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Case Studies: Completed |
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PLEASE SEE OUR GALLERY SECTION FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE PHOTOS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF RECENTLY INSTALLED PROJECTS
22,000 SQ FT BIOHAVEN floating island launched in Dutchy Lake, Oregon
In February 2009, a 22,000 sq ft floating island was launched in Dutchy Lake, a small lake in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Summer Lake Wildlife Area located in south central Oregon. The floating island was constructed to provide nesting habitat for Caspian terns. The project is the brain-child of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and represents a break with their long tradition of building conventional islands in favor of new - and potentially cheaper - technology sourced from Floating Island International.
 Army Corps engineer, Kitia Chambers, wanted to try building a floating island to aid the Corps’ tern habitat efforts, but had no idea where to begin. Her web search brought her in touch with a company in Montana who already had a commercial product available. Thus began the process of negotiation and prototyping that would lead to the Army’s bold decision to install a BioHaven floating island.
BioHaven floating islands were invented by Bruce Kania and his team in response to a growing concern about water quality. A long-time fisherman, Kania looked to nature for a solution, and found it in the form of the floating peat bogs present in the pristine, world-class fishing waters of his native Wisconsin. Through a process known as biomimicry, the properties of the natural islands were reproduced using man-made materials, but the end result is the same: clean water and new habitat for wildlife.
BioHaven floating islands are made from recycled plastics, sourced from fiber which would otherwise be occupying acres of landfill space. Each module of the floating island uses 200 lbs of polypropylene (from recycled carpet) and 125 lbs of polyester (from recycled drinking bottles). Since the islands are not built up from the lake bottom, nor do they require causeway construction, aquatic life in the lake is not disrupted, water levels remain intact and the island can be positioned anywhere desired.
FII’s Project Manager, Laddie Flock, had the island built in Shepherd, Montana, while his own production facility is under development in California. A crew of 13 people worked for a total of 34 days to complete the project within the tight timeframe of the contract. The 328 modules were shipped in fourteen 53’ containers.
Assembly of modules on site requires minimal equipment and is very straightforward. Launching them, though, without disturbing the water, meant building a large raft on shore. Getting all the materials and equipment into this remote area was a project in itself, which was handled by Just Bucket Excavating, Inc., the Army Corps contractor in charge of the overall project.
One unusual aspect of this launch was that vegetation was not required on the island- in fact, it was prohibited. And, since it was required for bird habitat, nesting boxes were specified instead. So this island was given a substrate of pumice, and beneath that, the whole island was covered with tree mat to prevent any growth of plants. Pumice was the substrate of choice for a variety of reasons: it is lightweight, it drains readily, it survives strong winds, it cleans bird guano.... and it provides a natural look. The island has been edged with stone to facilitate getting young terns that enter the water back onto the island.
The Corps will give future consideration to construction of additional floating islands at other locations where environmental and/or cost considerations lend themselves to this approach.
So why is this island being built for Caspian Tern? Despite the name, Caspian tern are a native species . Their current colony in the Columbia River estuary, in excess of 9,000 pairs, results in them picking off roughly 5 million young salmon fingerlings annually, which is not good for salmon recovery efforts. By building alternative nesting habitat for terns in Oregon and California, the Army Corps plans to redistribute the birds to a new locations within their historic range where they will enjoy a more varied diet from a more abundant and sustainable source.
This is a huge project in itself, at the mercy of unpredictable wildlife, and by no means given any guarantee of success. However, with the backing of Oregon State University researchers, if anyone can bring this off, the Corps can
  
Three photos showing part of the Lake Simcoe Watershed project - “Maplecort Subdivision” stormwater management pond in Barrie, Ontario, built by Zancor Homes and Melody Homes, in Association with the Cortel Group of Companies.
The islands were installed in 2006 by Mark Palmer of Greenland Engineering, as described HERE .
 Chicago River island launch In July 2006, 22 islands were launched into the Chicago River in the Diversey Park area. Read an account of the island launch
 Citizens for Conservation restoration project.
 Zoo Montana's Otter Enclosure. Read about the installation of a custom island for the River Otters....
 White Water Associates, a research organization, was asked to launch four 36 square foot islands in lakes near their headquarters in Crystal Falls, Michigan. Here is the latest update from Dean:
"I thought you might be interested in some 2006 observations on the four FII islands that we placed last spring/summer as loon nesting sites. You, of course, recall that in 2005 nesting loons occupied two of the four islands and these two nests were successful in bringing off young loons. Both of these successful nests were on lakes where loons had not been known to nest in the past. On the other two lakes, loons chose their traditional
(natural) nest sites.
The islands seemed to come through the 2005/2006 winter in good shape and vegetation is becoming established. Remarkably, three of the four FII islands had loon nests this year (the two that were occupied last year and Bennan Lake). On Bennan Lake, the loon pair chose the FII island over their traditional nest site. We have not had free time to check further on these nests."
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