CRWC'S OVERVIEW OF 2022

The Clinton River Watershed Council (CRWC) celebrated our 50th anniversary of protecting, enhancing and celebrating the Clinton River, its watershed and Lake St. Clair in 2022.  The work we have accomplished in over half a century could not have been done without the support from people, businesses and organizations like you – who understand the need to protect water resources for current and future generations to experience and enjoy.

As we look toward our next 50 years, we have welcomed a new executive director in December, Jennifer Hill.   Jennifer comes to us with 17 years of water policy, organizational management and partnership building experience and is poised to lead CRWC into 2023 and the future utilizing all the experience she brings.

2022 has been a year of transition as well as a continuation of solid programs that stand the test of time and are producing a more connected watershed to communities. We have also embraced technical & event driven innovations, including hosting CRWC’s first annual winter hike! CRWC is dedicated to providing opportunities to connect with the watershed throughout the year – trekking along the river in the dark, experiencing winter plant identification, and breathing in the crisp winter air are the types of connections to the outdoors that bring people joy - and CRWC will continue to lead the way in providing these unique experiences throughout the Clinton River watershed. 

In 2022, CRWC made exceptional strides to enhance & restore the watershed, including:

• Procured a new drone with multi-spectral cameras and have begun to use it to survey woody debris, river bank conditions, vegetation, and much more.

• Continuing to grow our macroinvertebrate field studies to allow us to grade the health of the river system. The increases in the Adopt-A-Stream program have led to more people being trained on techniques like bug identification, which are a critical component to measuring river health.  

• Welcoming two new communities, Pontiac and Oakland County, to the WaterTowns® Program. The program provided green infrastructure consultations to residents and municipal leaders, launched the Clinton River Water Trail mobile app, created a new mixed-media communications plan focused on highlighting community successes with green infrastructure, and acquired funding to increase paddling safety along the Clinton River corridor.

• CRWC education programs reached over 2,000 students and adults in 2022, which includes Stream Leaders and our community stormwater education program. Through this critical programming, CRWC connects kids to their environment and educates them about the importance of water quality. To watch children light up when they can see and feel science in their hands is priceless.

• Staff and many volunteers achieved the goal of removing 100,000 pounds of debris from the river and its banks in the last 10 years through the Weekly Clean program alone.

When you take in the beauty of the Clinton River, it wasn’t too long ago that you would have been looking at trash, tires, and dumped cars as part of your experience. Through our partnerships, and in conjunction with communities, the Clinton River Watershed Council has changed how people experience the river and we continue to work tirelessly to improve the river and its watershed, now and into the future.

Thanks to the amazing support of donors like you, we are able to do the work needed to ensure that our freshwater resources are clean and accessible to all. Please give as generously as you can so we can continue to protect, enhance and celebrate the Clinton – a precious natural resource we all cherish.

With gratitude,                 

Susan Kelsey

Jennifer Hill

Your generous contribution will support programming to protect, enhance, and celebrate the Clinton River watershed and Lake St. Clair. Thank you!

Adopt-A-Stream gives volunteers the opportunity, training, and equipment to protect their local streams and lakes by monitoring water quality and undertaking stewardship projects.

The Clinton River Colwater Conservation Program seeks to generate public support for the Clinton River watershed asa a valued recreational resource through efforts to improve water quality.

Keeping-It-Clean engages citizens of all ages in tras cleanups throuhgou the watershed and along the Lake St. Clair shoreline.

The Stormwater Education Program educates residents in the watershed about their role in protecting out local waterways.

Stream Leaders connects students from elementary to college aged to their local water resources by getting them suited up into wader and out in the rier to collect water quality data.

WaterTowns® is a community-based initiative designed to connect people to their waterways.