For immediate release - July 9, 2020
Press contact: Jessica VanGinhoven, (616) 738-4810

Forest Restoration along the Grand River Greenway

Ottawa County Parks & Recreation has two major restoration projects slated for this summer. The first is an oak savanna restoration project at the newly acquired Stearns Creek Park. The second is a restoration of flood plain forest and bur oak plains at Eastmanville Farm.

The vision of the Grand River Greenway is to create a model ecological and cultural multi-use corridor along the Grand River. This will preserve significant natural, historical, and cultural features and promote healthier, happier, and more vibrant communities. The two planned restoration projects increase ecological diversity and significantly improve habitat for wildlife along the river. 

Project 1: Oak Savanna Restoration at Stearns Creek Park

Beginning in mid-May, the Ottawa County Parks & Recreation Commission began removing old pine plantations at Stearns Creek Park to encourage the growth of native prairie species found on the property. This will improve the health of the land and restore one of Michigan’s once abundant but now rare ecosystems: the oak savanna. Oak savanna ecosystems are highly diverse and have significant value for wildlife. Finding remnants of this ecosystem in one of the park properties was very exciting. 

Restored oak savanna in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge

"Most of the pine trees at Stearns Creek were planted with the purpose of harvesting for Christmas trees or lumber," said Melanie Manion, Natural Resources Manager with Ottawa County Parks & Recreation. "Many of these trees would not naturally grow here, and if not harvested, they can become diseased and die."

Ottawa County Parks & Recreation staff warns that tree removal can look shocking at first. "These changes may seem counter-intuitive, but all indications are that a diverse, native ecosystem is waiting to re-grow where the pines now stand," said Manion. "Stearns Creek is the most bio-diverse property that we manage and we are so excited to have found special prairie species at the park. We are working closely with contractors to not disturb areas of high quality habitat or remove native trees, like white pine, oaks, and hemlocks." The county will not profit from this harvest, but it will also not be a burden on taxpayers. "Most of the trees that will be removed have little to no market value and the red pine harvest will provide enough revenue to cover the cost of this project," said Manion.  Along the trails, you can find clues to Stearns Creek’s history as an oak savanna. Scattered uncommon prairie plants, such as prickly pear cactus (pictured) and frostweed, can be found in openings within the pine plantations.

Project 2: Riparian Buffer Restoration at Eastmanville Farm

Our forests face a number of threats. Over the past two decades, Emerald ash borer destroyed nearly all of the ash trees in Michigan. As stewards and land managers of park property, Ottawa County Parks & Recreation is constantly monitoring for and treating oak wilt, hemlock woolly adelgid, beech bark, and other forests pests. In addition to forest pests, trees young and old are vulnerable to competition of aggressively-spreading invasive plants that have the advantage of fewer predators. "Studies from US Forest Service predict that species composition of forest ecosystems are expected to change as tree species adapt to warmer and drier summer temperatures, more extreme water conditions, and milder winters," said Manion. "These studies provide recommended strategies maintain overall ecosystem function and health by gradually enabling and assisting adaptive transitions of tree species and forest communities in suitable locations. This project is designed based in part on these recommendations."

With a quarter of a mile of Grand River shoreline, Eastmanville Farm is critical component of building resiliency to the extreme flood events along the Grand River Greenway in Ottawa County. The existing shoreline is dominated by invasive reed canary grass with numerous dead ash trees. Without further armoring and stabilizing the shoreline, the risk of erosion increases greatly. In 2018, the Ottawa County Parks & Recreation Commission began a plan for the restoration of 52 acres to native ecosystems.

To help fund this work, Ottawa County Parks & Recreation partnered with the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) and three other organizations for a nationally competitive grant from the Wildlife Conservation Society's Climate Adaptation Fund. Grant funds will help the partners work together to improve the health of some of the region’s damaged forests, and employ a proactive approach to keeping them healthy into the future amidst the many challenges local forests face. A total of $13,700 of funding from the grant and a $14,000 match from Ottawa County Parks & Recreation will support the restoration work.

The project area spans what ecologists call the “tension zone,” a region where northern tree species, like Eastern Hemlock meet southern tree species, such as Tulip trees and they blend together. When complete, the project will restore the current riparian buffer zone with a diversity of more southern tree species.

"The use of southern species of trees should help mitigate the effects of projected warmer and drier summers, keeping our forests healthy for many years into the future," said Manion. Species such as Pawpaw, Sycamore, and Kentucky coffee tree will be secured from nurseries from southwest Michigan or Indiana. "Due to Ottawa County’s position at the northern edge of the tension zone, these species do occur within parks along the Grand River, but in lower numbers," said Manion. "Although, the root structure of the trees will help armor the shoreline from increased frequency and strength of Grand River flooding."

"We are responding to significant disruptions to our ecosystems in Ottawa County and the impacts on parks land. If we don’t intervene to mitigate or reverse these issues, the situation will likely worsen. Grant funding helps us to do this in a cost-effective manner," said Manion. 

Click the image above to watch the video Youtube or watch the video on the  Ottawa County Parks website.

Grant information

The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC) and 4 regional partners are excited to announce that from more than 80 projects submitted nationwide, they were one of only thirteen selected to receive grant funds from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Climate Adaptation Fund, which is generously supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. This grant will help the partners work together to improve the health of some of the region’s damaged forests, and employ a proactive approach to keeping them healthy into the future amidst the many challenges local forests face, including climate change.

Banding together, SWMLC, Ottawa County Parks, The Nature Conservancy-Michigan, Chikaming Open Lands, and Shirley Heinze Land Trust are undertaking this $375,000 project to keep existing forests healthy and to plant new and resilient forests. Over the course of two years the group plans to plant over 40,000 trees, using species and creating forest habitats that can better adapt to projected climate change and invasive species. Over the next two years these partners will improve forest health and plant new forests across nature preserves and county parks spanning over 70 miles of latitude from northwest Indiana to the Grand River in west Michigan. Across 14 different forested areas throughout this region, the group will take action to positively impact nearly 500 acres of forest by treating for invasive species, planting new forests, and diversifying existing forests.

For more information and climate data, please visit the US Forest Service website.

A trail and more

"With the Idema Explorers Trail under construction, it is often the focus of news and discussion related to the Grand River Greenway," said Jason Shamblin, Director of Ottawa County Parks & Recreation. "We are all extremely excited about the trail, but projects like these are what makes the greenway more than a trail. We are proud to continue to balance recreation and with conservation." 

Not familiar with the Grand River Greenway or the Idema Explorers Trail? Learn more by watching this video.

More information about the Idema Explorers Trail
& Grand River Greenway

The Idema Explorers Trail is being constructed in phases along the south side of the Grand River. Once completed, the non-motorized multi-use pathway will be 37 miles in length and will connect together eight county and state parks in Ottawa County. It also connects Millennium Park to Grand Haven for the first time, the two Grand Valley State University campuses together, and hundreds of miles of regional trails including a direct route to downtown Grand Rapids. 

Quick facts:

• There are 14 Ottawa County Park properties with over 2,700 acres of land along the Grand River Greenway
• In addition to the 36.5-mile paved trail, the greenway also features a water trail (Grand River Heritage Water Trail) and a historic features tour for motorists (Historic River Road).
• There are over 9,000 acres of public land between Grand Haven and Grand Rapids

Learn more about the Grand River Greenway: grandrivergreenway.org