Muskegon Lake, a Lake Michigan lacustrine estuary, was designated a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Great Lakes Area of Concern in 1987 because of water quality and habitat impairments associated with the historical discharge of pollutants into the AOC. Private and public stakeholders worked together to design and implement numerous restoration projects along the lakeshore, including hardened shoreline and fill removal, bioengineering, native planting, vegetative buffer establishment, fish and wildlife habitat structures, invasive species control, marine debris removal, and hydrologic reconnection. To date more than 66 acres of wetland and 13,000 linear feet of shoreline have been restored. This presentation will discuss various projects that have been completed to restore the fish and wildlife habitat around the late, along with the complexities and challenges that arise when public and private entities collaborate to establish restoration targets and implement restoration projects.
Brian Majka, GEI Consultants
Brian Majka is a professional restoration ecologist with over 16 years of experience throughout the United States. Brian specializes in natural shoreline design, native landscape design, invasive species control, and ecological restoration planning. He is currently vice chair of the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership and Michigan Invasive Plant Council.