Area of Concern Projects

The Detroit River was designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern due to historical contamination and habitat loss. Friends of the Detroit River serves as fiduciary for the Detroit River Public Advisory Council, a group of local stakeholders working to identify remedies to the environmental problems in the river.

Friends of the Detroit River (FDR) thanks its many partners in developing and implementing projects to restore the Detroit River, with primarily Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has performed a significant role in administering the award of grants to FDR and providing technical expertise on our most recent projects. Peek into NOAA’s website about our partnership here.

Background

In 1815, the Detroit River shoreline included coastal wetlands up to a mile wide. Since then, shoreline hardening, industrial pollution, combined sewer overflow contamination, and deep shipping channel excavation has destroyed all but a few acres of this former, wildlife-rich environment. This loss of natural habitat resulted in the Detroit River being named an “Area of Concern” (AOC) under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the U.S. and Canada – one of 43 AOCs on the Great Lakes. The Detroit River AOC was originally plagued with 11 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) – or damages – resulting from 200 years of degradation. Notable among these BUIs are “loss of fish and wildlife habitat” and “degradation of fish and wildlife populations.”

In 2014, the Detroit River Public Advisory Council published a guidance document to remove fish and wildlife related BUIs. This document lists 14 habitat restoration projects that must be completed to remove the two fish and wildlife related BUIs. Most of these projects are complete, and the remainder are in some phase of progress. A summary of these projects managed by Friends of the Detroit River (FDR) is provided below.