Lake Erie Watershed

Proposed National ParkMichigan and Ohio
A Baltimore oriole in spring at Metzger Marsh on Lake EriePhotograph: lwolfartist, CC BY 2.0
All proposed National ParksLake Erie WatershedCampaign underway
Location
Michigan/Ohio
Current protection
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, and state and metropark lands
Status
Advocacy by the New National Parks campaign; no bill
Tier
Tier 1 · National Park
In the book
Not featured in Undiscovered America

Why should it be a National Park?

Along the western end of Lake Erie, between Detroit and Toledo, coastal marshes, oak openings, and the mouths of the Detroit, Raisin, and Maumee rivers hold some of the most endangered ecosystems in the Great Lakes, and they draw one of the great bird migrations on the continent each spring.

Six million people live within reach of these marshes, and the nearest National Park is across the border in Canada. A park that knits the scattered public lands together would bring the highest protection to a place that has almost none.

The history of National Park Campaigns

The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, the first international refuge in North America, began protecting pieces of this coast in 2001. In 2021 the New National Parks campaign proposed a 200,000-acre Lake Erie Watershed National Park that would join existing public lands and acquire key private ones.

Distinct National Park attempts
1 (2021 New National Parks campaign proposal)
Other designation attempts
2 (wildlife refuges)

Sources

  • Michael Kellett, "A Modest Proposal: We Need More National Parks," Sierra (August 17, 2021)
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  1. 1961

    Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is established on the Lake Erie marshes.

  2. 2001

    Congress creates the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.

  3. August 17, 2021

    The New National Parks campaign proposes a 200,000-acre Lake Erie Watershed National Park.