Green River Corridors

By Barbara Merryfield
Marketing Intern

Ice age glacial activity has given Oakland County its distinct waterscape. With over 1,400 lakes and six major watersheds Oakland County shoreline totals over 900 miles. By comparison, this is a distance greater than from Detroit to Orlando and more shoreline than each of the Great Lakes, Ontario and Erie.

Today, these river, lake and wetland corridors are among our most valuable assets and Oakland County’s Planning and Economic Development Services is promoting environmental stewardship   throughout the county with its Green River Corridors program. 

“River corridors provide us with tremendous opportunities for connecting with and preserving the natural landscape in highly urban, developed landscapes,” said Nina Ignaczak, Oakland County Environmental Stewardship Senior Planner. “It is our responsibility to proactively steward our river corridors so that they can function optimally to provide us with ecological and economic benefits.”

Utilizing the knowledge gained from the Rouge Green Corridor Identity Demonstration Project, the Green River Corridors initiative will provide communities with technical assistance to identify, plan, promote and protect river corridors across Oakland County.

On May 18, Environmental Stewardship Services partnered with the Oakland County Drain Commissioner’s Office, Riverside Kayak Connection, and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan’s Greenways Initiative, to hold a county-wide workshop on Green River Corridors.

Attended by 100 participants, representing the county’s 13 subwatershed action groups, the workshop was designed to:

• Define Green River Corridor
• Provide information about complementary planning efforts
• Identify Green River Corridors in Oakland County
• Convert the information into a Green River Corridor Vision map and a report, which will be placed on Environmental Stewardship Services Water Resources’ website

By maintaining Green River Corridors, communities in Oakland County have a highly effective solution to wide range of problems such as water filtration, soil erosion and flood control. These scenic waterways also provide communities with a distinctive recreational focal point, a connection to their culture and history, and are home to a unique and diverse wildlife population not found outside of this habitat.

Oakland County’s Environmental Stewardship Services is concentrated on three areas of focus: Natural Areas, Water Resources and Trails & Paths.   For more information about this program please contact Oakland County Environmental Stewardship Senior Planner Nina Ignaczak, at 248-858-5436.

Oakland County would like to thank Environmental Consulting and Technology (ECT), International Transmission Company (ITC),   and DENSO Corporation for sponsoring the May workshop.