CN, Congressman Dingell and others celebrate $200,000 contribution to Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. - Photo Credit: USFWS

CN has contributed $200,000 toward the construction of a Great Lakes school ship dock and world-class fishing pier at the Refuge Gateway in Trenton, Mich. The 44-acre Refuge Gateway is a former industrial brownfield site that is being transformed into the gateway to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and the future home for the refuge’s visitor center. The Refuge Gateway will serve as a hub for environmental education and outdoor recreational activities for nearly seven million people living within a 45-minute drive of North America’s only International Wildlife Refuge. 

The Refuge Gateway is owned Wayne County and located adjacent to the refuge’s 410-acre Humbug Marsh Unit. Humbug Marsh is Michigan’s only “Wetland of International Importance” designated under the international Ramsar Convention. It represents the last mile of natural shoreline on the U.S. mainland of the Detroit River. Its habitats are truly exceptional and support remarkable biodiversity, including 51 species of fish, 90 species of plants, 154 species of birds, seven species of reptiles and amphibians, and 37 species of dragonflies and damselflies.

World-class shore fishing will be available at no cost in waters that are considered part of the “walleye capital of the world.” Children and adult anglers will have the opportunity to catch a trophy walleye from deeper waters of the Detroit River or panfish from shallower waters. In addition to shore fishing, a dock will be constructed for Michigan Sea Grant’s Great Lakes school ship that will operate on the Detroit River and western Lake Erie. The school ship will dock at the Refuge Gateway to make use of the river and Refuge as a living laboratory for children. School children from all metropolitan Detroit communities will come regularly to the Refuge Gateway for day-long field trips aboard the school ship. Total project construction costs are $2.8 million. With CN’s generous contribution, a total of $1.8 million has been raised to date by project partners. Partners hope to raise the additional $1 million by year end to be able to go to construction in 2013.