Restoring and Protecting Lake St. Clair
Lake St. Clair is one of Southeast Michigan’s jewels that must be protected and restored. SEMCOG works to restore and protect Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River through the implementation of the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair Comprehensive Management Plan.
SEMCOG facilitates the Lake St. Clair/St. Clair River Protection and Restoration Partnership. The Partnership contains representatives of 36 organizations including local, state, regional and federal government agencies, non-governmental organizations, business, universities and associations. The goal of the partnership is to implement the management plan resulting in protection and restoration of the river and lake. To learn more about the partnership, click here.
The Partnership is working to develop a five-year list of priority implementation projects. Developing this list will assist Congress and federal agencies in identifying funding priorities on which to focus. Also, the Partnership will develop a funding strategy by linking available funding programs to these projects.
The partnership has identified the following planning priorities that will assist in evaluating projects for protecting and restoring Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River:
• Conserve and restore habitat
• Stormwater management through retrofits
• Identify and reduce sources of bacteria
• Use of technology in protecting and restoring Lake St. Clair
• Enhance public use of Lake St. Clair Watershed
St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair Strategic Implementation Plan
The Lake St. Clair/St. Clair River Partnership has developed a Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) for the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair. The SIP contains 71 priorities for protecting and restoring the Lake St. Clair resource. The SIP contains $71 million in improvements and protections that will be jointly implemented by the federal, state and local partners. The SIP is a five-year list of priorities that will guide the implementation of the Management Plan. This list of priorities will assist the Partnership, Congress as well as state and federal agencies in identifying priorities on which to fund. The Partnership is now seeking approval of the SIP from the U.S. Aremy Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington D.C.
To review the SIP, please click here.
Current Efforts to Protect and Restore the Lake St. Clair Watershed
The protection and restoration of the Lake St. Clair Watershed will require numerous improvements. Some of these projects will implement sustainable practices that can increase the public’s access to and enjoyment of the Lake St. Clair Watershed. The public that has access to, and uses the resource will engage in its protection. Please click here for a list of current projects that are protecting the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair resource.
Implementation Funding
Several partners received implementation funding for projects located within the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair watershed through the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF). SEMCOG congratulates Clay Township, Cottrellville Township and St. Clair County for their successful applications to the MNRTF. The MNRTF Board released its 2011 project recommendations for funding on December 7, 2011. Please click here for a description of the successful projects within the Lake St. Clair Watershed.
