The Detroit River, which connects Lake Huron and Lake Erie, has a long history of industrial development along its shoreline and is a major commercial navigational system.  As a result, coastal marshes along this riverine system have been greatly degraded (Manny et al. 1988).  For this reason, in Michigan, the Great Lakes marsh natural community is classified as S3 (Vulnerable), due to its relatively few occurrences, recent and widespread declines, or other factors making it vulnerable (Albert 2001, MNFI 2007).

Humbug Marsh, a management unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and a designated RAMSAR site, is a unique and significant site worthy of the “Wetlands of Distinction” designation.  This site provides habitat for a number of species, is considered essential for the preservation of migrating raptor species and other migrating waterfowl and passerines, and serves as a spawning and nursery habitat for many fish species (USFWS 2014).

 Citations:

Albert, D. A. (2001). Natural community abstract for Great Lakes marsh [Updated June 2010]. [Online.] Available at https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/abstracts/ecology/Great_lakes_marsh.pdf.

Manny, B., T. Edsall, and E. Jaworski (1988). The Detroit River, Michigan: An Ecological Profile [Biological Report 85(7.17). [Online.] Available at http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/techrpt/85-7-17.pdf.

MNFI (2007). Michigan Natural Features Inventory - Rare Species Explorer (Web Application). [Online.] Available at https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/explorer/search.cfm.

USFWS (2014). Humbug Marsh. Detroit River International Wildlfe Refuge - Michigan. [Online.] Available at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/detroit_river/refuge_units/humbug.html.