Pointe Mouillee: a 4600-acre Multiple Purpose Habitat Constructed and Restored in Western Lake Erie, USA

by Mary C. Landin, US Army Engineer Waterways, Experiment Station, Vicksburg, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '93

Abstract:

Pointe Mouille, part of a Michigan Wildlife Management Area, is the site of a major restoration project funded and constructed in the late 1970's by the US Army Corps of Engineers and jointed designed and sponsored by the Corps and the State of Michigan. The Corps Waterways Experiment Station participated in the interagency design and long-term management plan development, and has conducted long-term environmental monitoring on the site since 1979. In a complex plan, a 900-acre confined disposal facility (CDF) was built in the exact configuration and location of an eroded barrier island that had been protecting the 3700-acre management area, which was eroding severely prior to the CDF construction. The CDF was designed to hold contaminated dredged material from the lake, protect the site, and ultimately provide upland and wetland habitats and recreational facilities. The management plan includes wetland restoration, waterfowl nesting islands, beneficial uses of dredged material, a marina, a visitors centers, hiking and jogging trails, biking, fishing piers and year-round fishing, hunting, nature education, and a host of natural resource recreational activities such as decoy carving contests and fishing rodeos. The diverse habitat provided over the 50-year project life is attracting large populations of birds and other animals. It provides both fish nurseries and recreational fishing. The site is a major migratory stopover point for raptors, songbirds, waterfowl, waterbirds, and shorebirds, and provides nesting for several waterbird colonies, numerous songbirds, mute swans, Canada geese, and mallards. The contaminants, placed under several feet of cleaner sediments, are not considered a problem.

Subject Headings: Water-based recreation | Dredged materials | Lakes | Ecological restoration | Contracts and subcontracts | Wildlife | Wetlands (fresh water) | United States | Lake Erie | Great Lakes | Michigan | Canada

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