With the cooperation of all stakeholders, the trustees plan to dramatically improve the Kalamazoo River environment. The overall goal is to restore and maintain a riverine ecosystem with structural and functional components that mimic the Kalamazoo river corridor prior to modification by dams and waste disposal.

The trustees have developed the following preliminary restoration objectives:

• Diverse healthy ecosystem dominated by native or naturalized species, a naturally vegetated riparian zone, not a grassy park-like setting
• Habitat should meet requirements for semi-aquatic species, such as turtles, amphibians and reptiles (minimize rip rap or other hard barriers)
• “Riparian zone” encompasses the river valley between the upland forest on each side of river (not limited to the floodplain)
• riverine habitat should support diverse, healthy mussel beds as well as essential host fish (for transport of mussel larvae)
• in-stream movement of fish is restored to the maximum extent possible (pursuant to DNR management goals)
• habitat supports native important predator species such as mink, otter, eagles and others
• strive for continuity of riparian and forested habitat to link with Gun Lake and Fort Custer (to preserve genetic diversity of plant and animal communities)
• Enhance various types of wetlands habitat

• Enhance degraded areas, and protect existing areas, that provide important surface water/groundwater interchange (the hyporheic zone) - often associated with diverse plant communities.  
• Restore natural river flow flux and channel forming geophysical forces to allow meandering channel and dynamic floodplain
• Provide substrate that supports ecosystem and species management objectives (not artificial or non-supporting material)
• Water, nutrient and particulate input and flow is restored to that consistent with vegetated watershed
• Achieve reductions in non-point source pollutant loading

• Increased public access pursuant to decisions by State land managers
• Provide access without degradation to existing (or restored) habitat

• Eliminate loading of PCBs to Lake Michigan
• Eliminate the fish consumption advisory for PCBs on the Kalamazoo
• Balance short-term habitat losses with overall restoration objectives
• Consider potential habitat uses in contained areas (e.g. prairie)
• Remedy does not “transfer” or create problems in adjacent areas