Belle River Mills Compressor Station

About the Program
The DTE Belle River Compressor Station is located in Michigan, approximately 60 miles north of Detroit. The program is situated near the Belle River, a tributary of the St. Clair River which runs along the United States-Canada border. The site contains 40 acres of grassland habitat, as well as ponds and landscaped gardens that have been planted with native species to improve their habitat potential. For cavity-nesting birds, nest and roosting sites in the region are disappearing due to habitat loss and a reduction in suitable naturally occurring cavities. In order to address these threats, the team maintains bird boxes throughout the site and performs regular monitoring. 

Practices and Impacts

• Bluebird and duck boxes provide roosting and breeding spaces for the eastern bluebird and wood duck. The boxes were built based on specification from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology NestWatch and Ducks Unlimited. Other species, including ground-nesting birds such as killdeer and woodcock, as well as Canada geese, have also been observed successfully nesting across the site. 
• The pond restoration habitat focuses on creating native habitat and includes monitoring for invasive species.
• The butterfly garden focuses on providing native pollinator habitat and is monitored throughout the year.