The City of Trenton, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many partners celebrated the restoration and revitalization of the Black Lagoon in a ceremony renaming it Ellias Cove.  The ceremony took place on Monday, June 18, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. at Meyer Ellias Park in Trenton, Michigan.

The Black Lagoon is a backwater embayment located in the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River.  The Black Lagoon received its name in the mid-1980s when scientists investigating the Detroit River discovered that oil and grease released during the 1940s-1970s had accumulated in the sediment of Black Lagoon.   

Today, the City of Trenton and its many partners celebrated:

• The U.S.-Canada research that identified the Black Lagoon as a contaminated sediment hotspot that allowed for development of remediation plans;
• The identification of the Black Lagoon as a management priority through the Detroit River Remedial Action Plan and Metropolitan Affairs Coalition’s Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative;
• The $9.3 million remediation of Black Lagoon’s contaminated sediment in 2004-2005 through the U.S. Great Lakes Legacy Act and the Clean Michigan Initiative;
• The $151,000 shoreline habitat restoration completed in 2006;
• The 2007 awarding of $582,000 from a Boating Infrastructure Grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to build a marina and further economic revitalization of downtown Trenton ($200,000 will also be provided as local match from Trenton); and now
• The renaming of Black Lagoon as “Ellias Cove” in honor of the family who donated the adjacent land to Trenton that became Meyer-Ellias Park.

“It is truly wonderful to come together with all our partners to celebrate the completion of a 23-year effort to clean up contaminated sediment, restore habitat, further economic revitalization through marina development, and remove the stigma of the Black Lagoon,” notes Mayor Jerry Brown.  “We are so fortunate and pleased to forever become home to Ellias Cove – a Great Lakes success story!”

This project is an excellent example of how the Detroit River is rapidly gaining an international reputation for public-private partnerships for outdoor recreation, conservation, and quality of life.  Key project partners include: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, City of Trenton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Metropolitan Affairs Coalition’s Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Sea Grant, Detroit River Remedial Action Plan, JJR, the Ellias Family, and the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control.