Saginaw River and Bay Natural Resource Damage Assessment

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Properties Acquired with the Settlement

The parties to the settlement purchased over 1,670 acres of land from willing sellers around Saginaw Bay. The purpose of the purchases was to protect excellent habitat remaining along the bay from development and to increase habitat by purchasing previously drained lands and restoring their wetlands. Wildlife managers and wetland experts selected the parcels based on habitat values, proximity to existing public lands, and prospects for restoration.

All parcels are now in public ownership. Most of the parcels belong to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and are managed as part of State Wildlife Areas . Little Charity Island and the purchased portions of Big Charity Island belong to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are managed by the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge . One parcel is owned and managed by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe.

Previous Owner/New Owner	County Township, Range, Section	Acres	Features
Big Charity Island USFWS	Arenac T19N R9E S28,S33	250	wooded island in bay interior pond mix of sand, rock, and vegetated shoreline
Little Charity Island USFWS	Arenac T19N R9E S6	5.4	wooded island bird nesting colony
Sieja MDNR	Arenac T19N R6E S28-29, S33	280	largely wooded wetlands near bay
Eastman/KBC Tool MDNR	Arenac T18N R5E S2,S3	130	largely wooded several small ponds
Robinson MDNR	Arenac T18N R5E S2,S3	204	restoration of coastal wetland and lakeplain prairie along bay wooded ridge potential grassland restoration
Roney Saginaw Chippewa	Arenac T18N R5E S29, S32	110	coastal wetland and lakeplain prairie along bay wooded ridge Saganing Creek
Fritz MDNR	Bay T15N R4E S11	40	wooded contiguous with Tobico Marsh
Badour 1 MDNR	Bay T15N R4E S14	34	restoration of wetland wetland connected to Tobico Marsh footbridge added for access
Badour 2 MDNR	Bay T15N R4E S24	107	restoration of wetland wetland connected to Tobico Marsh footbridge added for access small wooded area which may expand
Hughes; Wild MDNR	Bay T14N R6E S8	182	one mile of coastline wetlands and beach ridge
Collon MDNR	Tuscola T14N R7E S15	40	upland old beach ridge
Timmons MDNR	Tuscola T14N R7E S14	9.5	upland old beach ridge
Rievert MDNR	Huron T16N R9E S15	46	restoration of coastal wetland and lakeplain prairie along bay has peninsula into bay
Gunden MDNR	Huron T16N R9E S14	100	wetlands and upland old beach ridge
Blount; Borroughs MDNR	Huron T16N R9E S2 T17N R9E S35	138	coastal wetland forested upland

Restoration Links

Restorations being funded by the settlement

Ducks Unlimited press release "$1 Million Grant Approved for Saginaw Bay Wetlands", April 20, 2001. A coalition of citizen organizations and resources agencies successfully used parts of this settlement as matching projects in order to get a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant for additional wetland restoration projects impacting 3,000 acres in the watershed.

To learn more about lakeplain prairie, one of the habitat types we are trying to restore, visit Michigan Natural Features Inventory and look at their Lakeplain Prairie (link to pdf file) and Lakeplain Wet-Mesic Prairie (link to pdf file) Abstracts

Last updated: July 17, 2008

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