Tributary of the Boardman/Ottaway River Set for Double Dam Removal
Project Highlights
Project Type
Dam Removal and Stream Restoration
River Miles Connected
Two miles of cold-water habitat
Location of Project
Grand Traverse County
Wildlife to be Benefited
Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Blacknose Dace, Brook Stickleback, and aquatic macroinvertebrates
Dam #1
Dam #2
Project Overview
CRA and project partners are removing two inactive and partially failed dams from Apple Creek, a tributary to the Boardman/Ottaway River in Grand Traverse County.
Located just south of Traverse City, the dams were built approximately 70 years ago on private property. Initially, the dams and their impoundments were constructed to raise furbearers for the commercial fur market. Ownership changed hands, and the new owner repurposed the impoundments as a private trout fishery. Currently, the dams are owned by a condominium association and a family. Both parties have agreed to fully remove the structures and restore the stream channel through the former impoundments.
An Emergency Fix
In 2022, the water level control structures at both dams became plugged, causing the impoundments to overtop and breaches to develop. Fortunately, catastrophic failure was averted through immediate action by CRA, which assisted the landowners in coordinating emergency drawdown actions with a local contractor, Elmer’s. After drawing down the impoundments with diesel engine pumps, CRA contractor Tom Knoop cleared the water level control structures and adjusted the flashboards to allow additional water to exit.
Photo One: Both dams and consequential impoundments wreaking havoc on Apple Creek.
A Lay of the Land
Despite the interim solution, dam #1 (the uppermost dam) still requires significant attention to prevent total failure. This 15-foot-high barrier holds a pond roughly an acre in size, with muck depths ranging from 4 to 12 feet. The second dam, located a few yards downstream, is approximately 12 feet high and impounds another half-acre pond. Once both dams are removed, about a third of a mile of Apple Creek will be restored and reconnected, linking a mile upstream to a mile downstream, plus an additional 8 miles of the Boardman’s mainstem.
Photo Three: Project Manager, Nate Winkler, stands on dam #1 and investigates the interim action taken in 2022.
Project Status
As of summer 2024, CRA has assisted the landowners in hiring an engineering firm to design the project. Survey and geomorphic data have been acquired by Barr Engineering, with the design currently at the 30% level. A 60% design is expected by August. In summer 2023, CRA biologists electrofished upstream and downstream of the dams to assess fish community composition, observing Brook, Brown, and a single Rainbow trout, as well as Blacknose Dace and Brook Stickleback. Permit applications are anticipated by the end of 2024, with construction potentially beginning in 2025.
Projects like this are not possible without the help of our funders and partners. We’d like to send a special thank you to:
Partners
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | National Fish and Wildlife Foundation | Barr Engineering
Funders
This project is made possible through the America the Beautiful Challenge Grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with support from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
DTE Foundation | Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians | Packaging Corporation of America | Serra Family Foundation | Andrew R. and Janet F Miller Foundation | Walters Family Foundation | The Brookby Foundation