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Lower Grand Watershed Wetland Initiatives

Project Area

The Lower Grand River Watershed (LGRW) drains approximately 2,909 square miles from the confluence of the Grand River and the Looking Glass River near the City of Portland to the mouth of the Grand River in Grand Haven, where it enters Lake Michigan. The LGRW encompasses large portions of Ottawa, Muskegon, Kent, Montcalm, Ionia, Barry, and Eaton Counties. The LGRW contains two urban areas: the Grand Rapids Metropolitan area and the Muskegon Metropolitan area. Since pre-settlement, approximately 74% of wetlands have been lost in the LGRW. The functional loss of those wetlands is unknown, thus a watershed-wide wetland strategy is needed to protect and preserve the existing wetlands and identify priority areas for wetlands restoration.

Project Goals and Objectives
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed techniques to use wetland data to predict wetland functions at the watershed level. The goal of this project is to use these techniques to produce an inventory and analysis of historic wetlands and their functions in the LGRW and to compare these findings to present day conditions in three subwatersheds. The specific objectives are to illustrate and describe a functional wetland assessment of the LGRW prior to European colonization and to compare current wetlands extent and function in three subwatersheds to the pre-settlement assessments. The results will be used to predict the cumulative effect of historic wetlands losses on the wetland functions, prioritize existing wetlands for protection and preservation, and prioritize areas for wetland restoration.

Project Team Members
John Koches - Principal Investigator, AWRI
Rodney Denning - Research Associate, AWRI
Brian Hanson - Research Assistant, AWRI
Wendy Ogilivie - Environmental Specialist, FTC&H
Laurie Beth Nederveld - Environmental Specialist, FTC&H
Michelle Lazar - Geographic Information Systems Manager, FTC&H

Contact Information
Rod Denning
denningr@gvsu.edu