Peche Island

   Last week I attended the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup’s annual Detroit River Evening at the Windsor Yacht Club where past initiatives were discussed as well as the organization’s delisting strategy for the Detroit River.  One area of focus has been Peche Island, which due to the river’s strong currents and heavy wave action from freighters, has lost 17 acres (20%) since 1931.  To remedy this, between 2018 and 2022 various funding sources, including the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, oversaw restoration work that included nine offshore sheltering islands (seen above) and a 600m long revetment wall on the east side of the island that will absorb wave energy.  These measures protect the 86-acre island from further significant shrinkage.

Here is a story (link) from the Windsor Star when we ventured over to see some of the work being done, including the nine sheltering islands, in 2022.

Participants in a Wednesday night race out of the Windsor Yacht Club turn the corner of Peche Island’s south-east shore into the Detroit River.

Dozens of swans wade in the protected south shore of the island.

Part of the nine sheltering islands installed between 2018 and 2022 to help protect the island from further erosion.

Below is a gallery of photos I took for a Windsor Star story on Peche Island Day in 2012 when it appears water levels were very low.

Editors note: This is not fucking cool.

“Pack it in, pack it out” applies everywhere and is the core principle of Leave no trace ethics. I would even go further and suggest to not only pack out when you pack in, but find something more to pack out as well. If we ALL did this, our natural areas would be clean and free of litter. I ask you to just imagine, what if we ALL did what these assholes did on Peche Island recently? It’s hard to imagine the filth we’d be swimming and paddling and fishing in.