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the manager of the refuge and Jodi the Meyer, who is a member of the Park service who's been here from the beginning. Haven't you about five years five years, you know. it's John's birthday. and we started a tradition last year that's already been disrupted a little bit. You're not part of the tradition by being part of this Facebook. this was. In 2000 and, he talked about this being outdoors conservation, preserving the outdoors, making sure that young people learn about the outdoors he loves to fish and the hunt and he loved it all the species the birds the fish the wild habitat the waterfowl. This is what he loved and he knew the importance of protecting it, His father taught him in a very early age that we didn't inherit these lands from previous generation. But we were borrowing it from future generations so bill passed in 2001 President George Bush Sonja the very bipartisan piece of legislation and an international vision with the then deputy of Prime Minister. from Canada they dreamed about this international wildlife refuge and a lot of people have been working on it for a long time to bring it to fruition. So our guides are gonna be Susan and Jody who are working. To get this open, it's supposed to open in the spring and like so many other things it has put postponed a lot of like But and last year team Dingle his former staff his friends, his family gathered here to remember him so we're gathering with you today to see what the status is what's happening here. Remember all the things that are important and see what you've got to look forward to when Cot let's us open, which I am begging number that's gonna be sooner than later. I hope it's this. Because there's so much here we're supposed to be outdoors. It's healthy to be outdoors We need to and we need to really think about what we have to do to protect our nature today just in this world. wild wild life habitat, so I think they're 30 species of waterfall a hundred and 17 fish in more than 300 birds. and the snakes here too, that are on the and not on the threat. Now, I may not be the biggest spokesperson, but I know that they're important to the ecosystem so I'm gonna turn it over to Susan. Thank you. Susan Thank you. missle. Thank you so much and we're really excited to be here and give this a little sneak peak of what's happening in the John Dingle doing our Visitor Center. We're so happy last fall to finally put the name on the building and what I like to do is just start with an orientation and. And for those people and I know that there's thousands that have been involved in protecting and loving what this site is to take a step back and remember what it used to be and so just to give kind of a perspective here look at the candy cane stocks and over here we've got the candy cane stocks this whole site What's in front of us here used to be a Chrysler paint and break factory. highly. Realize and when left in the eighties Mister Dangle have vision with folks that it could also be used for conservation So when in the nineties, there was a plan to develop it for luxury homes and not only this site but the Humboldt Marsh the last undeveloped mile of the Detroit River on the US side, it was a plan to develop it for luxury. And a golf course and a humbug Island. and the community stood up and screamed from what I understand No. This is a far too important to protect this amazing resource the developers eventually left mister Dingle Debby working together with folks got the money in his land was all protected from Wayne County was able to purchase it with funds and so Wayne County established the Park and Wayne County now. With the Fish and Wildlife Service, we're Co managers of this site that we call collectively refuge Gateway it includes this area. That was the the Chrysler factory Visitor Center in the home of my shop all together really as an area where people can actually get out and enjoy nature and really connect to connect to the Detroit River. There's not that many spots along the River, especially in the area. Like like down here so when we start building the building was 2013 when the ground was first broken and there's been a lot of. a lot of challenges along the way and we're the fans are so close. We're this close but what the woman that that started the contracts for us, she said when we started the building was one of the earliest shutdowns so it it's with the auspicious beginning and. Opening that we were supposed to have on May ninth didn't happen because of a global pandemic. So why not? But not stop stop any of us so you know there's a room and they're look at these species just flying by us. It's our land. The next generation you just keep working so and it was that type of grit and determination that overcame so many obstacles to create what we've got right now we saw in this picture, it was a level of flat area and starting in the early two, thousands was all the plants and all the topography was created creating a Hills and valleys They we've daylight daylight and and That have been covered up and is now again open the way over there on the towards the outside of the property, you see the blog and wetland so that was all covered up and it's now a very productive birds and turtles and just a whole kind of waterfall that are there so let's tell people you know not everybody understands what. But why they're important and why this site is important for migratory birds. Maybe you could just talk about this for a couple of minutes in a little bit, You sure sure yeah. So again, I'm Jody Deer I' what's called the visitor services manager here. so I deal with the people side of things where some of our biologists deal with all the habitat and the wildlife side of things So wetlands are important for a whole variety of reasons in this case daylighting a stream like this was able to provide critical habitat for a variety of species it was able to open that area. Up to the River so that we can have interactions with different types of species between the Detroit River and the wetland itself wetlands of you as you can imagine just like they call provide wet areas throughout the course of the year that provides critical stuff over habitat for a whole host of species and then having these different pockets of habitat these pockets of natural area all over the country actually help different types of species when they're on their migration cap. So we're really important. Habitat, especially some of the other units of the refuge the islands in the Detroit River, the areas that we have right along the shoreline of the Detroit River in Western Lake Erie. Those are places that all sorts of different types of birds species can rest as they're on their way up to their northern breeding grounds. So this place is just bustling in the spring and that's what's so exciting is that we're able to create this natural habitat this natural place for people to. Wildlife that's basically right in their backyards and so we're really excited to be getting closer and closer every day to be opening this area to the public We're planning to be open so the ground sunrise to sunset so that folks can come here when they schedule dictates if they wanna come for some scheduled programs or scheduled activities that's great, but if they wanna come here just to unwind after work take their lunch break on one of the picnic areas. Be able to come here and truly connect with nature as what we're Super excited about so Susan the rest of the team and I have been really working hard to try and break down any types of barriers that might keep people from visiting the site. We are gonna be a stopping point on the smart bus loop now, so we're very excited about that all of our programming that we're trying to do is gonna be free of charge. We're gonna have a variety of different types of things that people can use and be loaned out to them while they're here. So we're really trying. Find ways to create stepping stones to engage people in nature so whatever your comfort level is with being outside, you're basically gonna find something here that's gonna be work perfectly for you and start to get you to that next stepping stone to get more comfortable and they're you're gonna we're gonna we're gonna be very careful to remind people that the refuge right. Because We're working very hard to get it open as soon as we can when it's safe. That's what every all of us keep saying about everything when it is safe. but when it's open, there's a beautiful fishing here, people will be able to fish not now not in illegal that you would be trespassing now, but you'll be able to walk in the Woods and you'll be able to see it. It's you can anybody who's hurt this is I haven't place for Bird. But you can also see the different species of berries and plants and we'll have experts here that I'll be able to help you so there'll be many things. so why don't we go in and see what's in there and talk more about other things you'll see. Real quick another another thing about that is that I love cuz I like babies, wetlands are really important and the nursery habitat for a lot of different species whether it's But especially fish, so they need those protected waters for the little juveniles to live in. but then you know what happens when you get a little juvenile fish living in there. It's also a good forging ground. Water birds that wanna find those easy to get so it's nature working together it's an ecosystem and it's and it's healthy as well and the other important thing about what wetlands across our country is that they create buffers when we have extreme events like right now, we've got high water wetlands can absorb that water and so it's not affecting the infrastructure that we build what we have wetlands that are ordering our coastlines. it helps to protect Of the uplands where I'm habitat, including our habitat, is you know one of the special things about this and we'll see where we go outside on the other side is that. in the seventies and eighties the bald eagle was extinct in Michigan and the eagle, The eagle has come back in the winter here because the water stays open and the if all the can eat you can see 100 to 300 equals. here and I brought one. day right after he had been to see the eagles cuz I knew what it would do to the spirits, but the hairs were there too and the parents the combination of parenting Eagle's Nest and then all the other wildlife that was here in the Middle of winter with all of them. Let's go in so let's take a look inside. that sneak peek. And speaking of nests, there's a there's a swallow us right up there. and mama's in there hard to see in the Sun, but. Come on in Welcome to the John D D Visitor Center. To say that the vision of this place is that it is it is a welcoming place for everybody and then we what we wanna do is to facilitate that welcoming and knock down barriers everybody might have to be able to give them an opportunity to do that and again personal experience. that for themselves and their families and the kids get dirty and the father and find out about. All of the wonderful things that you can help provide to all so this building is is one of those assets of those tools that you wanna use to really give people the opportunity to connect to nature. But it's also very welcoming. so just a real quick. If you take a look at the first thing that you see when you walk in is welcome in all of them are the main languages that are in the Detroit metro area. we want people to see. Here at no matter where they come from, but the Detroit metro area is such a rich cultural chop suey. Oh lots of different cultures from all around the world and so we intentionally develop this to think about what brought people from all around the world to the Detroit area while period of time and we started out. Have made up with wind up because they're the traditional owners of this land and the traditional people and of course recognizing that it is essential scattered throughout the building and we're not gonna show you all of them. But there's some things that are just a little patches that we've tried to designers of local artisans and into the. That also. nice little things to find you around that will give you a different idea of that. So here we've got the same glass that was made by Karen Birdwell and her mother from all that glass and and then on the big Wall next to it. We're gonna have a mosaic mural. that's being delivered next week actually and put in so these were. individual artworks that was done by a hundred. Put together and we're able to go online and find. That he did and see how it fits into that. And then we'll walk a little bit through the exhibits and all but yeah, so we have a big front desk area. We have a very small staff staff so we're gonna be on a lot of volunteers so we have already started developing our volunteer training so that they will be able to see and be a nice welcoming presence when folks come in and then as you start to kind of walk through the exhibit Hall here, you'll see a whole variety of exhibits. Some areas very limited texts, We didn't know that we have a lot of. That are. A little bells but When you're here, we're hoping to be able to show you that everybody is a conservation hero Everybody can be a naturalist regardless of what your comfort level is in nature. We want you to be able to walk through this exhibit Hall experience this exhibit Hall and start to hone your wildlife observation skills inside here so get that comfort level up inside and then eventually be able to go outside and be able to see. Of that in the real world, so, of course we cannot forget that we are connected with this whole basin of the Great Lakes. That is our big feature Wall that you're able to see as soon as you come through the front doors and as you can see we're still under construction our exhibit companies coming back in a few weeks to do all the final touches here but lots of different ways that families will be able to interact with the space utilize the space and really find ways. To keep coming back again and again so lots of fun little snippets kinda hidden in here, we tried to talk things in the some of the nooks and crannies. so there's a reason for you to continue to come back because we want people to come back. This should be a repeat location that you can come to and kind of experience all sorts of different fun stuff that we're up to so this is our public side of our building. This is the place that we're envisioning people will start at be able to dip their toe into. Talk with our volunteers and then eventually get outside. That's what we really want people to do is get outside but before we get to that point, we're gonna turn it back over to Susan White, the refuge manager of the Detroit River International Wildlife refuge to show missus Dingle the staff side because of course we gotta have some offices too to do all this work So Joan brought up a really important point and then it outside too. This is not finished. You see we're still under construction, There's still work being done, so we're still a work site. It's sloppy. but we're getting there and and. this too. yes, so we walk over here a little tour the staff offices. Right now at the refuge, we have five staff but we're also we work really closely hand in hand with our friends Organization called the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance, or I I W R A, and so they're co-located with us. also in this site I've been with us for many years and they help to fill roles at the government can't do they get grants for example to help to do programming projects that the federal? Is it doesn't have the accessibility for so we've got offices? all the way through here seasons work right now. There's the he's the deputy refuge manager Jodi's office is doing so is a good choice. this will be kind of a check-in area for volunteers, so I main area where the volunteers can get their tools for the day and start moving on and to. The whole range of things that we do in managing the refuge whether it's staffing the visitor Center or helping with the ground doing biological work where they're restoring habitat, Their Jesse, a biologist so lots of work still going on so not to navigate around things. the other folks that we're co-located with here. We've got the refuge Law enforcement program. Doug Briggs overseas The Refuge law enforcement throughout the state and The official service Fisheries office. that's the substation of the jalapeno Fields Field office. they're out on the water not in coat and when when it's cold, it will allow the people to be working safely on boats doing all of the monitoring of the Lake Sturgeon. a wonderful Lake Sturgeon that have made their way and our just repopulating the Great Lakes in the Detroit River and unbelievable numbers right now, Lake Saint Clair and the Detroit River by the hot spots. Stu and across the Great Lakes and they're also monitoring for invasive species that populations and where they're going and other native species that in in this area so they're co-located with us, they also have another facility that they just built. we just built down at the other end of the home. It's a big fisheries lap, so part of their team is down there as well. We have a conference room, one of the things that we really think it's important as a part of the Downriver communities is to. Asset for the community so a conference room reminds me of that the important part of that because we're gonna be available if you need a conference room and you know, maybe you gonna have a meeting in the conference room. We've got multipurpose room, You'll see those two but we really want cubicle land for some of the technicians my special place they really took care of me. so I've always been a manager here for a couple of years, but I feel very fortunate. I get a. Big offices beautiful in the building. with the most unbelievable view of Marsh. What I think is important is to talk about kind of research that is going on here and the efforts to protect the Great Lakes and the waters and all about this species is really done by coordinating with people in this wildlife refuge. bring people together to do just that too. That's one of the purposes of this refuge is to facilitate those partnerships across this region to understand and better and to understand that. A different facets of the Detroit River, but then also to share that so that the general public understands just the beautiful wonderful resources that we have literally right in our in our backyard here and when we talk about the Detroit River, we need to remember it goes into the Lake Erie and it flows into like Saint Clair, the Saint Clair River and then like Huron. So this is an artery between two of the great bites. That's right. Yeah and all of that water flows out through the Detroit River. I'm just Really, really important artery is a great way to. So the staff offices is just you know this end of the building. We've got a little break room and and the locker room with a shower for when the biologist speaking biologist coming in from the field and they're all dirty. They've got a place to clean up so that they're not tracking all the dirts. And then this is the way that we would typically be coming in as the staff. This is our staff entrance. We'll just go out the door. One thing that you see around the building and around the facility a lot right now in the summer. Spider Speaking of wildlife spiders a wildlife too, just like snakes and they play a role and that's one of the things we need to remind people of this ecosystem. They're absolutely play a very eating catching a lot of those mosquitoes that we call us so we can take a little walk over this way. Around the backside of the building you can see just still we've got heavy equipment going on there's still working on the water retention ponds over on that side, where you're looking, we're gonna have a a kayak launch, so you can put your kayaks in the water and go and enjoy all around the Humboldt here just a nice calm experience and enjoy a little bit of paddling and get out part of the blue wave of the truck. Just like we've got the Greenway trails, we've got the blue trails too, so you can put in if you want at Elizabeth Park and come down here when we're open and pull out and we go on the whole connection just like the wildlife likes that connectivity to be able to have those stopping points along their migratory routes, People like to have that kind of this is a good example. here you can kinda see that we still do like Susan said. We have heavy equipment on site people keep asking us. We just wanna get on site and this is a great example of why we haven't allowed that yet we still are a very much an active construction site. We have a lot of heavy equipment coming up and down the roadways. We have a lot of contractors on site, so we wanna make sure that when we open we are safe for everybody to be able to engage in nature out here and we're working hard getting that I'm gonna get off. Is probably all of our favorite parts of this whole this whole site. So again, we're at the Detroit River National Wildlife Refuge. We're touring the grounds of the John Dingle visitors Dundee Dingle Junior Visitor Center. We are not yet open to the public. we are still in active construction site, but as you can see we are taking steps to kinda get ourselves open to the public and wanted to give everybody a sneak peek. So we're very excited that missus Dingle was able to give us this opportunity. We're here with Susan White. Refuge manager of the Detroit River International Wildlife refuge and we're here with the amazing vistas of our wetland of international importance. The only one here in Michigan. This is humbug Marsh so this is where the namesake of our units comes from. That's just South of this area and this is what everybody is so excited about. Wanted to work this morning and I just had to stop and just sit for you know 15 minutes and. Calm and breathe and Recenter. It's a it's a busy day to all the little excited and a little nervous about doing this, but. Just to stop and said you have. Remember what it's all about I can see why so many people for so long have loved this site and love that. Every time I stop and think. I'm so very grateful for. Dings and everybody else there. Decades now. People that just know how come on. For the next generations. You know how and how people can work together and really accomplish amazing things. Yeah. and I could say I think I could speak for the whole team here that we all feel that we are the stewards. We feel that we have taken this course from everybody. that's been here ahead of. And we're able to try and kinda get it over the finish line to be able. This is one of our probably most exciting spots on this on this site right now is just that we're hoping that all the chairs that you see behind us. This is gonna be a place that everybody can come to and just for that. Really take the time to Center themselves realize that we are all a part of nature, but what we do to nature we do to ourselves. There's a full connection here. Our staff fully understands that and as we are designing the site, we're trying to keep that in mind. So you can imagine this could be a nice place just to sit quietly but this also could be that first stepping stone for people that don't want to get into the forest. We expect to have a whole variety of programming that will take place right here on the back patio you're planning to have a whole variety of Bird feeders out on the back area right here we have a microphone that will then pipe all of that Birdsong into the near the exhibit Hall of the Visitor Center. Look at one of those little guys that people don't appreciate enough. But absolutely essential to all of our food Our pollinators are just crucial and so you see. around here you'll see flowers that you might take all those are weeds all you need to manicure that grass. No this is about habitat and create and having the out those. The plants and the animals that all work together to make make it. So I was saying. we got a microphone. Like my mother who? Walking very far because her her you know her so flattering know sometimes we're gonna have this wonderful observation room. that can also be toasty in the winter. We need to encourage. I wanna show them what you know for you. Yeah. good point for you. is something that some people call. But because they've been pulling them 98 percent of the monarch population has disappeared, we need to replant these kinds of plants. We need to make sure they're not being killed by different weed pills. etcetera, but when we have these the monarch. Other wildlife come back and all of us you're the fourth person. I know that yesterday so. Of the season and these kinds of plants are critical to ensuring that they survive. It's really essential. That's that's such an important point. No way is the only plant that the monarch butterfly will actually it's eggs. It's the only plant that the caterpillar will eat so without milkweed, we won't have any monarch butterflies so we need milkweed scattered everywhere around to improve I just want our butterfly populations and and throughout nature there are all of those kind of like one individual organisms, whether it's a plant or an animal. is a really essential component for other ones that we don't even know about sometimes and so keeping track of them and keeping a natural system together is really essential for the overall health of the planet. How long is the Detroit area? so this is the observation room and you can see still that construction going on. but what we're gonna have here. We've got a beautiful wood rocker that was created for mister Jingle and of course, it will be here and you're gonna come and read stories for children I can't wait We also have donations from La Z Boy Furniture and so we'll have some La-Z-Boy furniture in here as well and I just. Way to get my mother and everybody else's, mother and kids sitting here with the Bird songs piped in. Bird songs piped in the winter time, you know a fire going and just a beautiful humble marsh. behind us or in front of us here. there's a theater so we'll have a large screen theater in the theater and here again one of these little just this. Things It's an acorn, I don't know. like a little nature is found everywhere. Yes. You will have a gift store. cuz I will be running at the bookstore and a little educational, you know you can get a guidebook and things scattered throughout the the building if you haven't seen it yet one of my favorite things are the aquatic tiles. again. all these things that's you know truly to try icon Aquatics can be in Detroit since. 19 hundreds so we've got our pies around and then we've got two education rooms that are joined together. We can open them up as one big room or we can close them off at two classrooms right now, it's a little hard to see but on the floor, there's a depiction of the Detroit River right now we're standing in Canada. Lindsey let's clean up threatening. So we've got the two classrooms that can be separated as I said, 01 other thing that we should say about this building that we haven't mentioned yet it's going to be or it is a lead certified building and so it's very environmentally friendly. There are components throughout the building to to give it increased energy efficiency. It's got low chemical usage the Windows. So that birds don't fly into them. We've got solar panels on this on the roof the heating system in here it's it's a it's a joint system We've got in-floor radiant heat, which is really really high energy efficient. We also have little we have air circulating through a forest Stair system all of the rain water that's collected from the roof is is collected into a tank outside and that's used to flush the toilets The water the drinking. It's all water, but it's the toilets why not use that water. That's great. It's a great repurposing and then that that end we've got this is the whole mechanical side of the building. so this wouldn't typically be a public area that we're going through. we have to come to the outside restrooms and of course, it's an important phone in the building. Dress Where we're standing on the patio over there and here we've got an outside classroom So get the kids outside, maybe if they need the instruction inside, we've got the inside, but we also have that outside classroom, which is the great I can't wait to get. bus loads of kids we're safely. Then over on this side again, we can see them a blogging wetland and there's a bike trail that connects us into the down River Greenway and the Iron Belt Trail that goes all the way up to the UP. So we're we've got the connections. are and. And the environmentalists to be sure that I'm. That's awesome. That's great. But here this is my favorite when I come here I like to place. I love to come back here to the hump. To the which we're not allowed to go to so I can't talk about it and I'm allowed to go to the back right now, but you'll love it when we can. So this is home Marc is Jody said. It's a Ramsey wetlands of international importance. It's kind of like it's globally recognized that as one of the most important wetlands of the world and to have this for site adjacent to this ramps are wet. it's so it's it's it's such a it's such an amazing what you can do working together. to restore land from manufacturing and businesses. People don't make themselves enemies. And I really don't think people understand that this is. In this country and how much there really is at the site and what people are learning and how things are being serve. You know when I think about I didn't look I wasn't I. Stuff and she loves this. But when the wind caught on fire. People can't imagine this now, but I've gone in and the monarch butterfly. It's all I wanted was my monarch butterfly. Oh my God. Oh, I gotta get a picture of them at some point, but anyway, that could be I needed that sign that was my sign for the day we had it but if when he started, he was the author of the Clean Water Act and people. And it's gonna cost too much money and why would you do that? What he wrote in National Environmental Policy yet, and it was these lands that. Saw what was happening and that is why I want to. And those those laws are. People. And so to. Through the store if you. That way. And you need that by planning. No food right there and that's where we saw the butterfly there. Yeah here. in here this one 's got flowers That's what we need big broad leaves. you can look for them all around so for me. It's this is like a threshold that I get what you're saying you know you come here just when I step over that bridge. I feel like I'm in an entirely. We got a whole family of women out there too. This is humbug. This is what Marsh is you know it's so it's so peaceful so calm and so I didn't realize that this was the things that helped inspire and to do so many amazing quiet. We're not like we're trying to tell everybody about what they're seeing right now. Hear the sound. And you can hear the low and the ripple of the water and you can hear the birds it can even hear a slither of a snake if you're really quiet and you see, it's just there's a dragonflies and even if you're it's just the number of species that you take for humanity. At our National parks of the ecosystem in each has its role and pollinating, yes, maybe they eat another kind of species, but that's the goal of our ecosystem. The pollination that each of these weeds are actually. You know for generations couple generations to come. They're not they all have a role. The ability to restore itself and we're just give it a chance you get that way and So again, we're going right back to what we're talking about at the very front of the building, but we need these pockets habitats. We need them not just for wildlife, but we need them for people too. I mean this is an amazing system of water that's moving through here as you said Missus with this whole system from Lakes Lake Huron Lake Saint Clair, Clair River all the way down here through the lower part of the Detroit River in the Lake Erie. We're standing on the last undeveloped mile of shoreline on. Detroit River I mean on the on the US side and we're gonna make sure that we're we're need to do and I'm. Take just a second for that to. That last undeveloped, this is really a special place and we down River. Get this right here in our backyards and we're gonna be opening it for everybody across the entire country across the entire world to be able to come here and experience this. When it's safe and maybe that's that's the important thing to say we've we're working on finishing all the things that we can as you saw, there's still a lot of work going on. We're working to finish that so that when it is safe, we can open it up and everybody can enjoy it. I hope that you can hear the the desire and all of our voices of the how much we want that to happen we're looking at different opportunities different possibilities to to have. They're open and when it's safe, we will absolutely be letting everybody know that. I'd love to. And you see some of the birds and you'll see the animal you'll see. Over here you know first a lot of other things that maybe. They just but we're not gonna go further than that today because. They. We're all working towards. it so this is the public. We'll be open to the public soon. hope it's disrupted a. And not in ways that we want it and we're all use to get back to normal, but we don't quite know what normal means. But we've got a lot of love and a lot of hard work in the leadership of. So we want to. But what the status is, but now that we are very blessed to have this in our backyard in the rivers and this is God's place and we all need to appreciate it and enjoy it. I can't wait to meet you. On my finger, you say goodbye, I say. And you know what I'm gonna close with one other thing. Andrews John's here you can feel the spirit he's on his birthday but one of the very first. That work here when I first had a baby this morning. So what is one of you tell the story of how we have a new life form. Yeah, so our previous Park Ranger Jenny Brats was able to bring a new one into the world today. We are so very excited and mommy and baby are doing very very well so very excited to have another jingle baby actually is what we're all gonna refer to him as so congratulations Jenny and Nick. we're so. For you for your new life. Have a birthday party with us? And welcome baby Quinn, Quinn welcome baby well now the name it. So thanks for being with us and just remember this Detroit International Wildlife Refuge.