Restoration Project 

Rouge River AOC Habitat Restoration - Perrin Design

In 2024 the Alliance of Rouge Communities received an EPA GLRI Grant to design habitat restoration at Perrin Park. Perrin Park is located in the Wayne County Parks system adjacent to the Middle Rouge River in the City of Westland. Most of the park area is routinely mowed and used for active recreation. However, the park is low and routinely floods. The project plan proposes to create 4 acres of habitat restoration/creation. The wetlands created/restored will contain a diversity of water depths and wetland plants, providing habitat for wading birds, waterfowl, amphibians, reptiles, and aquatic insects. The wet meadow community will contain diverse flowering forbs that provide food for pollinators. Small mammals and birds will benefit from the increased habitat diversity and cover. Plugs will be planted to create plant diversity in the herbaceous layer. An area will be considered for re-forestation with vernal pools. Additionally, 700 linear feet of stream that runs through the habitat area will be restored. Stream restoration will increase stability of the stream channel that is currently highly erodible and will provide function lift to the stream habitat. The work will also establish native riparian plant communities along both sides of the channel that will aid in filtering stormwater as it enters the stream and provide cover for small mammals and birds.

This project, when implemented, will provide benefits to the amphibians, reptiles, macroinvertebrates in the habitat zones and to the those in the public at large that live and recreate in the Rouge River Watershed. In addition, once the project is fully implemented and vegetation established as part of the construction Wayne County as the landowner will provide maintenance of the site.