After years of behind-the-scenes work, the Manistee Marsh wetland enhancement project at Manistee River State Game Area finally is seeing equipment on-site and in action.
“We’re excited to finally break ground on this project,” said Dane Cramer, regional biologist for Ducks Unlimited. “Between a project idea and a finished project, there are a lot of pieces that needed to come together and keep moving.”
The Manistee River State Game Area includes more than 6,000 acres just outside the city of Manistee, with its western border just shy of a mile from Lake Michigan. The Manistee River flows through this state game area and creates a unique environment used by wildlife, as well as wildlife enthusiasts like hikers, bird watchers, hunters and trappers. Historically, water levels were changed using pumps, boards and gates. Maintenance and structure updates require permitting, and in this instance, many players were involved.
“This project tapped not just the Department of Environmental Quality because we were manipulating wetlands, but also the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and Michigan Department of Transportation because of the M-55 right of way,” said Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist and project manager Keith Fisher. “We may have hit a record with the number of agencies that needed to be involved with this project.”
Ducks Unlimited also played a crucial role in keeping this project moving.
In 2013, Ducks Unlimited applied for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant, with a commitment from the DNR Wildlife Division to contribute up to $49,000 for the project. Ducks Unlimited also donated staff time, including the use of its engineer.
“The potential the marsh has to support additional waterfowl during migration, in particular the fall hunting season, made the Manistee Marsh project a priority for us,” said Cramer.
“The marsh has been choked with cattails. Until this project, the only real productive hunting locations were along the river channel and in Manistee Lake,” said DNR wildlife biologist Steve Griffith. “Once this project is complete, we’ll have another 160 productive acres that will have some great hunting.”
Currently, the Manistee River State Game Area has over two miles of dike that separate the area into two units, with a culvert and a water control structure that alters both flooded units together. The new system will allow for independent control of the floodings, which will make more area maintenance possible.
Work is expected to be completed before the fall 2017 waterfowl hunting season opener, which is Oct. 1. See the 2017 Waterfowl Digest for complete waterfowl season dates.
“We hope to have this wetland complex as a great destination for wildlife in every season,” said Griffith. “With a Great Lake, a major river and an inland lake, this area has enormous potential.”
Future work in the area will include additional parking access locations and routine maintenance of the wetland to keep invasive plant species and too much vegetation from crowding out the desired 50/50 mix of open water and plants.
Manistee Marsh is one of Michigan’s Signature Wetlands – an exceptional wetland site. Learn more about the history and importance of wetlands on the DNR website.
