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Humbug Marsh

Developers sue to pave over marsh

The Detroit River is part of the greatest freshwater system on Earth. It is a fast, busy waterway that serves five million people in two countries for commerce and recreation. Humbug Marsh is the only place on the river where the shoreline remains in a natural state, but it is threatened by development .. Humbug is the only remaining marsh on the U.S. side of the 32 mile long river. Developers have proposed a 350 house development with large parking areas, a nine hole golf course, and a marina, which will destroy the fragile ecosystem of the marsh.

In June of 1999, the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a restrictive permit allowing monitored development despite the findings of state and federal biologists, whose studies have shown that the development would destroy the delicate perch and walleye feeding grounds that the marsh provides. The marsh is also a haven for migrating waterfowl.

Two conservation groups have filed suit against the D.E.Q. for issuing the permit, claiming development of this resource will destroy it and the value it provides for all who use the river. The Michigan United Conservation Club and Friends of the Detroit River claim the D.E.Q. violated the Michigan Wetland Protection Act in issuing the permit.

In an unprecedented move the developers, Made in Detroit, have filed an ethics complaint against both biologists." If you can't win your case on the facts or the law, you can always try to bully your opponent which the developers seem to be trying to do" according to a Dec. 6, 1999 Detroit Free Press editorial. The editorial also stated "This is bad for science, for open debate and for the dissemination of knowledge. It is bad for ordinary citizens who pay the salary of federal and state scientists and are entitled to know and to hear what they think. But how eager will public employees be to speak honestly about the impacts of any controversial project if they know it can lead to hours of deposition?"

Humbug is a very important spawning ground, the only place on the river where the shoreline is in a natural state. It should remain in public access. It is a far too precious a resource to regret losing.

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