A big announcement Wednesday, Aug. 10: from Michigan's two senators: U.S. Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow announced that the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) has received a $7.9 million grant from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to restore Michigan’s Muskegon Lake.
The grant will support what is expected to be one of the final habitat restoration projects necessary to formally remove Muskegon Lake from the list of "areas of concern."
“From fishing and boating to tourism and shipping, Michigan’s Great Lakes and waterways drive our economy,” said Peters, a member of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force. “The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is vital to protecting our precious water resources, and this funding will help restore critical habitat for fish and other wildlife and boost West Michigan’s economy with increased outdoor recreation opportunities.”
“Protecting our Great Lakes is so important to our way of life and our economy in Michigan,” said Stabenow, co-chair of Senate Great Lakes Task Force. “Today’s investment will help us continue the cleanup and restoration of Muskegon Lake while keeping our waterways and wildlife habitats safe.”
The money will be spent on a major project along the Muskegon River.
Muskegon Lake was designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern in 1985 because of poor water quality from industrial pollution.
Efforts to improve water quality began in the 1990s. During the last five years, those efforts have gained significant momentum.
The grant money will be spent at a former celery farm.
"Right above the mouth of the Muskegon River at Muskegon Lake," said Kathy Evans, with the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission.
It's 53 acres now owned by the county of Muskegon.
"It has only been about one year," said Susie Hughes, Muskegon County Commissioner.
The new grant money will pay to reconnect the floodplain with the Muskegon River. Decades ago, the river's course was restrained and altered.
"There is more than 2,000-feet of dykes," Evans said. "Once that broken concrete and other material comes out, we will be able to design a project that is a normal health wetland and river system."
Once completed, the natural wetlands along the river will benefit Muskegon Lake.
It's the last habitat restoration project federal regulators are concerned about.
"By 2019, we expect to remove Muskegon Lake from the list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern, and this will be a beautiful wetland with the river flowing through it again," Evans said.
County commissioner Susie Hughes is pleased the federal money is now available to pay for the work.
"It is great and it will help with the clean up," Hughes said.
The project is expected to enhance tourism and support the Muskegon Lake Fishery, which each year contributes more than $1 million to the local economy.
The work at the former celery farm is in the engineering stage.
The bulk of the work to remove the dykes and reconnect the land to the Muskegon River will take place during most of next year.