News & Events

New on Corridor Maps - Remediation of Fish Spawning Habitat in the Huron-Erie Corridor

In The Media - Below the Surface – Restoring an Urban River. By Lynn Vaccaro and Stephanie Ariganello

New Fact Sheet - Restoring Fish Habitat In The St. Clair River (Middle Channel Reef Project)

State of the Strait Conference November 2, 2011:
Use of Remote Sensing and GIS to Better Manage the Huron-Erie Corridor

2011 Niagara River Partnership ∼ Huron-Erie Corridor Initiative Information Exchange

2011 7^th Annual Steering Committee Meeting

The Huron-Erie Corridor Initiative is featured on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative page at the U.S. Geological Survey

Remediation of Fish Spawning Habitat in the Huron-Erie Corridor

Abstract

In response to a need for scientific information that could be used to delist Beneficial Use Impairment 14 (Loss of fish and wildlife habitat) in the St. Clair River and Detroit River International Areas of Concern in Michigan, this paper summarizes a large scale geographic mapping investigation designed to integrate data on two variables that many riverine fish respond to in selecting where to spawn in these waters (water flow velocity and water depth) with available maps of the Huron Erie Corridor. Our objectives were to locate and map these two physical components of fish habitat in the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers and Lake St. Clair using a geographic information system (GIS) and identify where, theoretically, fish spawning habitat could be remediated in these rivers. Target fish species to which this model applies include walleye (Sander vitreus), lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Our analysis revealed areas in each river that possessed suitable water velocity and depth for fish spawning and therefore could theoretically be remediated by the addition of rock-rubble spawning substrate like that used at two previously remediated sites in the Detroit River: Belle Isle and Fighting Island. Results of this analysis revealed that only 2.7% of the total area of the HEC possesses the necessary combination of water depth and high flow velocity to be indicated as potential spawning habitat.

Map Information

A Google Earth KMZ file of the following two map layers is available for download here. For browser compatibility, the KMZ file is itself in a ZIP file.

The first map represents the final modeled fish spawning habitat rankings with the dredged, maintained shipping channel areas removed from consideration. All areas shown reflect potentially suitable fish spawning habitat, with higher rankings reflecting faster flow velocities and areas of greater depth. Modeled ranking values range from 12 to 18. These rankings are meant to be used as a guide for targeting field sites for assessment of existing substrates and current use by spawning fish.