May 21, 2004
May 21, 2004
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm this week formally agreed to the federal purchase of the Humbug Marsh in Trenton and Gibraltar as part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.
The purchase of the marsh, which includes some of the most unspoiled and ecologically significant wetlands in the Detroit River/western Lake Erie basin, will be considered by the federal Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) at its next meeting in early June.
“Placing this permanent protection on Humbug Marsh will be a final step in what has been one of the hardest fought and won environmental battles in Michigan,” Granholm said. “Humbug Marsh will be widely recognized as the crown jewel of America’s first International Wildlife Refuge.”
The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge was created by a federal law authored in 2001 by U.S. Representative John D. Dingell (D-Dearborn) who serves on the MBCC and has played a critical role in efforts to preserve Humbug Marsh. The Detroit River refuge law authorizes the MBCC to purchase coastal and upland habitats along the American side of the Detroit River and Lake Erie from River Rouge into northern Ohio.
The MBCC uses funds raised through the purchase of federal duck stamps to place ecologically sensitive lands into permanent conservation as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The federal Migratory Bird Conservation Act requires these purchases to be approved in advance by the Governor.
Granholm’s approval of the 409.5-acre Humbug Marsh is her second approval of a federal land purchase in the Detroit River Refuge. Last year, she approved the inclusion by MBCC of 153 acres in Berlin Township (Monroe County) as one of the first purchases of the new refuge.
