Restoration efforts at a decommissioned Occidental Chemical Corporation site in Whitehall, Michigan, have won the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Efforts began in the mid-1990s with the revegetation of a pond on the 880-acre site. Then, in 2003, Pheasants Forever did a demonstration project in which 3 acres were seeded with native grasses. That project’s success motivated the Wildlife Habitat Council (an organization established to bring together conservation organizations and businesses) to form a plan to work with Occidental and other nonprofit organizations to restore more of the site. The most recent phase of the project is a controlled burn on 40 acres to encourage the growth of warm-season grasses and discourage weeds.

The source article in the White Lake Beacon provides a more detailed chronology of the steps taken so far to restore this large site. However, it does have a lot of typographical errors. (“Eco-restoration at Occidental; Controlled Burns Scheduled,” John Keene, White Lake Beacon, 4/12/2010)