Published: January 25, 2025

River Raisin Legacy Project gains citizens’ input in 1st of 3 meetings

BY ERIC TAUNTON BLADE STAFF WRITER

MONROE — When the city of Monroe started the River Raisin Legacy Project in 2012, it invested more than $23 million to make improvements to the river’s health and water quality.

The $23 million was used to address a number of issues with the River Raisin, such as the degradation of fish and wildlife populations as well as the presence of undesirable algae.

Both situations are classified as beneficial use impairments, or BUIs, by the International Joint Commission, an international organization between the United States and Canada that monitors and addresses problems with both country’s rivers and waterways.

To “keep the momentum going” with the River Raisin, citizens and government officials met Thursday to discuss what else still needs to be done to further improve the river that flows through the heart of the city.

The first of three River Raisin Legacy Project Master Plan community meetings was hosted by the city’s Commission on the Environment and Water Quality at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.

Residents and experts from organizations like the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy sat at different tables, participating in different activities to provide input and feedback on the ways to improve the river’s health. Their discussions also included territory outside of the area of concern as well as ways to improve recreational opportunities and education about the river.

Areas of concern are specific sites in the United States and Canada identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as having sustained severe damage and require cleanup and restoration efforts. The River Raisin was designated an AOC in 1987.

The designation came after the river was exposed to decades of contaminants like oils, grease, heavy metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from steel, motor, aluminum, and paper mills, according to the EPA’s website.

The commission and Environmental Consulting and Technology, an environmental consulting agency hired by the city, posed different questions to participants like how they normally receive information, how they’d like to receive information and updates about the River Raisin, and the activities they would participate in to help protect the river. They also surveyed how people use the river, if they have access issues, and what they think the most important issues are to the River Raisin’s health.

“The desired result of this master plan is to basically have a road map for not only the current generation but generations to come about how they can maintain the revitalization of the River Raisin,” said Brian Egen, chairman of the Commission on the Environment and Water Quality. “We think about the three Rs: the remediation, the restoration, and the revitalization. We’re moving toward restoration and revitalization. If we can maintain and sustain that stewardship of the river, we won’t backslide.”

Participants like Lydia Lopez, stewardship coordinator for the River Raisin Watershed Council, sat next to colleagues Sean Dennis, executive director of the Watershed Council, council executive committee member Mike Ayre, and commission member Milward Beaudry.

The group discussed prompts on their worksheets one at a time before sharing their thoughts and suggestions with the rest of the audience.

Mr. Ayre said he thinks posting videos about the River Raisin on social media apps and services like Facebook Reels, which he considers “the adult version of TikTok,” would be a fruitful method to garner engagement for the river.

“It makes you stop the scrolling, listen to what’s being said, and usually do some follow-up activity ... checking out a website or subscribing to an online newsletter or something like that,” Ms. Lopez said as she relayed Mr. Ayre’s thoughts to the rest of the audience.

Chris Bobryk, watershed ecologist for Environmental Consulting and Technology, was happy at how engaged meeting participants were as they discussed the master plan.

“A lot of people had a lot to say,” he said. “You might get a group that doesn’t speak or might be timid, ... but everyone had something to say.”

“I think this was an amazing turnout,” said Mr. Egen of the meeting. “We had a diverse group of people from all over the county and outside the county that have a vested interest in the watershed. It was very valuable to get their input on how we’re going to pass this legacy on to the next generation and maintain that stewardship. I feel very optimistic about it.”

Mr. Bobryk said the last two meetings are to be announced, though he expects the second meeting to be in the spring and the third in the summer.

Contact Eric Taunton at

etaunton@theblade.com.