Earth Day; Acting Local
Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:51:40 AM PDT
The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy (formerly, the Michigan Wildlife Habitat Foundation) was founded in 1982 by the Jackson, Michigan, businessman Russell Bengel and several others who had the vision and understanding that for wildlife to be preserved, it is necessary to preserve vital habitat. But, as with many of our formerly wild places, preservation bowed to the pressure of commerce. As such, the MWC was formed to help restore at least some of what has been lost to that pressure. Since its founding in 1982, the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy has helped restore more than 6,700 acres of wetalands, 2,400 acres of prarie habitat, installed more than 1,000 stream improvement structures, and have demonstrated the existence of a wild breeding population of cougar throught most the state.
I have been a member of the MWC since 1983, a past president, and currently serve on the executive committee of the Board of Directors.
This diary is to demonstrate what can be done when public and private interests, rather than opposing each other, work together towards a common goal.
In this case, the MWC combined with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Canada-Ontario Agreement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Essex (Ontario) Region Conservation Authority, and Environment Canada to secure a total of $178,000 (thus far) in funding, along with technical assistance from several of these entities, and engineering and construction support donated by corporate sponsor BASF to establish the first bi-national public-private wildlife refuge on the US-Canada international border.
The project is a lake sturgeon spawning reef located just north of Fighting Island in the Detroit River, and with the pre-construction assessment now completed, actual construction is slated to begin in the fall. A third state, the post-construction assessment, will be performed in 2009-2010.
On April 19, just a few days before Earth Day, these groups and interested guests joined with the two legislators without whose invaluable force and commitment 
this project would have died in the idea stage: John Dingell, from Michigan's 15th District, and Canadian Member of Parliment, Jeff Watson of Essex County. "It is wonderful to see improvement in the water quality of the Detroit River as a result of 35 years of pollution prevention and control," said Dingell at the project announcement, "The improved water quality has laid the foundation for the return of lake sturgeon, and provides us an opportunity to work with our Canadian friends to enhance the sturgeon habitat through the building of a spawning reef off Fighting Island."
"We are honored to work with our US partners to build a lake sturgeon spawning reef off Fighting Island and to further the restoration of this keystone species in the Huron-Erie Corridor," said Canadian Member of Parliament Jeff Watson. "This provides further evidence of the return of our Detroit River and the place we all call home."
By way of backround, the lake sturgeon is was extant at the time dinosaurs walked the Earth, approximately 200 million years ago, according to the fossil record. In Michigan, the lake sturgeon reaches about 8-9 feet in length and can weigh in the neighborhood of 300 pounds. Though they live 
for more than 120 years, their numbers have been drastically reduced due to pollution and loss of habitat from the dredging of spawning beds for gravel. The Canadian Species at Risk Act and the US Fish and Wildlife Service list the sturgeon as a species of special concern. It is also listed as a threatened species in North America by the American Fisheries Society. It is considered a globally rare species by The Nature Conservancy, a threatened species in the State of Michigan and in 19 of the 20 states in which it is found. Due to pollution of habitats, lake sturgeon are currently estimated to number only one percent (1%) of their former population. The Detroit River and Lake St. Clair were, at one time, one of the most productive waters for lake sturgeon in North America.
In 2001, lake sturgeon spawning was documented in the Detroit River for the first time in over 20 years. Lake sturgeon spawning habitats have now been built off Belle Isle in Detroit, off McKee Park in Windsor, Ontario, and off Fort Malden in Amherstburg, also in Ontario. Historically, the area surrounding Fighting Island was well known as an important spawning and nursery area for sturgeon. In November 2006, scientists from US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Geological Survey captured four juvenile lake sturgeon near the southern end of Fighting Island, providing 
additional evidence of the importance of the Fighting Island habitat to lake sturgeon and a clear rationale for the construction of the spawning reef.
We at the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy (at right with Rep. Dingell) are proud to be a part of this worthwhile project, and are so thankful of the effort put into this endeavor by John Dingell and Jeff Watson. They shepherded through their respective legislatures the necessary enabling legislation, and as a result of their dogged determination, this project will result in one more step in restoring our critical wildlife heritage. I am hopeful that on this Earth Day you are equally inspired to do something, one step, to help your local environment.
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