Pointe Mouillee State Game Area
Pointe Mouillee State Game Area | |
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Location within the state of Michigan | |
Location | Berlin and Brownstown charter townships, Monroe and Wayne counties, Michigan |
Nearest city | Rockwood, Michigan |
Coordinates | 42°00′15″N 83°11′39″W / 42.00417°N 83.19417°WCoordinates: 42°00′15″N 83°11′39″W / 42.00417°N 83.19417°W |
Area | 6.25 mi² (16.2 km²) |
Governing body |
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dnr.state.mi.us |
Pointe Mouillee State Game Area (/ˈpɔɪnt
The area was named by French fur traders in the 17th century. Mouillee is a most appropriate name for the place, as the word (mouillée) is the feminine form of mouillé, which means wet or moist.
In 1875, a group of wealthy local men bought about 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) and established the Pointe Mouillee Shooting Club, which employed punters and cooks to assist the duck hunters. In 1945, the state of Michigan bought 2,600 acres (11 km2) from the club to establish the state game area. It added more property to the park, including 130-acre (0.53 km2) Celeron Island. The barrier island washed away and the marsh was heavily damaged by erosion.
To protect the park and marsh, the Army Corps of Engineers built a new barrier island, from material dredged from harbors and shipping channels, which was considered contaminated and could no longer be dumped in depths of the Great Lakes. They constructed a Confined Disposal Facility with 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of dikes enclosing 700 acres (2.8 km2), which doubled as a barrier for the marsh. They later rerouted streams and partially drained the interior to assist the regrowth of vegetation.[1]
The Pointe Mouillee Waterfowl Festival has occurred yearly since 1947.[2] Since the late 20th century, this park has been a destination for an increasing number of migratory American pelicans, which have a growing population.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ POINTE MOUILLEE CONFINED DISPOSAL FACILITY AND STATE GAME AREA Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, April 24, 2005
- ↑ 63rd Annual Pointe Mouillee Waterfowl Festival
- ↑ Hasan Dudar, "Pelicans flocking to Michigan's Pointe Mouillee as population grows", Detroit Free Press, 26 May 2018; accessed 30 May 2018
External links