River Day is a celebration of the rivers in the southeast Michigan region. The heart of River Day for Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) is Rouge Rescue -- your chance for hands-on involvement in the restoration and protection of the Rouge River.Since 1986, thousands of volunteers have come to the river on the first Saturday in June. They come from area businesses, local governments, school groups, service organizations, churches, homeowner groups and concerned citizens. They are all people like you who want to make a difference and contribute to the quality of life in their communities.
Work sites may be along small streams or main branches of the Rouge Volunteers spend their time removing debris from the river and its flood plain. A major effort involves removing, or simply moving, logs that are jamming the river and causing flooding or erosion. Many sites no longer remove all the trees and branches that fall into the river. They are using the woody debris, instead, to help reduce streambank erosion, slow down the flow of the river after storms, and create wildlife habitat.
In recent years, the FOTR "annual spring clean-up" has turned its local focus outward. We have teamed up with other watersheds throughout southeast Michigan to create the River Day Partnership. The Huron, Clinton, Detroit River, Shiawassee River Headwaters, St. Clair River and the Little River in Ontario join together on the first Saturday in June for clean-ups, nature hikes, canoe trips, and other river-related activities on River Day.If you are interested in participating in the annual Rouge Rescue clean-up extravaganza, or any of the other River Day activities, please contact Friends of the Rouge and we will guide you to your local River Day Coordinator.
Storm water is water that flows along the ground and pavement when it rains or when snow and ice melt. The water seeps into the ground or drains into what we call storm sewers. Storm drains are often covered b...