River Raisin Legacy Project
Director: Bradley M. Egen
Country of Origin: United States
2019
The City of Monroe, Michigan, Commission on the Environment and Water Quality’s (COTE) mini documentary film, details the extensive remediation cleanup work, habitat restoration and recreational enhancements that have taken place in the River Raisin over the past two decades.
Filmed over the course of 2018, the eleven-minute video documents the recent work on the River Raisin to delist it as an Area of Concern (AOC), which includes removal of dams, installation of fish passages, and re-invigoration of the natural environment.
The film features interviews with Jon Allan, Director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes (OGL), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ); Mark Tuchman, Environmental Scientist with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA); Scott Cieniawski, Section Chief US EPA, Great Lakes National Program Office; Michelle Selzer, Lake Erie Coordinator, MOGL; as well as local citizens Dan Stefanski and Richard Micka – longtime champions of the River Raisin come-back, members of the River Raisin Public Advisory Council and COTE.
Made possible by funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative administered by the Michigan Areas of Concern Program, Office of the Great Lakes, Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Through past grants, the COTE/City of Monroe and its partners have removed dams and created passages permitting fish to migrate, for the first time in over 80 years, a twenty-three mile stretch of the River.
The documentary showcases the relentless efforts of volunteers, staff and key stakeholders to restore the ecology and natural beauty, as well as the cultural and recreational value of this regional asset including fishing, kayaking, wildlife viewing and more. It is the hope of COTE that the film can serve as a model and inspiration to other AOCs and citizens, as well as local and regional stakeholders.
Bradley Egan & Brian Egen
Producer: Brian James EgenWriters: Bradley M. Egen and Brian James Egen
Key Cast: Melanie Foose – AOC Coordinator – Detroit River, St. Clair River, River Raisin Water Resources Division Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy • Jon Allan – Director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes (OGL), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) 2012 – 2019. • Mark Tuchman – Environmental Scientist with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA. • Scott Cieniawski, Section Chief US EPA, Great Lakes National Program Office. • Dan Stefanski – Monroe County Drain Commissioner (retired), Commission on the Environment & Water Quality, River Raisin Public Advisory Council. • Michelle Selzer, Lake Erie Coordinator, (MOGL). • Richard Micka – Commission on the Environment & Water Quality, River Raisin Public Advisory Council