River Raisin NBP preserves, commemorates, and interprets the January 1813
battles of the War of 1812 and their aftermath. Battles that resulted in the
greatest victory for Tecumseh’s Confederation and the British and the greatest
defeat for the U.S. The aftermath led to U.S. Indian laws that forced the
removal, relocation, and assimilation of native nations, an aftermath that
continues today.

River Raisin NBP preserves, commemorates, and interprets the January 1813 battles of the War of 1812 and their aftermath. Battles that resulted in the greatest victory for Tecumseh’s Confederation and the British and the greatest defeat for the U.S. The aftermath led to U.S. Indian laws that forced the removal, relocation, and assimilation of native nations, an aftermath that continues today.

Bird's eye view of the park

River Raisin National Battlefield Park

Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1964 as an inviolate
sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory birds. The 2,445
acre marsh was donated to the North American Wildlife Foundation by the Cedar
Point Shooting Club, a hunt club that had owned Cedar Point marsh since 1882.
The foundation sold the marsh to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for $1
with the provision that it is not used as a public park, campground or picnic
area.

The area that is now the refuge is part of what was the Great Black Swamp. The
swamp covered approximately 1,500 square miles and was a vast network of
habitats consisting of forests, wetlands and grasslands. It was first used by
the many Indigenous people of the area. Hunting and fishing camps were located
on the gravel point when the lake levels were low. The first documented
structure built in the area was by a fur trader who lived in a cabin on the
point. When the hunt club purchased the property, their hunt lodge was also
built on the point. The club was owned by wealthy industrialists from
Cleveland, Ohio. Former Secretary of Treasury George Humphrey's guest
President Dwight D. Eisenhower hunted at the marsh twice during his
presidency.

An additional donation by the Lamb family brought the total area of the refuge
to 2,616 acres which contain three impounded wetlands. The largest unit is
1,444 acres and one of the largest remaining contiguous wetlands in the
western basin of Lake Erie. This unit is managed by a pump system and a water
control structure that includes a fish passage system. It has diverse
vegetation and contains the largest wild rice population in Ohio. The refuge
includes two rare cottonwood dune forest communities next to Lake Erie which
provide critical habitat for migrating songbirds.

Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1964 as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory birds. The 2,445 acre marsh was donated to the North American Wildlife Foundation by the Cedar Point Shooting Club, a hunt club that had owned Cedar Point marsh since 1882. The foundation sold the marsh to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for $1 with the provision that it is not used as a public park, campground or picnic area.

The area that is now the refuge is part of what was the Great Black Swamp. The swamp covered approximately 1,500 square miles and was a vast network of habitats consisting of forests, wetlands and grasslands. It was first used by the many Indigenous people of the area. Hunting and fishing camps were located on the gravel point when the lake levels were low. The first documented structure built in the area was by a fur trader who lived in a cabin on the point. When the hunt club purchased the property, their hunt lodge was also built on the point. The club was owned by wealthy industrialists from Cleveland, Ohio. Former Secretary of Treasury George Humphrey's guest President Dwight D. Eisenhower hunted at the marsh twice during his presidency.

An additional donation by the Lamb family brought the total area of the refuge to 2,616 acres which contain three impounded wetlands. The largest unit is 1,444 acres and one of the largest remaining contiguous wetlands in the western basin of Lake Erie. This unit is managed by a pump system and a water control structure that includes a fish passage system. It has diverse vegetation and contains the largest wild rice population in Ohio. The refuge includes two rare cottonwood dune forest communities next to Lake Erie which provide critical habitat for migrating songbirds.

Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge

The only international wildlife refuge in North America, Detroit River
International Wildlife Refuge is located along the lower Detroit River and
western shoreline of Lake Erie - just 20 miles south of Detroit, Michigan and
50 miles north of Toledo, Ohio. Situated in a major metropolitan area, the
refuge’s location is unique, as is the history of how the refuge was created.

In 2001, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge was established by
Congress as a result of efforts by U.S. and Canadian politicians, conservation
leaders and local communities to build a sustainable future for the Detroit
River and western Lake Erie ecosystems. In recognition of this collaboration
and with the understanding that wildlife don’t understand political
boundaries, the refuge was given international status, making it the first and
only of its kind in North America.

While the refuge consists of more than 6,200 acres of habitat, it is not one
contiguous plot of land. Made up of more than 30 separate parcels, known as
refuge units, each were acquired either through purchase, donation or
cooperative agreement. While some refuge units have specific covenants or
stipulations about how they are to be managed, all are governed by the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997.

In 2010, the international Ramsar Convention designated Humbug Marsh as its
28th Wetland of International Importance. The Convention on Wetlands is an
intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and
international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and
their resources. Sites are designated based on their international
significance in terms of ecology, hydrology and biological communities. The
Ramsar list includes more than 2,400 wetland sites worldwide, and Humbug Marsh
became the first Ramsar designation in Michigan.

Humbug Marsh meets five of the nine Ramsar criteria that make it a Wetland of
International Importance, including:

  * Criterion 2: Importance to threatened, endangered and vulnerable species and ecological communities
  * Criterion 3: Importance for maintaining biological diversity
  * Criterion 4: Importance as habitat for plants or animals in critical stages of their lifecycles
  * Criterion 7: Importance to indigenous fish biodiversity
  * Criterion 8: Importance as a food source, spawning, nursery or migration area on which fish depend

Humbug Marsh provides habitat for a number of species and is considered
essential for the preservation of migrating raptor species, as well as other
migrating waterfowl and passerines. It also serves as a spawning and nursery
for many native fish species.

The only international wildlife refuge in North America, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is located along the lower Detroit River and western shoreline of Lake Erie - just 20 miles south of Detroit, Michigan and 50 miles north of Toledo, Ohio. Situated in a major metropolitan area, the refuge’s location is unique, as is the history of how the refuge was created.In 2001, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge was established by Congress as a result of efforts by U.S. and Canadian politicians, conservation leaders and local communities to build a sustainable future for the Detroit River and western Lake Erie ecosystems. In recognition of this collaboration and with the understanding that wildlife don’t understand political boundaries, the refuge was given international status, making it the first and only of its kind in North America.While the refuge consists of more than 6,200 acres of habitat, it is not one contiguous plot of land. Made up of more than 30 separate parcels, known as refuge units, each were acquired either through purchase, donation or cooperative agreement. While some refuge units have specific covenants or stipulations about how they are to be managed, all are governed by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997.In 2010, the international Ramsar Convention designated Humbug Marsh as its 28th Wetland of International Importance. The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Sites are designated based on their international significance in terms of ecology, hydrology and biological communities. The Ramsar list includes more than 2,400 wetland sites worldwide, and Humbug Marsh became the first Ramsar designation in Michigan.Humbug Marsh meets five of the nine Ramsar criteria that make it a Wetland of International Importance, including:<ul><li>Criterion 2: Importance to threatened, endangered and vulnerable species and ecological communities</li><li>Criterion 3: Importance for maintaining biological diversity</li><li>Criterion 4: Importance as habitat for plants or animals in critical stages of their lifecycles</li><li>Criterion 7: Importance to indigenous fish biodiversity</li><li>Criterion 8: Importance as a food source, spawning, nursery or migration area on which fish depend</li></ul> Humbug Marsh provides habitat for a number of species and is considered essential for the preservation of migrating raptor species, as well as other migrating waterfowl and passerines. It also serves as a spawning and nursery for many native fish species.

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the 82 acre West Sister
Island as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife.
It was specifically designated to protect the largest wading bird nesting
colony on the United States Great Lakes. The refuge is jointly owned by the
U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It received Ohio’s
only federal wilderness designation in 1975.

Most of the island is covered with trees. Tall hackberry trees make up most of
the canopy, with an understory of poison ivy that can grow 12 feet tall. Great
Solomon's seal reaches seven to nine feet in height and below there is a great
variety of ferns, wildflowers, mushrooms and other plant life. The island is
composed of glacial fill over a limestone shelf. The island's rookery is a
host for great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, black-crowned night
herons and double-crested cormorants. The water around the island is too deep
for the wading birds to feed in, so they must travel an 18 mile round trip to
the mainland marshes to hunt for food for themselves and their young.

The island took its place in history during the War of 1812. It was here, on
September 10, 1813, that Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry sent the immortal
message to General William Harrison after the Battle of Lake Erie: "We have
met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one
sloop."

To protect this vital nesting area, access is permitted for research only.

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the 82 acre West Sister Island as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. It was specifically designated to protect the largest wading bird nesting colony on the United States Great Lakes. The refuge is jointly owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It received Ohio’s only federal wilderness designation in 1975.

Most of the island is covered with trees. Tall hackberry trees make up most of the canopy, with an understory of poison ivy that can grow 12 feet tall. Great Solomon's seal reaches seven to nine feet in height and below there is a great variety of ferns, wildflowers, mushrooms and other plant life. The island is composed of glacial fill over a limestone shelf. The island's rookery is a host for great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, black-crowned night herons and double-crested cormorants. The water around the island is too deep for the wading birds to feed in, so they must travel an 18 mile round trip to the mainland marshes to hunt for food for themselves and their young.

The island took its place in history during the War of 1812. It was here, on September 10, 1813, that Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry sent the immortal message to General William Harrison after the Battle of Lake Erie: "We have met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop."

To protect this vital nesting area, access is permitted for research only.

River Raisin National Battlefield Park

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Nearby Parks

Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge

West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge