For thousands of years, Michigan was shaped by glacial ice and melt waters. Left in the wake was a vast forest wilderness lined by the beaches of the Great Lakes. Huron Ecologic is here to protect the last pieces of that original wilderness.

Huron Ecologic was founded in 1998 by William Collins, a native of the Port Huron, Michigan area. Bill respects nature and does not take lightly his responsibility in guiding projects that alter creation. This respect was instilled in him by his parents, grandparents, the Boy Scouts of America, a few close friends, years of camping and outings, and later reinforced by his education and professional experience.

Despite a prevailing regulatory culture that routinely minimizes, undermines, and side-steps protection, Huron Ecologic adheres to established state and federal resource guidelines. The welfare of both the client and the natural area are central to our consultation. Huron Ecologic recognizes significant natural features, encourages development of less sensitive areas, and helps minimize impacts. As a result, Huron Ecologic has gained agency approval for innovative development and mitigation projects.

With SSOE, Inc. through the 1990’s, or for Huron Ecologic since 1998, Bill Collins has been involved in many projects in the Blue Water Area. These include:

Super Kmart and Sam’s Club
Port Huron Township
wetland delineation, permit, mitigation, and monitoring, preservation of adjoining northern forest complex

Shorewood Forrest subdivision
Fort Gratiot Township
wetland delineation and permit, preservation of adjoining beach ridge habitat

Pine Ridge subdivision
Fort Gratiot Township
wetland delineation and permit, preservation of adjoining swamp forest

Life of Faith Christian Church
and Landmark Academy
Kimball Township, wetland delineation

Lake Huron Woods Presbyterian Village
Fort Gratiot Township
wetland delineation, permit, mitigation, and monitoring, preservation of over 40 acres of beach ridge habitat

Camp Woodsong County Park on Black River
ecological assessment for acquisition grant

Fort Gratiot Township Nature Park
75-acre wetland mitigation, construction supervision and monitoring

Saint Clair County Drain Commissioner
over 130 site plan reviews (1997-2008),
several wetland preservation bank sites

Bunce Creek and Huffman Drain Project
19 miles from Kimball Township to Marysville
rare species survey, permit, transplanting, monitoring

Wadhams To Avoca Trail
wetland delineation, rare species survey

Fort Gratiot County Park on Lake Huron
wetland delineation, rare species survey

Columbus County Park on Belle River
ecological assessment for acquisition grant

Bill Collins and his wife, Cheryl, have been very active in promoting the protection of Michigan Endangered Painted Trillium, a rare woodland wildflower that is now known only from Saint Clair County in all of Michigan. Since 1990, Bill has discovered 10 new populations of Painted Trillium, and Cheryl 1, more than tripling the number of locations previously known by the State of Michigan. Bill and Cheryl have also found new populations of Michigan Threatened Sullivant’s Milkweed, a rare lakeplain prairie plant in Saint Clair County.

Bill Collins has been a professional wetland consultant and ecologist since 1990, employed 8 years as a botanist and project manager with SSOE, a large architectural and engineering firm. While at SSOE, he provided wetland and ecological services to Meijer, Kmart, Honda of America Manufacturing, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and several residential developers. Bill was certified in wetland delineation by the Wetland Training Institute in 1990, a course taught by federal wetland agency staff. In 1987 he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany and Plant Pathology, and Natural Resources Development at Michigan State University, while also completing the core engineering curriculum and a minor in economics. He was a program assistant with the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy from 1984 through 1986 and provided research assistance and botanical surveys to the Wildlife Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and to the Michigan Nature Association in the late 1980’s. In 1983, Bill graduated from Saint Clair County Community College in Port Huron. He taught nature courses at Silver Trails Scout Reservation in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Bill is a member of the Michigan Botanical Club and life member of the Michigan Nature Association. The spring 2000 issue of Michigan Environmental Professional featured his article, "Comprehensive Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Utilizing Importance Values, Diversity Indices, and Species-Area Curves".

Bill chose "Huron Ecologic" as the company name for a few reasons. The Huron’s were a Native American tribe that once inhabited the Thumb region. The word, “Huron” alludes to either their wild haircuts, as observed by the early French, or the many bobcats that were in the area. "Huron" reminds us of that Great Lake off to our east, seemingly so far away, hidden by dense development and woefully inadequate public access. Lake Huron is perhaps the most important feature defining the landscape of our region, having deposited sands across an extensive glacial lakeplain, and maintaining the cooler northern growing season of the Blue Water Area. The word "Huron" seems to contain the essence of our mature native forest, a unique blend of northern and southern flora. "Ecologic" because our work encompasses basic ecology. During a trip through the Balkans and Eastern Europe in 1994, people often asked Bill what he did for a living. They didn’t know the word "botanist", but upon understanding, would say, "Ah, botanique!" or maybe it was "botanik!". Bill was surprised at how impressed they were by a mere "botanik", similar to Charles Darwin’s surprise at how the Argentineans received a “naturalista!”. A few years later, deciding on a name for the new company, it seemed a natural and logical progression from botanik to ecologic.