Rouge Rundown – December 11, 2024: Fish Facts | New Kayak Launch | Master Rain Gardener & More

Start your New Year Looking for Stoneflies

Stoneflies are a primitive group of insects named for their habit of crawling on stones in a river. Most stoneflies have high oxygen needs, restricting them to clean well-oxygenated streams. That makes them good indicators of stream quality for your Rouge River. Where stoneflies are found, the stream is in relatively good health. Some stoneflies hatch in winter which is why Friends of the Rouge volunteers search for them in January. Your eyes, hands, and boots on the ground are needed as part of this important search! No prior experience is necessary, but pre-registrations is required.

This event is generously sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.

Grateful is an Understatement

Rouge River Heroes, your River is beyond grateful for you. Thanks to you, $30,000 was raised on GivingTuesday. That is amazing. Thank you. And now the fun begins as your outpouring of support is put to work for more rain gardens, trail builds, critter tracking, river monitoring, river exploration, trees, and hands-on Rouge River education and action that ushers in the clean water future that you deserve. Right here. In your hometown. Thank you, Rouge River Heroes. The River is singing in thanks to you.

With thanks to your matching partners: Bosch, the Friends of the Rouge Board of Directors, and fellow Friend Laraine Deutsch.

You are Invited to Become a Master Rain Gardener!

Are you ready to transform your lawn into a living habitat and stormwater solution? This is the class for you! Design your own rain garden step-by-step as you learn the A, B, C’s of rain gardening. This includes lessons learned from more than 1,400 rain gardens built by homeowners just like you! Learn what works and what doesn’t.

This virtual class is presented live. Ask questions and enjoy discussions with participants in your community. The course includes a visit to a rain garden in your area, discussions through the Master Rain Gardener Facebook group (or an alternate forum), and a chance to earn your certification as a Master Rain Gardener–including a t-shirt and sign.

Full scholarships are available for residents in the following zip codes:
Detroit (48209, 48217), Ecorse (48229), Inkster (48141), Lincoln Park (48146), Melvindale (48122), River Rouge (48218), Riverview (48193), Romulus (48174), Taylor (48180).

Class Times: Thursdays, 10 am – 12 pm, January 30–February 27

Class Location: virtual classroom with in-person tours throughout SE Michigan

New Kayak Launch at Venoy Dorsey Park

Wayne County Parks broke ground on the installation of two universally accessible kayak and canoe launches in Venoy Dorsey Park. One launch will be at the park entrance at Venoy Road, just north of Michigan Avenue, and the other located just downstream at Merriman Rd. These two launches will be the first installed in the planned 29 mile Lower Rouge River Water Trail. The strategic plan for the tail calls from 9 multi-purpose trail heads along the trail and 7 are 100% shovel ready. A third launch at Fort Street Bridge Park in Detroit is poised to break ground in the fall. 

Your Fish Monitoring Report

Your Friends of the Rouge Fish Team sampled 25 sites in 2024. Sites were selected to monitor trends based on: delisting criteria, AOC project sites, round goby migration (an invasive fish species), and the endangered redside dace. Highlights this year include finding young redside dace at two locations in Johnson Creek which indicates that successful reproduction is taking place. Additional good news: northern hogsuckers and northern logperch expanded their reach in the Lower branch this year. And yellow perch and northern hogsuckers were found above the Ford Dam, which indicates these fish are successfully using the fishway to bypass the dam. Unfortunately, round goby continues to make its way upstream. Another risk: low water quality in many locations continues to be a challenge for the fish community.  Thank you Friends, for your care of your River and fish community.

Winterize Your Rain Barrel

Living in Southeast Michigan means winterizing anything with water that can freeze when temperatures dip below 32F.  Most people think to disconnect hoses and cover exposed faucets, however rain barrels are often overlooked.  Now is the time to make sure you’re properly winterizing your rain barrel by following the steps below: 

• Disconnect the rain barrel from the gutter downspout.
• Connect a temporary downspout extension to the gutter that feeds that rain barrel. Position this so that it is directing rainwater away from the house.
• Use up or drain the rain barrel so there is no water left inside. Water left in for the winter may freeze and crack the barrel itself.
• Open the barrel’s spigot and leave open for the period of no use, this will avoid freeze damage to the hardware of the barrel.
• Rinse the interior of the barrel. Now is a good time to clean the barrel of sediment build up that occurs in many rain barrels during the course of the rainy season.
• If you have storage move the rain barrel to an indoor storage area to really extend the life of your rain barrel. If you have not storage or prefer to leave your rain barrel outside then be sure to turn the barrel upside down.
• Cover your rain barrel with a tarp for additional protection.

Congratulations to the 48 new StormWater Specialists!

2024 was a significant year for the StormWater Specialist Training program. Throughout the season, Friends of the Rouge and Sierra Club taught three groups of participants about green infrastructure and rain garden maintenance. This resulted in 48 StormWater Specialists trained and ready to take on contracts to maintain rain gardens around the Detroit area.

Looking ahead to 2025, Friends of the Rouge and Sierra Club plan to teach three more cohorts of the SWST program at St. Suzanne Cody Rouge Resource Center. The current planned dates for these cohorts are the following:

• Cohort 1: April 15- May 22, 2025
• Cohort 2: June 3 – July 17, 2025 (excluding the week of July 4th)
• Cohort 3: July 21 – August 28, 2025

If you would like to work with the SWST co-op for any upcoming rain garden installations or maintenance needs, please contact Amethyst Crawford at amethystcrawford15@gmail.com.

Members of Friends of the Rouge: It’s Time to Vote!

It’s your time to vote and shape the future of your Friends of the Rouge. Members in good standing are invited to cast your vote for the 2024 Board of Directors online through Wednesday, December 11 at 5pm.

What Makes the Rouge River Even Better?

YOU! Thank you, Friends. And a warm WELCOME to the newest Members and “Friends” of Friends of the Rouge who have recently joined:

Amy Bak, Curt, Jill & Ann Bixel, Laura Breisch, Richard Brownlee, Laurie Carr & Jamie Standring, Julian Cavazos, Jeffrey Clawson, Paul Cooney, Patrick Cullen, Olivia Culver, Beth & Russ Delaire, Joanne DeSilva, Lauren Eaton, Janice Erickson, Pierre Hendricks, Lauren Hirschfield, Jasmine Hofbauer, Ryan Johnston, Pete Kennedy, Ronald Krzesniak, Phillip Maguire, Heather Mourer, Loreen Niewenhius, Barry Rabe, David Richter, Lauren Ridenour, Juliana Robinson, Richard Simek, Joe Tebben, Patricia Thornton, Eric Walton, Mary Weidel, Cassandra Williams, Kevin Winconek, Lindsay Woods, Sandra Yarrington, and other fabulous and anonymous new Friends!

Job Opportunities

Others Hiring:

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Senior Agriculture Policy Manager

Clinton River Watershed Council: Communications & Development Manager

Michigan Sea Grant: Environmental Internship for Undergrads,  Fellowship Opportunities for Graduate Students

Upcoming Events

Sat. January 25 at 10 am: 2025 Stonefly Search

Partner Events

Sat. Dec 14 at 9 am
Detroit Bird Alliance: Elmwood Cemetery Bird and History Walk

Sun. Dec 15 at 1 pm
Grosse Ile Nature & Land Conservancy: Cold-Blooded Creatures

Mon. Dec 16 from 3-7 pm
Great Lakes Water Authority: Public Engagement Workshop on SE Michigan Flood Mitigation Study

Sat. Dec 21 at 9 am
Detroit Bird Alliance: 12 Birds of Christmas at Humbug Marsh

Sun. Jan 12 2-3:30 pm
Friends of Rouge Park: Rouge Park Winter Wildflower Walk
        (attend Winter Wildflower TALK Jan 9, 7 pm via Zoom)

Tue. Jan 21 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Rouge River Advisory Council: RRAC Meeting (virtual)

Sat. Jan 25 12-5pm
Friends of Rouge Park: Rouge Park Winterfest

Michigan Clean Water Corps: 2025 Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program

Izaak Walton League of America: Rivers and Roads: Impacts of Freshwater Salinization 

From your Restoration Coordinator, Jacqueline

A better River is made possible thanks to these supporters and in thanks to caring Friends like you