Promoting restoration and stewardship of the Rouge River since 1986

Transcription

1 Each June, Friends of the Rouge, in partnership with Rouge communities and other organizations, brings volunteers together from across the watershed to work toward the common goal of improving the Rouge River for generations to come. This annual event, known as Rouge Rescue, began in 1986 with volunteers removing large quantities of trash from the river. As river sites improved, public perception of the river shifted away from the thought that the river was just an open sewer and a place to dump trash. Today, much of the event is focused on river restoration and volunteers work to remove invasive plants from the river corridor, install native plantings and stabilize stream banks to improve the health of the river. Rouge Rescue 2012 attracted 1,759 volunteers who worked to clean and restore the Rouge River at 41 worksites in 22 communities across the watershed. Activities were scheduled on multiple dates, with most activities taking place on Saturday, June 2 nd. Friends of Rouge Park coordinated 3 workdays in Detroit s Rouge Park this year. The Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy coordinated 3 worksites as part of a Rouge Green Corridor Project in addition to the Berberian Woods worksite they have been coordinating. Sixteen worksites were led by new site coordinators, six of the locations were new worksites. Friends of the Rouge welcomes these new leaders to the program and is grateful for the extra work all of the dedicated volunteers that serve as site coordinators invest in Rouge Rescue. The Detroit Coca-Cola Bottlers team cleaned large debris from the Rouge in Rouge Park. They also provided Coke and Dasani water for the event! Rouge Rescue 2012 had outstanding participation from corporate sponsors this year. A team of ITC employees provided public education material at the Flodin Park site in Canton. Waste Management provided a dumpster for a new worksite in Detroit. A group of employees from Marine Pollution Control worked to open logjams for canoe passage in the City of Wayne. Their work improved the canoe route for Friends of the Rouge s annual Promoting restoration and stewardship of the Rouge River since 1986 ITC reaches out to the community at the Flodin Park Rouge Rescue worksite.

2 fall canoe trip on the Lower Branch, planned for October 13. Another improvement to the route is the removal of the dam at Wayne Road. This project is just underway and is being completed by the Alliance of Rouge Communities with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Coca-Cola employees from the Detroit bottling plant provided Coke and Dasani water for volunteers working in Rouge Park in Detroit. They also adopted a section of the park and removed large debris from the river, cleaned up the area around the Tireman bridge and pulled invasive plants. The MPC group spent 7 hours floating down the river cleaning and opening log jams for canoe passage. Funding from the outdoor outfitter REI enabled Friends of the Rouge to provide native plants to Rouge Rescue worksites. This increased the number of sites stabilizing eroding streambanks with native vegetation and improved wildlife habitat across the watershed. These restoration activities improve water quality in addition to improving the river s appearance. The Marine Pollution Control work crew. Aristeo Construction removed two vehicles, a player piano and other debris from the river in Eliza Howell Park. This work could not have been done without the equipment and expertise Aristeo contributes. Denso International America employees, a sponsor of FOTR s Rouge Education Project, worked at the Denso Corporate Campus, Beech Woods Rec. Center, Valley Woods Park and the Berberian Woods worksites in Southfield. Crews from Denso have been participating in Rouge Rescue for decades. Their commitment to improving the Rouge River is inspiring. The remains of an SUV Aristeo Construction removed from the floodplain in Eliza Howell Park in Detroit. Coca-Cola volunteers pull a mattress and other large debris from the River at the Tireman bridge in Detroit's Rouge Park. Denso employees show off the large number of bags of garlic mustard they pulled at the Berberian Woods site in Southfield.

3 As shown in Table 1, 20 sites worked to remove trash along the river to improve the river s appearance. Stewardship work to improve the quality of the river was completed at 20 sites conducting planting activities. Twenty-four sites worked to remove invasive plants to maintain biodiversity in the watershed. Thanks to a grant from REI, 13 sites planted native vegetation on the banks of the river to reduce erosion and filter pollutants. Three sites installed native gardens or enhanced existing prairies. One site planted a bio-swale to reduce the quantity and improve the quality of rainwater flowing directly to the Rouge. Three sites planted trees. Seven sites managed wood in the river by removing trash and moving floating branches and strategically placing them to reduce localized erosion and create in-stream habitat. Six sites worked to maintain trails in parks and nature preserves. Eight sites coordinated educational activities. Table 1: Site Participation by Activity Sites removing trash 20 Sites removing invasive plants 24 Sites installing plantings 20 Number of sites planting: Riparian buffers 13 Native gardens/ prairies 3 Bio-swales 1 Trees 3 Sites managing wood in the river Sites maintaining trails 6 Sites coordinating educational activities 7 8 Graph 1 illustrates how this year s activities compare with that of the past five years. It is exciting to see the declining trend in trash removal and increase in work to restore the river through native plantings and invasive plant removal. Woody debris management has been relatively consistent. The peak in 2011 may have been the result of the high floods we experienced from the record breaking rain in May A summary of the work completed during Rouge Rescue 2012 is described below and is listed in Table 2. The summary is a compilation of the data reported by the individual sites. A few sites did not provide detailed reports. Trash Removal: 85 cubic yards of trash were removed, including 29 tires, 9 shopping carts, 1 bicycle, 11 large appliances/furniture and 2 vehicles along with countless bottles, balls, paper, etc. Invasive Plant Removal: 198 cubic yards of invasive plants were removed to improve biodiversity in parks and preserves across the watershed. Native Plants Installed: 3,960 native wildflowers and grasses and 60 trees and shrubs were planted to reduce the impact of rainwater, such as streambank erosion and pollution carried to the river through storm sewers. Table 2: Summary of Volunteer Work Completed by Task Trash Removal Cubic yards of trash/debris 85 Tires 29 Shopping carts 9 Bicycles 1 Furniture & appliances 11 Vehicles 2 Invasive Plant Removal Cubic yards of invasive plants 198 Native Plants Installed Flowers/grasses 3,960 Trees/shrubs 60

4 Douglas Evans Nature Preserve 1 UM-D Environmental Beverly Park & Bainbridge Park 20 Lola Valley Park 30 Riverside Park 2 Interpretive Center 11 Coventry Gardens 21 Beech Woods Recreation Center 31 Quarton Lake Park 3 Parkland Park 12 Allen Drive Park 22 Berberian Woods 32 Manresa Jesuit Retreat House 4 Eliza Howell Park 13 Mill Race Village 23 DENSO 33 Flodin Park 5 Rouge Park * 14 Bennett Arboretum 24 Valley Woods Nature Preserve 34 Meadows of Canton 6 St. Paul of the Cross Retreat 15 Linear Park 25 Kosch Headwaters Preserve 35 Workman Elementary 7 Shiawassee Park 16 Rotary Park 26 Goudy Park 36 Greenway Trail * 8 Canterbury Commons Subdivision 17 Liberty Trash Grab 27 Lone Pine Elementary 37 Henry Ford Community College 9 Heritage Park 18 Tonquish Creek Manor 28 Holliday Nature Preserve 38 Henry Ford Estate/EIC 10 Oakland Community College 19 Plymouth Township 29 * Multiple workdays held at site

5 Beverly Hills Douglas Evans Nature Preserve Coordinator: Erin Wilks, Village of Beverly Hills # Volunteers: 20 Trash removal: 1.5 cubic yards removed Invasive plant removal: 4.5 cubic yards of garlic mustard and buckthorn removed Local groups: Berkshire Middle School, Buddhist Light International Association # Volunteers: 14 Native plantings: 800 native flowers and grasses planted to create a buffer on the bank of Quarton Lake Manresa Jesuit Retreat House Coordinator: Brother Mike O'Grady, Manresa Jesuit Retreat Center # Volunteers: 20 Invasive plant removal: 5.5 cubic yards of garlic mustard, honeysuckle and buckthorn removed from a 700 sq ft area Native plantings: 200 native flowers and grasses planted along the creek to create a 300 sq ft buffer to filter run-off from Quarton Road Local groups: Manresa Jesuit Retreat House and Shrine Parish Boy Scout Troop Canton Flodin Park Coordinator: Anne Naszradi, Canton Township # Volunteers: 193 Trash removal: 10 cubic yards removed. Items removed include 1 tire and 1 shopping cart. Native plantings: Planted 1 acre area with 320 flowers and grasses Other activities: Mulched and trimmed about 100 trees. Leslie - Science Center demonstration, Great Lakes Rain Barrel demo, building bird houses, free hot dog lunch. Local groups: Canton Township, ITC, Absopure, WThA, Church of Latter Day Saints, Geocaching, Friends of I-275 trail Buddhist Light International Association volunteers work to removed invasive plants in the Douglas Evans Nature Preserve Riverside Park - Rouge Green Corridor Planting Coordinator: Heather Huffstutler, Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy # Volunteers: 11 Native plantings: 1,000 native flowers and grasses planted to create a buffer along Riverside Pond Birmingham Quarton Lake Park - Rouge Green Corridor Planting Coordinators: Heather Huffstutler, Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy & Connie Folk, City of Birmingham Bloomfield Township EL Johnson Nature Center Coordinators: Dan Badgley, E.L. Johnson Nature Center & Charles Markus, Bloomfield Township # Volunteers: 55 Trash removal: 0.6 cubic yards removed from a 1,500 linear foot section of the river. Items removed include bottles, cans, paper and cardboard. Invasive plant removal: 1.2 cubic yards of garlic mustard and several trailer loads of buckthorn, honeysuckle and oriental bittersweet removed Other activities: Mulched 450 feet of hiking trail spreading 25 cubic yards of mulch. Local groups: Cub scouts, Royal Oak D.TECH Canton Twp reminds us what we are working for...all the critters that depend on the river for their survival Meadows of Canton Coordinator: Kesh Raizada, Wayne County Dept. of Public Services & Meadows of Canton HOA # Volunteers: 100 Trash removal: 1 cubic yards removed from a 0.5 mile section of stream.

6 Other activities: Benthic program (bug hunt), mercury thermometer exchange, Community Work Credit Certificate and storm drain stenciling Local groups: Meadows of Canton HOA, Wayne County Department of Public Services Meadows of Canton volunteers gear up to search the stream for trash. Workman Elementary Habitat Coordinator: Lisa Bank, Workman Elementary School # Volunteers: 9 Trash removal: 0.1 cubic yards of trash removed from 0.5 acres. Invasive plant removal: 0.5 cubic yards of teasel, sweet clover (purple & yellow), and thistles removed from a 0.5 acre area. Native plantings: Planted 152 native flowers and grasses. Other activities: Painted a rain barrel to water a green roof (to be installed Fall 2012/Spring 2013) Local groups: Workman Habitat PTO Dearborn Ford Field Greenway Trail Coordinator: Thomas Trimble, Christ Episcopal Church-Dearborn # Volunteers: 21 Trash removal: 0.9 cubic yards removed from 2 acres. Items removed include 2 construction barrels, 1 pallet, and 1 picnic table. Local groups: Christ Church Ford Field Park Coordinator: Ryan Warneck, Boy Scout Troop 1104 # Volunteers: 9 Trash removal: 0.6 cubic yards removed from a quarter mile section of river Local groups: Boy Scout Troop 1104 Garlic Mustard Pull Together Coordinators: Martha Gruelle, Lakeplain Cluster Stewardship Network, Karen Marzonie, Henry Ford Estate, & Rick Simek, UM-D EIC # Volunteers: 47 Invasive plant removal: 14.9 cubic yards of garlic mustard and dame s rocket removed Local groups: Lakeplain Cluster of the Stewardship Network, Henry Ford Estate, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Michigan Botanical Club You re never too young to help! This little guy helps carry an invasive shrub cut by volunteers at Henry Ford Community College. Henry Ford Community College Coordinator: Sam Greco, Henry Ford Community College # Volunteers: 47 Invasive plant removal: 20.7 cubic yards of garlic mustard, honeysuckle, and buckthorn Native plantings: Planted 64 native flowers Other activities: Cleared woody debris along trail and edge of bluff Local groups: HFCC Student Environmental Association, HFCC Faculty and staff, Boy Scout Troop 1127 Planting native wildflowers to improve water quality behind Henry Ford Community College U of M Dearborn Coordinators: Sydney Parmenter, Environmental Health & Safety and Emergency Management & Rick Simek, Environmental Interpretive Center # Volunteers: 18 Invasive plant removal: Pulled approx 40 honeysuckle shrubs Local groups: UM-D campus community, student groups

7 Dearborn Heights Parkland Park Coordinators: Steven Roberts & Barb Goryca, Dearborn Heights Watershed Stewards Commission # Volunteers: 19 Invasive plant removal: 1.5 cubic yards of Canadian thistle and garlic mustard removed from a 1,500 sq. ft. area Other activities: Public education activities and tree maintenance on 30 three-year-old trees Local groups: Crestwood High School Chapter of the National Honors Society Detroit Eliza Howell Park Coordinators: Larry Quarles, Friends of Eliza Howell Park & Rick Lewandowski, Aristeo Construction # Volunteers: 22 Trash removal: 2 vehicles plus 2.1 cubic yards of trash removed, including 6 tires and roofing shingles Local groups: Friends of Eliza Howell Park, Aristeo Construction A player piano is removed from the river by the crew from Aristeo Construction Rouge Park Spring Clean-up Coordinator: Sally Petrella, Friends of Rouge Park # Volunteers: 34 Trash removal: 12.9 cubic yards removed from a 5 acre area. Items removed include 2 tires, 1 chair, and carpet. Invasive plant removal: 0.1 cubic yards of weeds removed from a 225 sq. ft. area Native plantings: Planted 5 trees/shrubs Volunteers remove invasive shrubs and thistle from the prairie in Rouge Park in the City of Detroit. Rouge Park Coordinators: Sally Petrella, Friends of Rouge Park & Tim Devlin, Coca-Cola # Volunteers: 188 Trash removal: 13.1 cubic yards removed, including a mattress & box springs, swimming pool, whole kitchen (cabinets, etc.) and fiberglass containers Invasive plant removal: 16.8 cubic yards from a 1,200 sq. ft. area. Removed woody shrubs from restored prairie and garlic mustard along river. Native plantings:. 2 acres seeded with native prairie mix Other activities: Live Native Rouge Fish Demonstration and other public education activities Local groups: Friends of Rouge Park, Coca-Cola, Detroit AeroModelers, Far West Detroit Civic Association, West Outer Drive Civic Association, Greening of Detroit, Alliance of Rouge Communities, Cody Rouge Alliance, 4H Eagles, Buffalo Soldiers, Cub Scouts Pack 199, Joy Community Site Sponsors: Coca-Cola, Friends of Rouge Park, Detroit AeroModelers, City of Detroit, ITC, Wayne County Commissioner Alisha Bell Rouge Park Take 3 Coordinator: Sally Petrella, Friends of Rouge Park # Volunteers: 19 Invasive plant removal: Removed Canada thistle from restored prairie Local groups: Redford Girl Scouts Volunteers work in the prairie in Detroit's Rouge Park. St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center Coordinator: Bernadette Beach, St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center # Volunteers: 9 Other activities: General cleanup of river corridor. Mulching of disposed brush Local groups: St. Paul of the Cross

8 Farmington Shiawassee Park Coordinators: Martha Ross & Lisa Lytle, FOTR Volunteers # Volunteers: 13 Trash removal: 0.1 cubic yards Invasive plant removal: 9.3 cubic yards of garlic mustard, honeysuckle, dame's rocket, and buckthorn removed Native plantings: Planted 64 native flowers Local groups: Delta Tau Delta Volunteers remove invasive shrubs and weed a native buffer along the Upper Rouge in Shiawassee Park in Farmington. Farmington Hills Canterbury Commons Coordinator: Robert Elliott, Canterbury Commons Neighborhood Association # Volunteers: 14 Trash removal: 0.7 cubic yards removed from 13 acres Native plantings: Planted 80 native flowers to create a 300 sq. ft. native buffer/streambank stabilization demonstration planting along Minnow Pond Creek Local groups: Neighborhood, Girl Scouts Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge Campus Coordinator: Mike Kadrofske, Oakland Community College # Volunteers: 25 Trash removal: 4.5 cubic yards removed from a 2,640 linear foot section of stream. Items removed include paper and styrofoam. Invasive plant removal: 6.4 cubic yards of dame's rocket removed Local groups: OCC Biology Department Student Group, OCC PTK, Ford Motor Company Heritage Park Coordinator: Randy L Lovett, City of Farmington Hills # Volunteers: 65 Invasive plant removal: 47.4 cubic yards of garlic mustard, honeysuckle, and buckthorn removed from a 50 sq yd area. Native plantings: Planted 152 native flowers Other activities: Managed woody debris, maintained 100' of trail, spoke with group about the purpose of the work to be done and held a plant identification walk. Local groups: Scouts and park users These young girls take a break from the Rouge Rescue activities in Livonia's Rotary Park. Livonia Beverly Park/Bainbridge Park Coordinators: Douglas Moore & Amy Walker, City of Livonia # Volunteers: 80 Trash removal: 3 cubic yards removed from a 1,320 foot stream reach. Items removed include redwood step, sleeping bag, tarps, old furniture, plywood, construction debris and assorted household trash. Invasive plant removal: 0.6 cubic yards of garlic mustard removed from a 100 sq ft area. Native plantings: Planted 50 trees/shrubs Other activities: Woody debris management Local groups: Webster Elementary School, Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, Boy Scouts This young volunteer shows off a bird house he just built at Beverly Park in Livonia. Coventry Gardens Park Coordinator: Chuck Eastman, Coventry Gardens Improvement Association # Volunteers: 11 Trash removal: 0.3 cubic yards removed, including bottles, blackboard, signs, and cups.

9 Invasive plant removal: 4.3 cubic yards of garlic mustard Novi Rotary Park Other activities: Nature walk Local groups: Frost Middle School Coordinator: Wendy DuVall, City of Novi Northville # Volunteers: 89 Allen Drive Park Coordinators: Salina Brown & Scottie Martin-Dunn, Northville Residents # Volunteers: 28 Trash removal: 6.2 cubic yards Volunteers prepare the ground and plant native wildflowers on the banks of the Middle Rouge in Northville. Invasive plant removal: 4.6 cubic yards of garlic mustard and buckthorn. Also removed vines that were killing trees and cut dead branches. Invasive plant removal: 3.6 cubic yards of garlic mustard, honeysuckle, dame's rocket, multiflora rose, tree-of-heaven, chinese elm, and assorted weeds Native plantings: Planted 5 trees/shrubs and 12 grasses Native plantings: Planted 132 flowers to restore a 250 sq ft section of riverbank Bennett Arboretum Invasive plant removal: 2.1 cubic yards of garlic mustard and buckthorn Native plantings: Planted 306 flowers Other activities: Stabilized bank with native vegetation Local groups: Novi Rotary, Kroger, Church Groups, High School Students Local groups: Ward Presbyterian Singles Group, Northville Garden Club, Northville Historical Society Coordinator: Wayne County Commissioner Laura Cox # Volunteers: 50 Planting natives along the Middle Rouge in Novi. Invasive plant removal: Removed invasive plants and maintained an existing native grow zone in the Arboretum Plymouth Liberty Trash Grab Northville Township organized a kids fun run along the Johnson Creek in Linear Park. Coordinators: Joe Walters & Mary Jo Cothery, Liberty Street Brewing Company & Sue Thompson, FOTR Board of Directors # Volunteers: 5 Wayne County Commissioner Laura Cox leads the Bennett Arboretum Clean-up in Northville Mill Race Village Coordinators: Ed Gabrys, Luci Klinkhamer & Juliana Cerra, Northville Historical Society # Volunteers: 19 Northville Township Linear Park Trash removal: 0.9 cubic yards removed, including a large sewer pipe connector dumped by Wilcox Lake, a butcher knife, and a hubcap Coordinators: Michael Sarb & Tom Casari, Other activities: Volunteers rode bikes to Northville Township collect trash along the Rouge River in Hines Park # Volunteers: 33 Other activities: Children's Fun Run at Coldwater Springs / Linear Park

10 Tonquish Creek Manor Coordinators: Nicholas Johns & Adam Gerlach, City of Plymouth # Volunteers: 85 Trash removal: 12.3 cubic yards removed from a 20,000 sq. ft. area Invasive plant removal: Removed 60 bags of weeds along the trail near Tonquish Creek Native plantings: Planted 114 native flowers along the Tonquish Creek nature trail Other activities: Nature walk, trail maintenance Local groups: Girl Scout Troop Plymouth Township Wilcox Lake Coordinator: Susan Vignoe, Plymouth Township # Volunteers: 22 Native plantings: Planted 348 native flowers/grasses Local groups: Aisin World Corp of America Volunteers work to heave out a soggy mattress from the river in Lola Valley Park. Redford Township Lola Valley Park Coordinators: Erin Cassady & Justin Wehrheim, Friends of the Rouge & Carl VanAartsen Redford Township # Volunteers: 49 Trash removal: 6.4 cubic yards removed from a 62,500 sq ft. area. Items removed include 6 tires, 4 mattresses, 2 couches, 1 recliner chair, 1 children's wagon, car rim, hub cap, 2 trash cans, motorcycle tank, plastic chair, plywood boards, bike frame, and inflatable pool. Invasive plant removal: 1.3 cubic yards of garlic mustard removed from a 1,400 sq ft area. Other activities: Removed trash from log jams, managed wood in the river to open up flow. Redford Twp provided a display and public education materials at the registration site. A few volunteers stayed to play a round of disc golf following the clean-up. Local groups: Boy Scout Troop #401 Site Sponsor: Ralph Thayer Automotive Denso Employees and their families help pull garlic mustard at the Berberian Woods site in Southfield. Southfield Berberian Woods Coordinators: Gail Barber, Southfield Resident & Heather Huffstutler, Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy # Volunteers: 33 Invasive plant removal: 17.7 cubic yards of garlic mustard and dame's rocket removed from a 16 acre preserve. This resourceful volunteer carries multiple bags of garlic mustard out of the Berberian Woods Nature Preserve. Beech Woods Recreation Center & DENSO International America Coordinators: Brandy Siedlaczek, City of Southfield & Melissa Smith, Denso International America # Volunteers: 90 Invasive plant removal: 28.4 cubic yards of garlic mustard Other activities: Woody debris management Local groups: DENSO, Korean Presbyterian Church of Metro Detroit - Southfield, City of Southfield Valley Woods Park - Rouge Green Corridor Planting Coordinator: Heather Huffstutler, Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy # Volunteers: 9 Native plantings: Installed a native planting along the Rouge River Local groups: Denso International America employees Superior Twp Kosch Headwaters Preserve Coordinators: Scott Tyrrell, Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy & Carla Bisaro, Superior Land Conservancy # Volunteers: 9

11 Invasive plant removal: 1.5 cubic yards of invasive species removed from a 10 acre woods Local groups: Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy, Superior Land Conservancy Wayne Goudy Park West Bloomfield Twp Lone Pine Elementary Coordinator: Nicole Pollack, Lone Pine Elementary Beautification Committee # Volunteers: 54 Native plantings: Planted 64 native flowers to create a 150 sq ft butterfly garden Local groups: Lone Pine Elementary Coordinator: Kurt Kuban, Wayne Resident Green Team # Volunteers: 85 Westland Trash removal: 4.2 cubic yards removed, including 12 tires, 6 shopping carts, an old milk crate, construction sign, lots of balls, bottles, cans and water bottles. Volunteers cleaned Goudy Park, Mill Trail and Dynamite Park. Holliday Nature Preserve Coordinators: Bill Craig & Phil Crookshank, Holliday Nature Preserve & Kevin Buford, City of Westland # Volunteers: 36 Invasive plant removal: 3.7 cubic yards Native plantings: Planted 380 flowers and Trash removal: 3.7 cubic yards removed grasses. from a 1,200 sq. ft. area. Other activities: Maintained 200 yards of Invasive plant removal: 1.5 cubic yards of trail. A crew from MPC cleaned and garlic mustard plus 2 truckloads of opened logjams on the Lower Rouge from chipped honeysuckle removed from a 600 Commerce Court to just east of Newburgh sq ft area Rd to expand FOTR s canoe route. Other activities: Cleared large tress from Local groups: City of Wayne, Marine trails Pollution Control, Wayne-Westland Local groups: Holliday Nature Preserve, Schools City of Westland Site Sponsors: Wayne Rotary, Wayne Civitens, Wayne Papa Romano's MPC volunteers haul their boats through the trees to begin work on the Lower Rouge. Volunteers clean trash from a log-jam in the Holliday Nature Preserve Westland employees chip invasive shrubs cut and hauled out of the river by volunteers. Now that the trash is gone a few logs will be opened in the center of the stream. The rest is left for fish and benthic macroinvertebrate (aka bugs) habitat. View more photos on our website

12 Thanks to funding from REI many Rouge Rescue worksites were able to improve river conditions with native plants. Here Mil Race Village volunteers added a few non-invasive non-natives to the planting. Tim Devlin of Coca-Cola works to clear large trash from the river in Detroit's Rouge Park. FOTR's Rouge Rescue Assistant, Erin Cassady awaits volunteers at the site she organized in Redford Twp. To learn about sponsorship and volunteer opportunities contact Cyndi Ross at or visit us online at Promoting restoration and stewardship of the Rouge River since 1986