Manoomin (mah-NOO-mehn) or wild rice was once very common in coastal marshes along the Detroit River and has always been sacred to First Nations. As Detroit became settled by Europeans, the river’s shoreline hardened with concrete breakwaters and steel sheet piling for commerce and industry, and the river’s water quality deteriorated from pollution, wild rice… Read more: Operation Manoomin: Restoring Wild Rice along the Detroit River

The creation of an urban national park on an unprepossessing parcel of land in the automaking hub of Windsor, Ontario, is also meant to serve as an act of Indigenous reconciliation.

It’s not open yet, but the Gordie Howe International Bridge has just become an official border crossing, connecting Michigan and Canada by the largest cable-stayed bridge in all of North America. It’s the latest milestone in the Bridge’s ongoing construction between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

In August, students in the state’s biggest school district will form a group to weigh in on the district’s social studies curriculum as part of a process to ensure course materials are equitable and representative of the majority-Black student body. The new Social Studies Student Think Tank will serve as the main outlet for Detroit… Read more: Can Detroit students see themselves in their course work? District wants them to weigh in

Growing up in one of the state’s most polluted ZIP codes, Southwest Detroit resident Theresa Landrum has fought for decades to protect her neighbors from heavy industry. But another area of potential environmental concern — the maritime trade industry — isn’t as well known and it poses risks, too, experts and advocates like Landrum say.

Multiple boat storage and service facilities lining the Detroit River are transforming into Stanton Yards, a forthcoming waterfront arts destination spearheaded by Library Street Collective co-founders JJ and Anthony Curis. The development is part of the ambitious partners’ new arts corridor Little Village in Detroit’s East Village neighborhood. Once completed, Stanton Yards will be directly… Read more: New waterfront cultural arts destination coming to Detroit’s Little Village

Imagine if the world’s longest trail (located in Canada) connected people even further, into another country, via Michigan’s longest trail. That happened last month when the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority announced that the Gordie Howe International Bridge would become part of a binational trail system. When the initial discussions for a potential new bridge connecting… Read more: Gordie Howe International Bridge becomes part of binational trail system

As we celebrate the completion of the Riverwalk to include the link along the former Uniroyal site adjacent to the Belle Isle Bridge, it is appropriate and fitting to acknowledge the roots of this wonderful people-space along the Detroit River. In large part, the Riverwalk has been completed due to the public-private partnership established by… Read more: How Coleman Young transformed Detroit’s Riverfront, starting with Chene Park

In 1929, the longest suspended central span bridge in the world at that time – The Ambassador Bridge – was completed linking Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. It is the busiest United States/Canada truck crossing, handling 8,000+ trucks and 68,000 travelers a day. With the ongoing construction of the new Gordie Howe Bridge, it is important… Read more: What the Bridges to Windsor Represent to Detroit

Today, the Detroit River is much cleaner, and sentinel wildlife species have returned. It is good to look back at the 1960s pollution of the river, notably oil pollution, and recognize how far we have come. However, we still have much work to do, including developing a stewardship ethic. During the 1940s, Detroit River oil pollution… Read more: Lest we forget: a history of Detroit River oil pollution

The terrain covering Grosse Ile’s Hennepin Point, at first blush, appears like any other of the myriad areas around Michigan’s Great Lakes shorelines. Brush and trees grow among patchworks of sand, and the crystal blue Detroit River flows past on either side of the point. 

The fire that tore through the Boblo boat Ste. Claire in 2018 destroyed the century-old ship’s historic wooden superstructure, but the damage didn’t end when firefighters extinguished the flames. The blaze also ruined the steamer’s ranking as a nationally significant historic site. The Ste. Claire lost its National Historic Landmark designation last month after a… Read more: Boblo boat loses national historic designation

Southwest Detroit has long been known for its heavy industry. In recent years, the Boynton and Oakwood Heights neighborhoods have teamed up with Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Detroit refinery to strengthen and revitalize these communities, including a plan to create some much-needed green space.

Dan Kennedy, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge manager, lights up when he talks about a rare orchid that can be found downriver. It’s “awesome,” he said, a “super delicate” flower with feathery, white petals that put nature’s incredible artistry on display.

In 1945, Sarah Elizabeth Ray was denied passage on a ferry on the Detroit River because she was Black. She fought the injustice, and her case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. For decades, Sarah’s trailblazing civil rights role was nearly forgotten, as was her work later in life as a community… Read more: The Unsinkable Sarah E. Ray

For over 100 years the Detroit River was perceived as a working waterway that supported industry and commerce. As such, its shoreline was progressively hardened with concrete seawalls, steel sheet piling, or re-purposed broken concrete. This stabilized the shoreline, helped protect against erosion, and allowed for safe industrial and commercial development. But it came at… Read more: Detroit’s new Ralph Wilson Park will provide habitats for a healthy ecosystem

In downtown Detroit, 501 Third Avenue is known today as Steve Yzerman Drive and houses a Detroit People Mover station. But in the 1800s, the site played an important part in Detroit’s history as a major railway also serving as a stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves seeking freedom across the border into Canada.

For 43 years, state regulators and the Environmental Protection Agency have ordered chemical manufacturer BASF to stop discharging up to 72,000 gallons of toxic waste-contaminated groundwater daily from its Wyandotte plant into the Detroit River. But the waste still flows unabated. Based on BASF estimates, as much as 1.1 billion gallons of water contaminated with… Read more: Regulators fail for 43 years to stop BASF from ‘staggering’ daily toxic waste spill into Detroit River

Making a film about water came naturally for award-winning documentary filmmaker dream hampton, though water and the environment has not traditionally been her emphasis. hampton made Freshwater after coming off a hectic schedule in 2018 and 2019 during which she made three films. It was, she decided, a time to shift her focus, a time… Read more: Filmmaker looks at Detroit through the lens of water, life events and justice

If there was ever a collective metaphor for life, learning how to sail incorporates pretty much every aspect. Harry Jones, president of the nonprofit Detroit Community Sailing Center, runs the Challenge the Wind youth sailing program at the Belle Isle Boat House, and he sees his students transform in all of life’s lessons. Once the… Read more: Detroit kids learn joys of sailing, self transformation at Belle Isle Boat House

Dead fish and milky puddles of water found this spring on the northern edge of one of Michigan’s most contaminated former industrial sites are prompting calls for renewed cleanup urgency.

A new study commissioned by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan makes a compelling case for how The Great Lakes Way – an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from southern Lake Huron through western Lake Erie – enriches quality of life and place for residents and visitors, sparks outdoor recreation and an… Read more: A Business Case for The Great Lakes Way

Many Detroiters still view the Detroit River as a natural resource that’s too polluted to enjoy. When it comes to cleaning up the toxic pollution in the Detroit River remaining from the decades-ago peak industrial era, “the time is now,” Jon Allan recently told Planet Detroit.

Except after a heavy rain, you’re clear to swim at the beach on the Detroit River — here’s what the experts say

Belle Isle has been a favorite Detroit spot for centuries and the most visited state park in Michigan. More than 5 million visitors last year barbecued, bird-watched, went to the beach, got married, held reunions or just took in the breathtaking views of the Detroit River. Beyond the beach and picnic spots, the island is… Read more: An A to Z guide to Belle Isle, the ‘Jewel of Detroit’

The prominent Detroit Harbor Terminal building along the riverfront is coming down. Better known as the Boblo boat building, just west of the Ambassador Bridge on the Detroit side, the 10-storey structure has sat vacant for roughly two decades. After years of being ravaged by vandalism, scavengers and thrill seekers, it is finally being taken… Read more: Landmark riverfront building in Detroit being taken down

Before the bridges, the roads, and the highways, there were ferries. In Detroit, some are pushing for a comeback after more than a decade of discussion. Earlier this month, City Council member Angela Whitfield-Calloway asked the Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority to conduct a feasibility study on connecting 25 miles of the Detroit River by passenger… Read more: Water taxis to make a comeback on Detroit River?

Downriver, the unofficial name for a cluster of 18 cities and townships just south of Detroit, is undergoing a transformation. From opening new restaurants to revitalizing its riverfront, the community is working hard to create a more vibrant and economically prosperous area for its residents. Spearheading this effort is Sue Trussell, the director of the Brownstown Downtown Development… Read more: Community leaders are working to transform Downriver

Wandering into a beaver habitat can be like entering a disaster zone. Shoreline bushes chewed back. Nearby trees felled and demolished. Hundreds of branches piled near a mound damming up a river and flooding the area. To some people the scene looks like environmental havoc. To the beaver, it’s home. Using trail cameras, FOX 2 photojournalist… Read more: Beavers reclaiming land on abandoned island in Detroit River

Twenty years ago, Detroit’s riverfront was in shambles. Access to the waterfront was limited and parts of the more than three-mile stretch were littered with crumbling vacant buildings and the air was filled with the sounds and debris from heavy machinery and cement factories. During the past two decades, Detroit’s riverfront and its Riverwalk have… Read more: ‘A real attraction’: Detroit’s revived riverfront poised for more development

A Detroit-based historian’s 15-year battle to see the Detroit River become a UNESCO world heritage site is getting more aggressive. The president of the Detroit River Project, Kimberly Simmons, believes efforts to recognize the historic river between Windsor and Detroit are gaining momentum as officials prepare a formal bid for when the tentative list opens… Read more: Fight to make the Detroit River a UNESCO world heritage site picking up support

In Windsor and Detroit, efforts are underway to publicize the life and legacy of Cornelius L. Henderson, one of the engineers who helped design both the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. “He was responsible for helping with the design of these steel trusses that make up the Canadian approach to the bridge and the steel… Read more: Engineer Cornelius L. Henderson helped connect Windsor and Detroit. Here’s who he was

Some of the water flowing through Detroit’s sewers were part of creeks that spread across the city when it was mostly farmland. When a creek flows into a sewer, and that sewer is opened, that’s called “daylighting.” Architects say daylighting can relieve urban flooding and promote economic development.

Night after night, across the dark waters of the Detroit River, crackled the voices of skippers of Great Lakes ships bound for Cleveland or Duluth, for Buffalo or Ashtabula. “Frank, good morning, Frank,” they would call, and the raspy, distinctive voice of Frank Zuzek, dispatcher for the J.W. Westcott Co., would note their arrival time… Read more: Meet the man who served as the ‘voice of the Detroit River’ for 58 years

We think of cars when we think of Detroit. This is the Motor City after all. And the automotive industry has served us well for generations. As head of the Wayne County-Detroit Port Authority, I believe we need to make room in our obsession with cars to embrace another aspect of our city’s history: the… Read more: Schrupp: Metro Detroiters Need Great Lakes jobs | Opinion

Have you ever gone for a peaceful walk along a creek or lake and been spooked by the sound of what you think is a pterodactyl? It can be quite unsettling to hear the unexpected frahnk frahnk of a startled great blue heron who just had its fishing expedition disrupted. The great blue heron can be found throughout… Read more: The Great Blue Herons of Stony Island

Should natural resources like the Great Lakes have the same legal right to protection from harm as a person has? Including the right to be free from exploitation as a commodity for financial gain? New York state Assemblyman Patrick Burke thinks so and has introduced formal legislation that would provide for those rights. Burke’s legislation, the… Read more: Buffalo legislator calls for bill of rights protection for the Great Lakes

National parks serve as pilgrimage sites because they provide spaces that provide a degree of solitude and access to unique natural resources. Research has shown that these national parks also promote ecotourism, are an economic engine for local communities, protect biodiversity through conservation, and improve mental health and quality of life. Windsor’s proposed Ojibway National Urban… Read more: New Ojibway Urban Park will benefit ecotourism along Detroit River corridor

Residents are pushing back on plans to develop two concrete crushing and mixing plants, fearing operations at a proposed southwest Detroit facility could be fatal to their neighborhood urban farms and hurt the quality of life and, in the other instance, block a portion of the popular Detroit Riverwalk. In a letter to city leaders… Read more: Detroiters fear concrete plants will block Riverwalk, be ‘catastrophic to neighborhoods’

A start-up company recently got design approval to build a ship that moves cargo with sails rather than fuel. But does it mean cargo vessels on the Great Lakes will be able to “veer” into alternative power? The 330-foot-long, hydrogen cell-powered sailing vessel is proposed by the Veer Group, a Bahamas-based company committed to zero… Read more: Could sails move Great Lakes cargo? Start-up to build zero-carbon ship

It’s a sunny October afternoon on Belle Isle, and about 80 middle school and high school students are getting ready to go canoeing. Only a few of them have been in a canoe before, and most haven’t been in any kind of boat. One by one, eight high school students from the Academy of the… Read more: Closing Michigan’s ‘adventure gap’: Floating classroom gets hundreds of students out on the water

This 2.4-square-mile city with 4.6 miles of waterfront aspires to be a recreational water destination Downriver. It’s getting millions in grants to support that dream. Plenty of help is being supplied from environmentalists, neighboring cities and residents who have volunteered hours of their time to clean up Ecorse Creek, long neglected amid decades of industrial… Read more: Ecorse dreams of becoming a Downriver water wonderland

Environmental groups want to join a legal battle against a DTE Energy subsidiary accused of unlawfully polluting to ensure resident voices near the coal processing plant are heard. EES Coke Battery on Zug Island, where River Rouge and the Detroit River meet, is one of the state’s largest emitters of sulfur dioxide. The facility produces a byproduct… Read more: Sierra Club wants to intervene in pollution suit against Zug Island coal plant

Pollution flowing from a Wyandotte chemical plant known as “one of the most complex cleanup sites” in the Metro Detroit region is delaying a major Detroit River remediation project, federal environmental officials said.  State environmental regulators raised alarm bells this spring about the BASF Corp. facility in Wyandotte, where up to 34,000 gallons of water runs through… Read more: Polluted BASF site Downriver raises alarm, delays Detroit River cleanup

With unparalleled views of the Detroit River and city beyond, Riverside Marina is a world-class club featuring rental facilities, a pool, boat storage, vessel maintenance and transportation. Under the leadership of Jason McGuire, it is well on its way to becoming the prestigious, Black-owned and operated destination its founders envisioned.

It was a mid-winter day, and I was driving to my Downriver home from a meeting in Detroit. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a group of 40-50 people standing along the Detroit River shoreline of Dingell Park in Ecorse, Michigan. My first thought was that they were watching waterfowl staging around… Read more: Detroit River is magnet for bald eagle photography

Detroit – the  Automobile Capital of the world – also has a remarkable and exciting story to tell when it comes to commuting on two wheels or two legs. The city is quickly becoming more walkable, bikeable, and connected. In fact, the Detroit Greenways Coalition has a 50-year vision in place to develop Detroit into… Read more: The What, When, Where and Why of Greenways in Detroit

Three Wayne County communities bordered by major industrial facilities are getting an infusion of millions of dollars for environmental justice projects that advocates hope will reduce some of the effects of pollution. The projects in Ecorse, River Rouge and Detroit’s 48217 ZIP code will be funded through a $2 million settlement between the Sierra Club and DTE Energy Co. signed in 2020.… Read more: DTE pollution settlement targets Detroit River communities

For years, I’ve enjoyed walking up this heap of earth, about two storeys high, near the downtown Riverwalk. It stands where the paved pedestrian and biking path veers from the river’s edge for several blocks to make way for William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor and The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre. I recently discovered I’m not alone –… Read more: Long Live Ze Mound, the Detroit Riverfront Hill

On the cool morning of April 25, doctoral student Eric Ste Marie from the University of Windsor’s department of integrative biology went out for a walk with his partner along the Detroit River prior to an anticipated long day in his lab. Much to his surprise, he saw an animal pop its head out of… Read more: River Otters Return to the Detroit River

Detroit City Council is trying to get the Detroit River included in a list of world heritage sites alongside the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, and Yellowstone National Park. Local activists from Detroit and Windsor are pushing The United Nations Education and Scientific Cultural Organization to recognize the local landmark.

The man behind many of the nation’s beloved public spaces, Frederick Law Olmsted, was born 200 years ago on April 26. His creations, including Belle Isle in Detroit and Central Park in New York City, are more essential to modern American life than ever.

Work is officially underway on the Southwest Greenway. Construction of the city’s latest abandoned railway-turned-public park project will run through the summer. Located below street level, the Southwest Greenway makes use of an abandoned rail line, transformed as a shared-use bike path. Approximately one mile long, the Southwest Greenway will run from Corktown’s Bagley Street… Read more: Rails to trails: Work begins on the Southwest Greenway

The city and owner of a controversial dock that collapsed twice during the last three years are in court-supervised negotiations over bringing the property into compliance with local laws. The negotiations come after the city temporarily shut down the company in December, Revere Dock, and a second business, Detroit Bulk Storage, that leased the property. Meanwhile,… Read more: Detroit River dock collapse fallout: City in court with property owner, storage company to cease operations

In 1972, Milwaukee had the good fortune to be sued by the state of Illinois. At the time, Milwaukee and several nearby cities were sending an estimated 200 million gallons annually of combined sewer overflow (CSO) – a mix of untreated or partially treated sewage and stormwater – into Lake Michigan during heavy rains. The fortunate part was that… Read more: Experts weigh in on how to fix and pay for Detroit’s flooding problems

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is working on an agreement with groups in Canada to connect the developing “Great Lakes Way” tract of trails and waterways between Port Huron and Toledo to trails on the other side of the border through joint marketing — and potentially programming. The memorandum of understanding the Community Foundation is forging… Read more: Cross-border partnership seeks to formally connect Great Lakes trails

Has the time finally come to clean up the toxic sediment in the Detroit River that remains as legacy pollutants from the peak industrial era? That’s approximately 3.5 million cubic yards of sediment, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A successful cleanup could lead to the river’s removal from a 1987 list of toxic… Read more: Biden funding infusion launches decades overdue clean up of toxic Detroit River

Major financial support is being invested into some of Michigan’s high-priority waterways, and the Detroit River is one of them. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters announced Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency is making a $1 billion commitment …

A dedicated group of American and Canadian activists, educators, and community members are advocating for the designation of the Detroit River between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario as an UNESCO World Heritage Site for its significance in the Underground Railroad. While the Detroit River was the lifeblood …

The state Department of Natural Resources has killed three beavers with lethal traps on Belle Isle after a number of large trees were damaged and felled by the busy rodents’ gnawing, causing concern among some island visitors.

For more than a decade, environmental watchdog agencies have been studying a number of contaminated sediment areas along the Detroit River. Contaminated sediments reflect a century of municipal and industrial activities and discharges along the river’s shoreline. Such activities have affected some of the river’s beneficial uses, such as swimming and fishing. Because of these… Read more: Meeting Provides Information on Sediment Clean Up in Trent Channel

Authorities were baffled by a geological incident that caused the ground itself to buckle in Detroit’s Delray neighborhood last fall. On the night of Sept. 11,  the intersection of Dearborn and West Fort streets experienced a shifting of the ground that lasted approximately  35-minutes and left a roughly eight-foot-high mound of earth at one location.

Central Michigan University researchers have discovered unexpected populations of native mussels in the Detroit River, an area that hasn’t been searched for the mollusks since 1998. Back then, researchers thought the natives, known as unionids, were fast on the way out—victims of no-native zebra mussels invading from Europe and Asia.

Cruising down the Detroit River to Boblo Island is a fond memory held by older Detroiters. The island, located about 18 miles downriver, was home to an amusement park and often characterized as Detroit’s own Coney Island. However, Black folks were not always allowed to ride the famed Boblo boats. 

City officials are calling for Detroit to permanently ban Detroit Bulk Storage Inc. from operating anywhere along the Detroit River. Officials said the company’s continuous violations have led to at least three docks collapsing along the Detroit River in the last decade, including the latest incident on Nov. 26, the second riverfront collapse since 2019. The collapsed was blamed on improper… Read more: Call on City to Ban Company Operating Along Detroit River

“I like biologists. They do cool things. They go to cool places, and I’ll hang around them. I’ll fix their stuff. I’ll carry their stuff. I’m a good pack animal.”  This is how David Brooks, a longtime electrical engineer who was born and raised in Detroit and professes to having disliked his high school biology… Read more: Watershed Activist Shares Views on Long-Term Work of Environmental Stewardship

As the U.N. published a climate report that warned against irreversible changes humans have made to global temperatures and weather patterns, I felt an increased sense of urgency about decarbonization and access to the Detroit River.  So I spoke with public transit activist David Gifford, who does work and activism in Detroit’s public transit realm.… Read more: Decarbonizing the Detroit River: Navigating the Links between Transit and Water with David Gifford

One of the most important remaining habitats for fish and wildlife in Michigan waters of the Detroit River is the target of a habitat restoration project that is expected to bring about a considerable improvement in the surrounding area. Work will begin soon at South Hennepin Marsh to reconstruct its protective island shoals, with the… Read more: Restoration of South Hennepin to enhance fish, wildlife habitat

Fellow longtime duck hunters and fishers on the Detroit River know Dick Whitwam as “RiverWolf.”  The affectionate nickname feels spot-on as he and his wife, Pat, show me around their yard and home, which they have graciously invited me to for our interview. Even though we are inside for much of our conversation, it feels… Read more: Hunting for Stories with the RiverWolf: Downriver stories and memories with Dick Whitwam

Ask a current Detroiter what stands at the junction of the Detroit and Rouge Rivers in the Delray neighborhood, and they may tell you about Zug Island: blast furnaces, mounds of coal, and gated-off trestle bridges guarded by signs warning “No Trespassing” and “Cameras Prohibited.” There is no sign at the site, however, of what… Read more: Can Detroit return its brownfields to indigenous sacred sites they once were?

The bronze sculpture of George Armstrong Custer — a towering figure in Monroe’s central park — gazes regally from astride a horse, celebrating the town’s most famous former resident as a Civil War hero. Beneath it, a historical marker lauds Custer’s valor at the Battle of Gettysburg, with only a brief, vague reference to his… Read more: Custer and other Michigan historical markers may get a history update

“Obtawaing” is the Anishinaabemowin word for “at the halfway place.” It was the name for the center of the Odawa village that used to stretch 16 miles along northern Lake Michigan, near what is now the town of Harbor Springs and the hamlets Good Hart and Cross Village, says Frank Ettawageshik, executive director of the… Read more: Designation puts U-M Biological Station ‘at the halfway place’

“Reunioning” is an interactive, place-based experience, uplifting the rich legacy of Wahnabezee as a site of ecological significance and celebration. Integrating mixed-media photo collage within the natural landscape, Halima Afi Cassells and Shanna Merola guide participants through a visual exploration of the island’s delicate eco-system while paying homage to indigenous plants and wildlife. 

In 1987 the U.S. and Canada entered into a Great Lakes agreement to start the process of cleaning up the most polluted sites, 43 of them, that dot the waterways in and between the two countries.  The sites, officially known as Areas of Concern, contain legacy toxic sediment from the industrial era when dumping pollutants into rivers and… Read more: Detroit’s Toxic River: After decades some progress- but a long clean journey remains

DETROIT — It started, as things often do, with Mike. “I have been wanting to paddle the entire Detroit River in one trip for a while,” he said earlier this summer. Mike calls the body of water that separates the Detroit metro area from Canada, “my river.” His many friends indulge him. After all, Mike… Read more: Paddling end to end: the Detroit River in a day

A habitat restoration project is set to begin soon on a small island in the lower Detroit River, between Grosse Ile and the Livingstone Channel. The work is designed to stabilize Sugar Island’s southerly end and enhance fish and wildlife habitat in the surrounding area. The 29-acre island is part of the U.S. Fish and… Read more: Friends of Detroit River to begin habitat restoration on Sugar Island

Smokestacks and semi-trucks are the persistent backdrop to life in the 48217 zip code. The predominately minority community in Southwest Detroit is often called the most polluted zip code in Michigan. A heavily-trafficked interstate, I-75, brings trucks heading to and from the Canadian border right through its heart. The neighborhood is home to Michigan’s only… Read more: Environmental injustice and racism in Michigan: A new MLive documentary

It was 20 years ago this week that the Detroit River became the first river to hold a dual heritage designation from the U.S. and Canada. “I think we’re so fortunate to live here and experience all the great things the river has to offer,” said Danielle Stuebing, the director of communications for the Essex… Read more: Detroit River marks 20-year anniversary of U.S.-Canadian heritage designation

Detroit — Within the next year, state officials hope to begin drafting a “mini-master plan” to replace two gems of Belle Isle’s past: its zoo and nine-hole golf course. The options range from a planned return-to-nature — which is different than the uncontrolled vegetation now sprouting up in and around buildings at the long-vacant zoo — to adventure areas… Read more: DNR to form Master Plan to replace Belle Isle Zoo, Golf Course

Should we worry about the disappearance of swampland and those mucky, reedy, mosquito-y marshes that sometimes rim rivers and lakes? The answer is an unqualified yes. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection agency, the benefits of wetlands are numerous, including providing food and habitat for fish and wildlife, many of them endangered; improving water quality… Read more: Wetland losses in region have been ‘extraordinary’

The best hydrological information available tells us that upwards of 90 percent of the water in Lake Erie arrives via the Detroit River, a very short 30-mile artery that links Lake St. Clair and the upper Great Lakes with Erie. Lake Erie is the southernmost, shallowest, warmest, and smallest by volume in that club of… Read more: Outdoors: Restored wetlands could help Lake Erie battle algae

Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) offers a variety of programs aboard our ships and on shore for individuals of all ages. The School-ship Program is a half-day learning experience for grades 3-12 aboard ISEA’s 77′ schooner Inland Seas or the chartered 114′ schooner Manitou. During the spring and fall, students gain a unique insight into the basic ecology of the… Read more: Schooner Inland Seas to Visit Detroit

On July 3, 1831, Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, Black slaves, bolted from Louisville, Ky., headed for freedom. The couple would arrive nearly 360 miles North in Detroit several weeks later. During their stay in the Motor City, the Blackburns became immersed in the free state of Michigan. That is, until Kentucky authorities trekked North and… Read more: On this day in 1831: Blackburn slaves escape for freedom

It’s already being called Ojibway National Urban Park. Suddenly, after years of lobbying, the federal government is keen to establish Canada’s second national urban park in Windsor. Windsor West MP Brian Masse wrote yet another letter to the government in May requesting that it save Ojibway Shores, the last stretch of natural shoreline within the… Read more: Jarvis: Ojibway National Urban Park — make it happen

The restoration of a unique-but-damaged ecosystem on Belle Isle is underway. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is working to bring back 200 acres of globally rare, forested wetland at the 2.5-mile-long island park in the Detroit River. It’s one of the largest wet-mesic flatwoods in existence and one of only six high-quality occurrences left in Michigan,… Read more: Work underway to restore globally rare, forested wetland on Michigan’s Belle Isle

Last weekend, the hottest of the summer so far, Detroit’s Belle Isle Park closed down to car traffic for several hours on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons because it reached capacity. The shutdown followed a Memorial day closure the week before for the same reason. Representatives for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) say the closures were… Read more: Belle Isle closures reignite concerns over Grand Prix and state control

The former home of civil rights activist Sarah Elizabeth Ray, an African American woman who gained prominence after being kicked off a Detroit Boblo Boat in 1945, has been designated as one of the country’s “11 Most Endangered Historic Sites.”

How attached you are to your community can determine how motivated you are to tackle climate change. Residents who are more socially attached to their community are more likely to plan for climate change adaptation to support it, according to a recent study in the Journal of Coastal Conservation. Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the… Read more: Attachment to your community can motivate climate change action

The first step in building the final piece of Detroit’s east Riverwalk was taken Wednesday morning with a groundbreaking at Mt. Elliott Park. When the work at the former Uniroyal site is complete in the fall of 2022 the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy’s vision for 3.5 miles of riverfront on Detroit’s east side, between Belle Isle… Read more: Final segment of Detroit’s east Riverwalk expected to be completed next year

If David Shock has his way, he’ll be roasting coffee beans along the Detroit riverfront at Historic Fort Wayne before Christmas. James Oliver Coffee Co. has set its sights on renovating the former Post Engineer’s Storehouse to operate a roasting plantand satellite cafe on the fort’s sprawling campus.  Shock, co-founder of the Detroit-based company with his wife, Miranda… Read more: Will steep costs deter efforts to revitalize Detroit’s Historic Fort Wayne?

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM) has its sights set on a bold new plan to establish a world-class land and water trail running along Michigan’s lower eastern coast. Through its GreenWays initiative, the philanthropic nonprofit has long been a backer of biking and walking infrastructure, helping to fund the creation of more than 100 miles of… Read more: Great Lakes Way project aims to unify greenways and water trails along Michigan’s southeast coast

Flooding is something that the Detroit region is no stranger to. In the area near the Detroit River, a changing climate and strong winds have contributed to high waters along the river, while further from the river around midtown and downtown, aspects like stormwater contribute to flooding in areas with large swaths of pavement and… Read more: Slowing Stormwater and Preventing Flooding in Eastern Market

Microplastic pollution has been building up in the Great Lakes for at least four decades, but our understanding of its impact on fish and other aquatic creatures is only just catching up. Now new research from the University of Toronto shows the harm to wildlife is due to a wide range of factors that is not generally considered… Read more: Chemical Impact: Microplastic pollution more complex than we think, says new research

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service caught a massive lake sturgeon in the Detroit River earlier this week, measuring nearly 7-feet long and more than 200 pounds. According to a post on Facebook, the “real-life river monster” had a girth of nearly 4-feet, was 6-feet-10 and weighed 240 pounds. It’s one of the largest lake… Read more: Nearly 7-foot, 240-pound lake sturgeon caught in Detroit River believed to be 100+ years old

If you’re a fan of walking, nature, history, big cities, waterfront views, and more, you’ve likely taken a stroll along the spectacular Detroit River. This waterway in Michigan’s largest city is nothing short of incredible, and visitors are lucky to have unique access to its shores via the Detroit International Riverwalk, also known as the… Read more: Michigan’s Marvelous Detroit Riverfront Was Just Named The Best Riverwalk In America

Detroit History Tours announced the return of its legendary boat tours on the eighty-five-foot-long tall schooner, the Appledore IV, following the cancelation of last year’s boat season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Appledore IV will sail from Bay City to the Port of Detroit on May 8, and tours are scheduled to go from May 13-30 and… Read more: The ‘Appledore IV’ returns for historic sailing tours on the Detroit River

A 100-year contract between the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority and the private company that owns the Ambassador Bridge may come to an end soon. The port authority’s board of directors agreed Friday to approve a new deal, voting 4-1. Andrew Doctoroff, secretary-treasurer of the port’s board, cast the lone “no” vote. He said he was given short notice about the deal… Read more: New deal would end ‘arranged marriage’ between port authority, Moroun family

When the gun smoke ceased just before 1845, the island became a popular spot for romantic picnics. So the city announced it would change the name.  In 1870, Detroit had a problem. The City Council had the desire and funds to build a leisure park in downtown Detroit, but could not settle on a location.… Read more: Hog Island and Detroit’s ‘park question’: A brief history of Belle Isle