The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge protects scattered islands, marshes, shoals, and waterfront sites along the Detroit River and western Lake Erie shoreline between Detroit and Monroe. Established in 2001 and jointly administered by the United States and Canada, it is North America’s only international wildlife refuge. It grew from the smaller Wyandotte National Wildlife Refuge and arose from decades of industrial pollution that badly damaged the river and lake. Expanded through acquisitions and partnerships, the refuge became both a habitat for migratory birds, bald eagles, ospreys, sturgeon, walleye, and lake whitefish and a symbol of ecological recovery and cross-border conservation in a major metropolitan region.