It’s about time to undo the damage.

Prior to restoration, 65% the Muskegon Lake shoreline was hardened or altered in some unnnatural way.

Beginning in the early 20th century, the manufacturing industry made its way to Muskegon from Chicago and foundries, factories, and steel mills began popping up in place of the abandoned sawmills along the lake’s south shore. At its peak in the 1940s, Muskegon was known as the “arsenal of democracy” for its production of munitions, castings for tanks, and other materials during WWII. As the economy boomed, the lake suffered as the factories discharged all kinds of waste and chemicals into the water.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that an environmental awareness began to develop. In 1974, the Save Our Shoreline organization was created in opposition of the construction of a new steel mill on the shore of Muskegon Lake. Founder Dr. William G. Jackson held the ideology that the future of the region was in having clean water. His advocacy for protecting the lake helped to change the way Muskegon viewed its water resources.

This project created 80 local jobs and 35,933 labor hours.

In recent years there has been a growing awareness of the importance to restore the lake, especially since it was designated an Area of Concern in the 1980s - meaning it was identified as one of the 42 most polluted hot spots in the Great Lakes. According to Al Steinman, the director of the Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute, Muskegon Lake has to fix nine “beneficial use impairments,” or problems with the water, before it can be delisted as an area of concern. One of the major ways AWRI is helping to do this is by assisting with a large-scale restoration of the south shore of the lake.

Before the shoreline became “hardened” with seawalls, riprap, and other unnatural materials, it was a natural, swampy habitat for fish and plants. The goal of the project is to restore these habitats and communities of living organisms within the water. “Sixty-five percent of the Muskegon Lake shoreline is hardened or altered in some form or fashion,” Steinman said. “Our goal is to knock it back to 50 percent or less.”

The West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC) spearheaded the project by enlisting landowners to agree to restore their section of shoreline. Eventually 7-9 parcels of land were enrolled and WMSRDC received funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “AWRI played a major role in helping WMSRDC receive the competitive funding from NOAA because we were able to provide scientific expertise to monitor whether the restoration was effective or not,” Steinman said.

AWRI collected data from the shoreline prior to the restoration and has been monitoring the changes for the last four years. “The funding for the project ends this year, but we plan on continuing to monitor the shoreline every five years or so,” Steinman said. Researchers at AWRI analyze the changes by collecting plants and fish from the restored areas and comparing the species composition and biomass to previous collections as well as collections from unaffected “control” sites on the north shore.

According to Steinman, this project means a lot for the Muskegon community. “Directly, it has generated $10 million worth of business for the community,” he said. “Many of the contractors were local and it created research opportunities for our students. In terms of meeting its ultimate goal of stimulating the economy, this restoration project has certainly proved its worth in that respect.”

Not only has this project had an economic impact of $10 million, but according to a report put together by Grand Valley Professor of Economics Paul Isely, this shoreline restoration will ultimately provide a return of $66 million when real estate and property values are factored in.

Indirect benefits may be even more important said Steinman. “By restoring the lake to its natural conditions, that will no doubt impact people in terms of boating, recreation, tourism, use of the bike trail, and an appreciation of what the natural beauty of this community is,” he said. “Someday in the future, our hope is that Muskegon will no longer be seen as a gray, foundry city, but a green city that appreciates, values, and promotes its natural resources.”

23.6 acres of unnatural shoreline were removed or improved.