Rob Zbiciak (L) and Jim Hazelman (R) show off a water control structure used to restore wetlands.
(April Van Buren/WKAR)
The state of Michigan used to be rich in wetlands. The receding glaciers that carved out the Great Lakes also left smaller depressions across the landscape which would fill in with water and become important habitats for all kinds of birds, amphibians, and other animals. But after Europeans began to colonize the region, those areas were drained for agriculture or development. Today, we learn about a program that’s helping private landowners restore some of that habitat, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.
Current State’s April Van Buren speaks with Rob Zbiciak, the wetland restoration coordinator for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and Jim Hazelman, a biologist with the Partners program. They met at a property about 4 miles outside of Lansing: a wetland that the Partners program restored in 2005.