Reconnecting People and Floodplains: The Social and Ecological Restoration of Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan

The Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge is a floodplain where four tributaries merge to form a coastal wetland. The Shiawassee floodplain system has long been disconnected from the river channels with miles of dikes. This landscape alteration shifted the land cover from lowland forests and wetlands to agricultural and urban development; which has disrupted Shiawassee’s ecosystem services and degraded the habitat quality for both vegetation and wildlife. In line with the goals of the Refuge staff to protect this crucial wetland habitat, our project focuses on the completion of data analyses from previous monitoring efforts and continuation of restoration work. The ecological restoration consists of both traditional fieldwork and the exploration of utilizing an ARIS sonar camera to further inform the work. This presentation provides a summary of our progress, presents the findings, and discusses the future directionality and capabilities of the ARIS camera.