Muskegon Lake: Ruddiman Creek and Nearby Shoreline, Ecological Restoration Master Plan

USEPA and Biohabitats, Inc. in collaboration with multiple stakeholders have created a restoration master plan for Ruddiman Creek and the nearby shoreline of Muskegon Lake, in Muskegon Michigan. The area has been degraded as a result of shoreline fill, sediment contamination, and unregulated stormwater runoff. It is part of the larger Muskegon Lake Area of Concern and is listed as having Beneficial Use Impairments including loss of fish and wildlife habitat, degradation of fish and wildlife populations, and degradation of benthos.

A major sediment remediation effort was completed in Ruddiman Creek in the fall of 2006; however, additional restoration is necessary to address the Beneficial Use Impairments. The Ecological Restoration Master Plan provides a suite of actions for the restoration of fish, wildlife, benthic habitats, water quality, and recreation. These actions are intended to create ecosystem resiliency and diversity, attract reproducing populations of desirable native species, and attract the people of the surrounding area to a restored, aesthetically pleasing ecological amenity.

Stakeholder collaboration and community involvement were essential in the plan process. The vision and goals of the project were defined by a diverse array of federal and state agency representatives, in partnership with the City of Muskegon, the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership, the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly, and local businesses and citizens. A series of workshops provided opportunities for public input into the planning process.

The individual restoration projects in the plan include projected costs and expected outcomes of the restoration, a phasing plan and a restoration timeline. Each project also includes monitoring to track the success of the restoration actions. It is the intent that this plan becomes the outline for addressing Beneficial Use Impairments within this Area of Concern and ultimately, a template for restoring other degraded habitats in the Great Lakes region.