This time of year, the Detroit Riverfront seems more and more like a magnet for people living, working, or visiting downtown. Whether they’re exercising on their lunch break, fishing off the shore, or simply taking in the view, people just seem naturally drawn to the water.
It turns out that same attraction holds true for birds in our region. Southeast Michigan is situated at the intersection of two major migration routes- the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways- and more than 350 species of birds are regularly seen along the Detroit River corridor. For those flying north, the Western Lake Erie Basin and the Detroit River welcome birds to our region with North America’s only international wildlife refuge, spanning 6,000 acres between Toledo and Detroit. The river helps them navigate through the urban area to reach points north, including the globally rare lakeplain prairie habitat in the St. Clair Flats, the world’s largest freshwater delta.
Throughout the year, these natural resources provide critical nesting areas and stopover habitat for millions of birds. According to Roxanne Bogart from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), “The Detroit River corridor is a link in a migration chain that extends from South America all the way to the Arctic.”
So it was fitting to be at Milliken State Park, where the USFWS recognized the region’s significance by designating Metro Detroit as an Urban Bird Treaty area. The program is a unique, collaborative effort between USFWS and participating cities, and it advances urban bird conservation by strengthening regional partnerships and increasing access to funding opportunities. It began in 1999 when the first treaty was signed with New Orleans and the second with Chicago in 2000. Since then, 27 urban areas have come to share the designation.
“In all of these cities, there are strong partnerships between public agencies, private organizations, and citizens working together to create healthy urban spaces for both birds and for people,” Roxanne Bogart said in announcing the designation. “These partnerships are helping to convert open land to habitat areas, reducing conditions for collisions through bird-safe building programs, and educating and engaging urban residents – especially young people – in conservation and citizen science. Birds can be a great way for people in urban areas to connect with nature.”
In his remarks, Detroit Audubon Society President James Bull, agreed. “You don’t have to go out west or up north to see a bald eagle,” he said. “It’s very common to see one flying over the river or downtown Detroit, because there are 28 bald eagle nests in Southeast Michigan, many of them near the Detroit River. We are also in one of the three best places in North America for watching hawk migration. The most spectacular record was on one day in 1999 when more than 555,000 broad-winged hawks were observed.”
Pursuing the Urban Bird Treaty designation has been the first major initiative of the Metro Detroit Nature Network (MDNN), a growing partnership of government agencies, conservation groups, academic institutions, and funding organizations. Established in 2016, MDNN helps regional partners work cooperatively to make nature a part of everyday life in Southeast Michigan.
MDNN is a voluntary partnership, actively seeking members from local governments across the region. To help spread the word about how to get involved, Marc Miller, Regional Initiatives Deputy with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, will join us for an upcoming SEMCOG University workshop on June 7.
The workshop will also feature other innovative partnerships that have helped to support projects in parks and public spaces across the region. These include collaborative efforts to increase tree canopy, crowdfunding for parks and placemaking initiatives, working with land conservancies to acquire recreation land, and more.
If your community is interested in learning more about these opportunities, we encourage you to join us on June 7 for the SEMCOG University on Partnerships for Parks and Public Spaces.
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