Today, Ford House opens nearly one mile of restored Lake St. Clair shoreline to the public for the first time, marking a major milestone in the Lower Lake St. Clair Habitat Restoration Project. A ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. opens public access to a reopened Bird Island and a new universally accessible path along the berm, part of a restoration that focused on improved fish habitat within Ford Cove and in Lake St. Clair.
The restoration was funded by a $7 mi Majkallion grant from the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation’s Community-based Restoration Program. This program provides funding to local partners like Ford House to restore habitat for fisheries and communities. Additionally, the initial feasibility study was funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This project will provide important habitat for Great Lakes fish while expanding recreational, educational, and accessibility opportunities for visitors.
In Ford Cove, felled trees and other natural materials have been placed to give young fish cover and shelter, creating a nursery habitat along a stretch of shoreline that had eroded over decades. The restoration also adds more than 50,000 native perennials and 500 trees and shrubs, with tens of thousands more perennials and hundreds more trees and shrubs to be planted later this year.
About 99.9 percent of Michigan’s Lake St. Clair shoreline is hardened with concrete and rock, according to NOAA, which strips away the shallow, vegetated zones where fish spawn and young fish grow. Across the lake in Canada, where natural shoreline remains common, a binational survey conducted with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources found fish catch rates roughly 10 times higher. The difference is a measure of what hardened shoreline costs, and what restoration can return.
“Since inception, this land has been shaped by its shoreline,” says Mark J. Heppner, President & CEO of Ford House. “Restoring it is part of our work to keep the estate accessible and educational, to help put focus on the importance of clean water and habitat, and to make Ford House a leader in stewarding land for the future. It opens the water’s edge to the public for the first time, and what we celebrate today belongs to the whole region, not just to Ford House.”
On Bird Island, a new boardwalk has been designed to carry visitors across restored wetlands and vernal pools. In addition to the project itself, Ford House staff also created a new natural interactive zone called Benson’s Backyard, a nature-based play area for children and adults. Improved accessibility was a goal of the project, and guests will now see a universally accessible path running atop a new engineered berm permitting all guests to be able to safely move from the Visitor Center to the historic Main Residence. Native willow trees (propagated from the original 100-year-old plus trees) and the recreation of a historic pier will follow in coming months.
“A healthy shoreline does quiet, important work,” says Kevin Drotos, Landscape & Natural Areas Manager at Ford House and project manager for the project. “The habitat in Ford Cove gives young fish a place to grow, the new boardwalk carries people out over restored wetlands, and the berm path opens the water’s edge to everyone. People will experience a beautiful walk, and the lake will benefit for decades to come.”
GEI Consultants led the project for Ford House. Catskill served as the main contractor for most of the project, partnering with Kanouse Outdoor Restoration. Wildtype and GEI Consultants installed native plants, Landscape Services Inc. installed native trees and handled grading, seeding, and mulching, Nash Nursery supplied and installed native trees, Kyle Builders Inc. built the boardwalk, Marc Dutton Irrigation Inc. completed irrigation, and Advantage Electric completed electrical work. The work drew additional support from Macomb County Planning and Economic Development, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division, and NOAA.
The morning program features remarks from Ford House leadership and project partners, including Senator Kevin Hertel, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller and Brian Majka, GEI. The public was also invited to the ribbon cutting today, Tuesday, July 7, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ford House Visitor Center as they have been some of the biggest champions for the project. A ceremonial first walk to the Main Residence and out to the restored shoreline and Bird Island follows the program. Members of the media are welcome on-site today. Ford House leadership and Project Manager Kevin Drotos are available for interviews in the St. Clair Room from 11:15 a.m. to noon.
Process photos from the restoration are available now in the Ford House media library at https://fordhouse.org/ford-house-media-resources/media-library/. Event photography and drone footage will be added there by end of day Tuesday, July 7.
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