Check out the latest reports for the Big Sable Watershed Restoration Committee to find out what this action oriented partner has been up to on their home waters, the beloved Big Sable River.

By Carol Moncrieff Rose

Northern Michigan Conservation Network

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus opined that “No man ever steps into the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”  While there is much to be appreciated by this wisdom, northern Michigan watershed groups are doing more than pondering its nuances; plans are being made, permits being secured, crews and contractors being hired, and data being collected.  Here’s just a sampling of watershed work on the agenda for some of northern Michigan’s river keepers.

New timber bridges are popping up all over northern Michigan as modern road/stream crossing replacements for aging, poorly designed, and deteriorating structures. One of the newest has recently been completed on Springbrook Road over the North Branch of the Boyne River. The previous undersized culverts prevented natural movement of sediments, causing impounding of sand and water upstream of the crossing over decades. CRA coordinated the design, engineering, and construction of thisnearly $300,000 project over the last couple of years and plans a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate this beautiful improvement to the Boyne in 2013.

The Conservation Resource Alliance, acting as contracted Project Manager, has led the Boardman Dams Implementation Team (IT) through the complex process of removing Brown Bridge Dam on the Boardman River. Brown Bridge Dam was the first of three historic hydro-electric dams on this Blue Ribbon designated trout stream slated for removal. This massive community driven project was set in motion nearly a decade ago. The project is on schedule and within budget as compared to anticipated outcomes. 

The North Branch of the Manistee River is a cold, groundwater-fed tributary to the Manistee River and is a state designated Natural River. It has a naturally reproducing population of brook trout small brown trout population. A new world record brown trout was caught from the Manistee River in September 2009. The riparian corridor surrounding this river functions as an important regional wildlife corridor and is buffered by thousands of acres of state owned land. These ecological hot spots are threatened and degraded by impacts at the Mecum Road crossing of the North Branch and the abandoned Flowing Well Trout Farm, a 1720 acre property recently acquired by the State of Michigan. Poorly managed private parcels in this corridor also contribute to the degradation of water and upland habitat in the area. Through this project, CRA coordinated the replacement of the existing Mecum Road crossing with a new Timber Bridge structure and continues to restore the Flowing Well Trout Farm for fish passage and habitat improvement.