Cleanup improves health of Upper Peninsula’s Menominee River

Menominee River cleanup improves health of fish and environment

Staff from the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes anticipate that fish and environmental health in the Upper Peninsula’s Menominee River will improve over time as the river recovers following a cleanup effort.

Partners from local communities, the OGL, Wisconsin DNR and federal Environmental Protection Agency worked together on the river cleanup. They are also improving habitat, growing opportunities for fishing and outdoor recreation. 

Sources of pollutants were controlled by improvements to industry practices and the removal of contaminated sediments. Funding for the work came from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

At this time, advisories regarding quantities and species of fish remain and are updated by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Properly cleaned and cooked pan fish are considered best choices for eating. 

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and eastern Wisconsin meet at the Menominee River, which flows into Lake Michigan’s Green Bay. Environmental impacts from historic pollution earned the lower three miles of the river an “Area of Concern” designation under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Negative effects from coal tar, paint sludge, and arsenic impacted communities with impairments like fish consumption advisories, labeled “Beneficial Use Impairments” (BUIs).