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Rouge Green Corridor
An Ark of Biodiversity for the Rouge River Watershed
The Rouge Green Corridor flows through Birmingham, Beverly Hills, and Southfield in southeast Oakland County. (Illustration by Janice Das, Insite Design)Project Overview Meandering through the southeast corner of Oakland County, the main branch of the Rouge River paints a green band through neighborhoods and business districts. This urban river, with clear water flowing over smooth rocks and past shady wooded banks, has changed since the time of European settlement, but still provides a haven for wildlife and people to enjoy. Over the past 15 years, efforts at improving the river’s water quality have paid off. Monitoring of the water quality in this stretch of the river has shown dramatic improvements in bacteria levels and dissolved oxygen levels- both indicators that investments in stormwater management and combined sewer overflow facilities are paying off. These accomplishments have inspired a new name — the Rouge Green Corridor. This segment of the Rouge River, and its tributaries, runs through Birmingham, Beverly Hills, and Southfield. In the last several years. the communities have directed attention beyond water quality to focus on stewarding the overall habitat of the Rouge Green Corridor. Recent inventories of the Corridor by biologists show that the river and its adjacent woods support five kinds of turtles, two kinds of snakes, and seventeen species of mammals. Aquatic invertebrates found in the corridor include flathead and small minnow mayflies and net spinner caddisflies. Several uncommon plant species, including the Special Concern species Twinleaf ( Jeffersonia diphylla) reside in the Corridor. The Corridor also has the largest and most diverse population of freshwater mussels in the Rouge Watershed. Threats to habitat along the corridor are many and varied, so a concerted effort to inventory and plan for habitat preservation and improvement is necessary. Phase I of the Project (Rouge Green Corridor Identity Project) was funded in part by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency via the Rouge River Wet Weather Demonstration Project. The project developed a logo and identity for the Rouge Green Corridor, and applied these identity tools in a self-guided tour brochure and a large-scale educartional map and stewardship guide. Phase II of the Project (Rouge Green Corridor Urban Habitat Conservation & Stewardship Project) was funded in part by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and has the following goals: 1. Prepare a plan to manage habitat along the Rouge Green Corridor.
2. Create a landscape-scale green infrastructure plan.
3. Create a river corridor-scale detailed natural resource inventory and management plan for the terrestrial and aquatic resources.
4. Conduct four habitat improvement demonstration projects to be used for public outreach initiatives communicating the habitat inventory, habitat plan, green infrastructure plan, and the role of active stewardship of river corridors in urban areas.
5. Conduct a workshop to educate private riparian landowners on ways to manage habitat on their land.
Project Partners City of Birmingham City of Southfield Village of Beverly Hills Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office (WRC) Oakland County Planning & Economic Development Services (OCPEDS) Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy Southeast Oakland County Water Authority (SOCWA) Presentations  Rouge Green Corridor Urban Habitat Conservation & Stewardship Project (11,476 kb)
Rouge Green Corridor Identity Project (2.4 mb) Documents A. Rouge Green Corridor Identity Poster & Self-Guided Tour Map B. Rouge Green Corridor Urban Habitat & Conservation Stewardship Project 1. Habitat Inventory & Management Plan (29,790 kb) 2. Habitat Inventory & Management Plan Appendices (29,862 kb) 3. 5-year Implementation Plan (270 kb) 4. Project Poster (445 kb) 5. Final Grant Report to NFWF (10 mb) C. Rouge Green Corridor Branding Package D. Riparian Planning Guidelines Manual E. Natural Resources of the Rouge Green Corridor (67 kb) F. People and the History of the Rouge Green Corridor (41 kb) G. Project Partners (44 kb)
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