Friends of the Detroit River, Inc.
P O Box 3099
Melvindale, MI 48122
dgriffin1@ameritech.net
Humbug Marsh
is located near the mouth of the Detroit River. The area
is in the cities of Gibraltar and Trenton, Michigan.
Made In Detroit purchased the Humbug Marsh from Waste
Management who had designated Humbug Marsh as a mitigated
wetland to replace wetlands in Wayne County that Waste
Management filled to create a landfill. The Friends of
the Detroit River has been working to save Humbug Marsh
since 1995.
What do you consider
the key to your success?
·
We obtained small grants from Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund for the purpose of informing
the public of the threat to Humbug Marsh.
·
The Sierra Club of Michigan featured Humbug
Marsh as a threatened natural treasure in a colorful brochure.
10,000 copies were distributed.
How
would you outline the steps in organizing your project
to advise another group on a similar project?
- Incorporate and establish
a membership organization.
- Elect a board and officers.
- Publish a newsletter.
- Establish a task force
to raise funds, plan how to attack the problem and to
generate publicity.
- Join other similar
groups, such as MUCC & MEC.
What have been the
affects of this effort on your organization’s work?
The FDR has spent approximately
half of its time and resources on the Humbug Marsh issue.
How the project has
affected your community?
The majority of people
in SE Michigan are now aware of Humbug Marsh and its importance
to migratory waterfowl and fish spawning.
How many people were
involved (initially v/s finally)?
FDR started with 35 members,
we now have over 400. The Wetlands task force
of 50 people is especially active.
How
many people-hours were spent on the various aspects of
the project?
No hourly records have
been kept for the people involved. We ran bingo games
for 3 months, had 3 spaghetti dinners; wrote flyers, newspaper
articles, ads, letters; went door to door with Humbug
Marsh information; had information/membership booths at
several activities. We have no paid employees. Every
hour spent has been volunteered.
How was public involvement motivated and facilitated?
Public involvement was
motivated and facilitated by
1.
Newspaper articles and paid advertisements
2.
Quarterly Newsletters
3.
Flyers
4.
Meetings
5.
Telephone
6.
E-mail
How was public education a component of your program?
Public education was a
component of our program in that newsletters were sent
to 3000 people. In addition, newsletters were sent to
1,200 public school administrators in Wayne County.
Collaborative efforts
with members of FDR and the Michigan Sea Grant have resulted
in a few classrooms participating in a hands on project
of water quality testing in Humbug Marsh.
What was the primary means of communication?
The primary means of communication
to members and other environmentally conscious citizens
has bee our quarterly newsletters and flyers to inform
of fund raisers and information meetings. Among the task
force the primary means is e-mail and telephone.
What
resources were available/acquired/tapped into (total project
cost, public v/s private financing, specific sources,
etc.)?
The main resource has
been people willing to donate their time, energy, talents
and money to the effort to preserve Humbug Marsh.
What level of media exposure were you able to obtain and how
did it affect your efforts?
Barbara Stanton of the
Detroit Free Press and Paula Neumann of the Heritage News
Herald have written numerous editorials and articles promoting
the cause for keeping Humbug Marsh natural and undeveloped.
I suspect that their support has influenced the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers to stand firm against the threats made
by Made In Detroit to which the DEQ and the City Council
of Gibraltar have bowed abjectly. They also have arranged
for FDR members letters to the editor to get on
the right desk so as to be published soon after being
written.
Friends of the Detroit River,
Inc.
P O Box 3099
Melvindale, MI 48122
dgriffin1@ameritech.net
