By Sheri McWhirter, The Leader & Kalkaskian
KALKASKA – Four small dams will be removed from Kalkaska County streams in an ecological restoration project in the Manistee River watershed.
The work is intended to restore the free flow of the Upper Manistee River in an area that’s packed with dams, impoundments and an old trout farm. The property became state land in 2008 through a conservation effort and now habitat improvement work is set to begin next spring.
Many of CRA’s habitat improvement projects are centered in the streams, rivers, and other waterways of northern Michigan. While most people understand how our projects can help improve water quality and fish habitat less is known about how reptiles and amphibians are impacted by this work. To get a better understanding of how we can maintain or improve habitat for reptiles and amphibians as well as fish and other wildlife CRA contracted Herpetological Resource and Management, LLC (HRM) to assess our restoration work. The results of this assessment and suggested best management practices were presented to CRA in early 2010....