GLIN==> NOAA Celebrates Earth Day at Recovery Act Project to Restore Muskegon Lake Shoreline

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2010

Contact:	Jana Goldman				
		301-734-1123				
							
NOAA Celebrates Earth Day at Recovery Act Project to 
Restore Muskegon Lake Shoreline
 
NOAA and local partners celebrated Earth Day today at an American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act project that is putting local residents to work
restoring 24 acres of wetland and almost two miles of shoreline along
Muskegon Lake in Michigan.

"The Recovery Act is working here on Muskegon Lake, putting local residents
to work in blue and green jobs - an exciting and growing part of our
economy," said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans
and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "Habitat restoration is also a
long-term investment in the health of the ecosystem and the coastal
economy." 
 
The $10 million Recovery Act restoration project is removing almost 200,000
metric tons of this sawmill waste and demolition material filling shallow
water and wetlands in Muskegon Lake. The project also involves replacing a
hardened shoreline of brick, concrete and cement debris with a natural
shoreline of native wetland vegetation to help restore the ecosystem for
fish and wildlife. 

The project will employ a broad spectrum of professions, including
engineers, biologists, and construction workers. 

"This restoration project is a sound investment in the regional economy,
both during construction and over the long term as we work to strengthen
tourism and recreational opportunities in west Michigan," said Michigan Lt.
Governor John Cherry, immediate past chair of the Great Lakes Commission.

Mark Evans, who recently lost his job at a local paper mill and now works
coordinating volunteers for the restoration project, praised the
improvements to Muskegon Lake. "For 20 years, schoolchildren, neighbors,
union members and others have done their best to improve this site for water
quality, people and fish and wildlife," he said. "The Recovery Act project
is accomplishing these goals in ways we never dreamed possible."

	Through the Recovery Act, NOAA was provided $167 million for marine
and coastal habitat restoration. The Great Lakes Commission and West
Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission are leading the Muskegon
Lake wetland restoration project, which is one of 50 Recovery Act habitat
restoration projects taking place. 

	More than 30 projects have broken ground, with the rest preparing to
start throughout the next year and a half. The 50 projects are supporting
thousands of short-term and long-term jobs. They support the equivalent of
more than 250 full-time jobs as of the latest report and are expected to
support the equivalent of an additional 1,000 full-time jobs before they are
completed.

	When all the planned projects are complete, 8,900 acres of habitat
will be restored, and fish will gain access to 700 stream miles that had
been blocked by obsolete and unsafe dams. The projects also will remove more
than 850 metric tons of abandoned fishing gear and other marine trash,
rebuild oyster and other shellfish habitat, and reduce threats to 11,750
acres of coral reef habitat.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the
depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our
coastal and marine resources. Visit us at http://www.noaa.gov
<http://www.noaa.gov/>  or on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/noaa.lubchenco.

On the Web
NOAA Recovery Act: www.noaa.gov/recovery 
NOAA Earth Day: http://www.noaa.gov/earthday 

- 30 -

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20100422/7910af3c/attachment.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Earth Day MI FINAL.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 61380 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20100422/7910af3c/attachment.pdf