Current Area
At its inception, the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge included only areas that were part of the former Wyandotte National Wildlife Refuge. This included only 304 acres (123 ha) surrounding Grassy Island and Mamajuda Island just north of Grosse Ile in the Detroit River. Soon after, Mud Island just north of Grassy Island was donated to the refuge by the National Steel Corporation. The refuge continued to expand through land acquisitions to include Calf Island in 2002. In 2003, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stuck a cooperative agreement with DTE Energy to include portions of their properties into the refuge, including the Lagoona Beach Unit and Brancheau Unit of the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station. This was the refuge's first expansion into Monroe County along the coast of Lake Erie. Other areas in Lake Erie extending as far south as the Michigan–Ohio border were eventually included into the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Many of these lands were through cooperative management acquisitions, where the property would be included into the refuge but not owned directly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In 2004, the refuge grew to include Humbug Marsh, which is located in Gibraltar and Trenton and also includes Hamburg Island. At the same time, the refuge acquired the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Strong Unit just north of Estral Beach. In 2005, the refuge acquired joint management over the 243-acre (98 ha) Eagle Island Marsh in Monroe, Michigan. This land is located at the mouth of the River Raisin in between the Monroe Power Plant and Sterling State Park. This section, which was once very polluted, is owned by Automotive Components Holdings and is the location of a large Ford factory. In 2006, the refuge grew to include the 780-acre (315 ha) Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Charter Township. With the acquisition of the Erie Marsh in 2006, the refuge doubled its size to include the southern wetlands of Erie Township near the Ohio border, including Gard Island in the North Maumee Bay Archeological District. This was a major milestone for the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The refuge grew from its original 304 acres (123 ha) in 2001 to 5,047 acres (2,042 ha) by 2007. The last of these acquisitions was an area referred to as Howard Fix at 65 acres (26 ha). It is located near the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station, but little has been published about this property.
The headquarters of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge are located in Grosse Ile Township, which itself is not officially listed as part of the refuge. In Canada, the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge does not have any formal boundaries, and no Canadian portions of the Detroit River or Lake Erie are officially included into the current refuge. All properties and potential future land acquisition sites are within the United States and governed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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