An 11,000-acre wastewater plant became a birding hotspot

One of West Michigan’s most surprising birding trips begins at a wastewater office. The Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center spreads across roughly 11,000 acres in Egelston and Moorland townships. It is a working treatment system, but its lagoons, crop fields, woods, ditches, and grasslands also form an enormous patchwork of habitat.

The plant went into full operation in 1974. Instead of relying only on tanks and pipes, it stores treated water in lagoons and sprays it over crops. Michigan EGLE says the system was designed to handle up to 42 million gallons a day. The center describes more than 5,000 acres of cropland and 1,700 acres of storage lagoons.

Birds noticed the landscape too. The center says at least 256 species have been recorded there, including large seasonal gatherings of ducks and geese. Eagles, falcons, owls, shorebirds, and occasional rare visitors use the site. The neighboring Muskegon State Game Area adds even more open habitat.

This is not an ordinary park. Visitors need a pass and must follow the facility’s access rules. That boundary is worth respecting: the same working infrastructure that makes the habitat unusual is the reason entry has to be managed.