DTE floats 100,000 dollar gift to Detroit River refuge

The center will be built on the 44-acre former Chrysler site. It is adjacent to Humbug marsh and the woodlands, waterways and islands that represent the last large undeveloped parcel along the industry-laden Detroit River.

The grant from DTE, via the Friends of Wayne County Parks, will pay for detailed engineering and architectural plans for the visitors' center, which will be designed to conserve energy and have minimal impact on the surrounding environment.

The center will provide a face for the preserve on Jefferson Avenue. The preserve will include nature trails, outdoor classrooms and wildlife viewing areas.

"It's a very exciting idea," said Bruce Jones, of Grosse Ile. "This is not only a gateway, but an environmental education center. You really have a unique quality of life developing down here."

The first leg of the project was funded by a $334,000 Clean Michigan Initiative grant to open up a former creek, long ago routed underground, to reconnect the natural waterway with nearby wetlands. That work is under way.

Officials had expected the visitor's center project to take as long as three years to raise funds to move forward, but the DTE grant will speed up plans, said Refuge Director John Hartig.