Summer 2020

Summer 2020 Newsletter

Summer Newsletter 2020From the Office of the DirectorJuly 23, 2020Marty Holtgren PHD Executive Director Muskegon River Watershed Assembly In “The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan’s Rarest River”, author Jeff Alexander introduces Martin Ryerson who would eventually attain prominence in the region. In 1832, the adventurous lad left his home in New Jersey at…
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From the Office of the Director

Marty Holtgren PHD Executive Director Muskegon River Watershed Assembly In “The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan’s Rarest River”, author Jeff Alexander introduces Martin Ryerson who would eventually attain prominence in the region. In 1832, the adventurous lad left his home in New Jersey at the age of 16 and arrived two years later…
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EGLE Awards Watershed Management Planning Grants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 16, 2020 EGLE Media Office, EGLE-Assist@Michigan.gov, 517-284-9278 Robert Sweet, Nonpoint Source Grants Coordinator, SweetR@Michigan.gov, 517-512-9765 The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced today three grants totaling $276,000 for projects that will benefit Michigan’s lakes and streams by developing new or updating existing watershed management plans. The plans will help…
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Muskegon River Watershed Assembly Receives Tree Planting Grant

Written by Mary Hansen, MRWA Project Manager Last fall, the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly (MRWA) was awarded a grant for more than $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).  This grant will allow the MRWA, along with 6 partners to plant 882 trees over 300 acres in 4…
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Jon Bumstead Legislative Report

Jon Bumstead Michigan State Senator Director, Muskegon River Watershed Assembly On Tuesday May 20th two dams on the Tittibiwassee  River in central Michigan failed sequentially resulting  in a disastrous chain of events that ultimately left the city of Midland under 9 feet of water. Now more than two months later, the flood has receded but extensive…
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Love in the Time of Coronavirus

By George Heartwell, Grand Rapids Mayor (Retired) Director Muskegon River Watershed Assembly (with apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez from whom I adapted this title from his Love in the Time of Cholera)   Covid 19.  We’d never heard of it.  Wuhan.  Who even knew where it is?  Suddenly this novel coronavirus, identified first in China,…
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Great Lakes Grant Improves Water Quality

A Watershed Forestry Success Story The Challenge: The Muskegon River Watershed in Michigan was experiencing substantial nonpoint source pollution from water runoff into its waterways from three locations—Clay Cliffs in Big Rapids, Bridgeton Township Park in Grant, and the city of Muskegon, a Great Lakes Area of Concern. The watershed is one of the largest…
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