," McGehee said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working cooperatively with the City of Detroit through its Coastal Program, which seeks to leverage local funding for projects benefiting fish, wildlife, and plant habitats utilizing an ecosystem approach.
"We are pleased to join with the City of Detroit and others to focus our collective energies to restore natural conditions on Belle Isle," said Craig Czarnecki, Field Supervisor of the East Lansing Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program.
For more information, please contact Suzan Campbell, Belle Isle Naturalist, at (313) 852-4056 or John Hartig, Greater Detroit American Heritage River Navigator, at (313) 568-9594.
Belle Isle is a 980-acre island-park located in the Detroit River within close proximity to the Central Business District of the City of Detroit. It is the crown jewel of Detroits public park system. Belle Isle was designed in 1883 by Frederick Law Olmstead, who also designed New Yorks Central Park. It is situated on one of Americans busiest waterways and provides spectacular views of Detroit, Canada, freighter traffic, and the Ambassador Bridge. The park has eight million annual visitors. Improving Belle Isle is a top priority of both the Detroit Recreation Department and the Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative.
The Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative is a multi-community-driven initiative designed to enhance economic development, improve environmental quality, and celebrate the history and culture of the Detroit River. The Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative is managed by the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, a regional civic organization of business, labor, and government.
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 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 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 governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
For further information about programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our website at http://midwest.fws.gov
