Construction on the Middle Channel Reef Fish Habitat Restoration Project has begun! Please join Michigan Sea Grant and our project partners at a special event to help celebrate the construction and to learn more about the restoration.
The project is aimed at strengthening native fish populations in Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. The event is set for Tuesday, May 1 (rain date: May 2). Members of the media and special guests are invited to take a boat tour of the reef construction site in the St. Clair River at 10 a.m. RSVPs are required for the boat tour. There will be a public reception at 11 a.m.
Details
What: Celebration of the reef construction and restoration project. Project partners will explain the significance of the project and will be available for interviews.
Visuals/Photo opportunities: The research vessel, sampling equipment, fish eggs and larval fish samples, example reef material, diagrams of reef layout and fact sheets will be available.
When: Tuesday, May 1. Press reception and boat tour begins at 10 a.m. General reception, open to the public, begins at 11 a.m. Rain Date is May 2
Where: Michigan DNR North Channel Boat Ramp, just south of Algonac on M-29. The launch is across the street from Kroger. Directions available here.
Why: The Middle Channel reefs that are under construction are designed to benefit several fish species that are threatened or endangered in Michigan, including lake sturgeon, mooneye, northern madtom catfish and river redhorse sucker. Popular sport fish walleye and commercially important lake whitefish will also benefit. Many of these fish migrate great distances from where they are born; and the Middle Channel reefs will enhance fish communities in lakes St. Clair, Erie and Huron.
Learn More:
- Middle Channel Reef project: Project Fact sheet (PDF)
- Huron Erie Corridor Initiative Huron-Erie Corridor Initiative
- Restoration and Research: Restoring an Urban River
Please RSVP to Lynn Vaccaro at lvaccaro@umich.edu if you plan on taking the boat tour. Spaces are limited and reservations are required.
The Middle Channel reef project is a GLRI project supported by grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Led by Michigan Sea Grant, this project is part of a long-term collaboration among federal, state and private groups interested in studying and restoring the Huron-Erie Corridor.
