Restoration Project 

Johnson Creek - Fish Hatchery Park Habitat Restoration

The Johnson Creek - Fish Hatchery Park Habitat Restoration Project restored the stream and pond to provide habitat for valuable fish and wildlife. The project improved fish passage between the pond and stream and it will improve water quality within the Rouge River watershed.

The only public access point to Johnson Creek is Fish Hatchery Park, which was the first registered fish hatchery in the nation. Fish and wildlife habitat associated with Johnson Creek had been lost and impacted by sedimentation, loss or conversion of riparian vegetation, and streambank armoring, reducing its viability as a cold-water fishery (the only one remaining in the Rouge River). A spring-fed pond, which flows into Johnson Creek, had been degraded by sediment-laden stormwater runoff from the unimproved parking lot at Fish Hatchery Park. The resulting sediment has been deposited into the pond to a point where it was less than 18 inches deep. This sediment would escape from the pond through the outlet structure and was impairing the stream bottom habitat in Johnson Creek. In addition to this, streambanks in the park had been impacted by the removal of native vegetation and historic placement of a concrete wall.

To address this concern and to restore the habitat at Johnson Creek, the project naturalized the streambanks, removed accumulated sediment in the pond, modified the pond outlet to create a fish passage channel between the pond and the creek, and installed a vegetated bioswale to improve water quality of runoff. In addition to these improvements, the project included the planting of over 250 native trees and over 300 native shrubs.