Michigan’s White River and its watershed comprise one the few urban river systems in the United States that still contains large tracts of relatively pristine landscape.  As pressure to develop this land increased, Alcoa and more than 40 local stakeholders worked together to develop preservation strategies to ensure the unique and irreplaceable assets of the river system would not be lost forever.
 

The White River flows 120 miles through Michigan, and its surrounding watershed covers 139,200 hectares (344,000 acres).  In 2002, Alcoa Foundation provided a US$100,000 grant to initiate the preservation of this freshwater ecosystem, a task carried out by the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, Alcoa, its Howmet Castings Whitehall Operations, and local stakeholder groups.  These groups included environmental organizations, citizens groups, corporate interests, school districts, regional university scientists, governmental agencies, and elected officials.
 

“The White River is a major natural asset in our area and subject to development pressures that bring increased human presence, buildings, houses, and commercial activities,” said Arnold Boezaart, vice president of grant programs for the Community Foundation for Muskegon County.  “Without an active interest taken in the river, we were at risk of losing its natural beauty and value.  Alcoa’s involvement in preserving the river signaled a strong corporate endorsement of the project and was the catalyst to bring other people to the table.  The project would not have happened without Alcoa Foundation’s funding and Howmet’s leadership.”
 

One of the major accomplishments of the project was a scientific baseline assessment of the White River system and all of its natural assets conducted by the Grand Valley State University/Annis Water Resources Institute.  The assessment included the development of a comprehensive White River atlas that provides maps of critical habitats, soils, hydrology, stability measures, erosion control, and watershed topography.  Such a well-researched and comprehensive overview of the entire river system was previously unavailable.
 

In addition to the scientific work, the three conservation districts involved with the river worked together to promote greater citizen awareness of the watershed.  Efforts included public meetings, the development of White River watershed literature, and an Adopt-A-Stream program that structured citizen participation in the monitoring of the river’s water quality.
 

Additional accomplishments included the development of classroom learning units on the White River that were used with several hundred school students who live in the watershed area.  The river and its watershed also got a strong advocate with the formation of a nonprofit organization called the White River Watershed Partnership, which holds responsibility for the long-term interests of the river system. 
 

Both the Community Foundation for Muskegon County and the Fremont Area Community Foundation leveraged a challenge match included in the Alcoa Foundation grant to established permanent White River Watershed endowment funds to support the future needs of the river.  The Fremont Area Foundation, located at the northern end of the watershed, also awarded a $15,000 grant to the Lake Michigan Federation to assure continued support of the citizen engagement component beyond the life of the project.
 

“The US$100,000 Alcoa Foundation grant delivered results well beyond the original description of work,” said Boezaart.  “There was a lot of added value on this project that emerged from the unique collective effort, leaving a lasting legacy for the White River that will be recognized and acknowledged for a long time to come.”

Original article