HISTORY OF FRIENDS OF THE ROUGE

The Detroit Free Press magazine section on Sunday, July 27, 1986 carried this headline on its cover: "Can Jim Murray save the dirtiest river in Michigan?"

Inside, the magazine story described the Rouge as a "sewer for a metropolis, discharge drain for industry, dumping ground for junk and garbage" and went on to declare that "the Rouge River has become so polluted that a cleanup seems unthinkable."

That story was written about a month after the fledgling Friends of the Rouge conducted its first annual Rouge Rescue river clean-up.

We've come a long way since then. Every member of Friends of the Rouge can share in what has been accomplished:

    More than 30,000 people have removed tons of trash and fallen trees from the river during Rouge Rescue

    Nearly 25,000 students have monitored the river's water quality and learned about the causes and effects of river pollution as part of the Rouge Education Project

    Thousands of volunteers have painted the message "Dump No Waste - Drains to Rouge River" next to more than 10,000 storm drain inlets on streets through the Rouge River watershed

    Hundreds more have listened for the calls of frogs and toads as part of our Wildlife Habitat Inventory, or searched the river bottom for stoneflies -- a living indicator of improved water quality -- during our Benthic Macroinvertebrate Search

Recognition for these efforts has come from national, state, and local organizations. In the spring of 2000, the Detroit Audubon Society recognized Friends of the Rouge as Conservation Organization of the Year.

It all began in December of 1985 with the inception of the Friends of the Rouge Committee. By May of the next year, with the election of officers, the committee was on its way to becoming an organization. 

The first president was Jim Murray, who was then the Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner and head of the Michigan Water Resources Commission. He was (and still is) the catalyst behind the massive Rouge River restoration effort that continues today.

Other officers included Vice President Jack Smiley, who still serves on the Board of Directors; Secretary Katherine Cushman of the League of Women Voters in Dearborn; and Treasurer Dr. Grant Hyatt, a physician from Trenton.

Members of the first Board were Ted Textor, meteorologist for WJBK-TV2; Steve Marshall of Southfield; Carla Worsham of Westland; R. Eric Reickel, then head of the Wayne County Parks Department; Milt Handorf, Oakland County Public Works Director; Dan Krichbaum, Detroit Parks and Recreation Director; and Judy Nelson, a Dearborn Heights teacher.

The first Rouge Rescue was held on June 7, 1986, just two months after the formation of Friends of the Rouge became official with the adoption of bylaws. The clean-up was held at 11 sites in the watershed and drew more than 1,500 volunteers. A newspaper story reported that it was "the best cleaning the Rouge has gotten in 30 years."

Back when things were just getting started, Jim Murray told an early meeting of the Friends of the Rouge members, "you are the ones who are going to play a critical role here." He was right then, and it's still true today.