Crystal River Initiative Poised to Improve River’s Ecology and Recreation

Project Overview

Winter 2025 Project Update

The Crystal River Initiative is a transformative effort to improve four critical stream crossings in the heart of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore—one of America’s most breathtaking landscapes. 

Led by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) and CRA, in cooperation with the Leelanau County Road Commission and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the initiative aims to restore the river’s natural function, enhance recreational access, and strengthen deep cultural and spiritual ties to the land. 

The beautiful ocean-like blue color of the Crystal River, angelic wilderness surrounding it, and the long winding meanders already make the stream a premier paddling experience. However, the presence of two remaining stream-crossing structures poses a navigational challenge for personal watercraft, forcing paddlers to undergo multiple portages across County Road 675.

Recent surveys show that over 15,000 watercraft enthusiasts recreate on the Crystal River each year. When combined with the more than one million visitors exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and its surroundings, a concerning reality emerges—paddlers carrying canoes and kayaks across busy roads, creating a vivid and potentially hazardous scene.

Stage One: Completed Fall 2023

The project team successfully replaced the first stream-crossing along Leelanau County Road 675 in the fall of 2023. The Tucker Lake Outlet crossing had been completely plugged, packed with debris, forcing stormwater over the road and eroding the shoulder into the waterway. A larger aluminum box culvert now spans the outlet, opening critical habitat and rectifying the long-problematic site.

Stage Two: Completed Fall 2024

In the fall of 2024, construction crews completed work on Site Three—known locally as “The Tubes.” For decades, paddlers navigated the risk of passing through one of three undersized culverts rather than carrying their watercraft over the road, earning the structure its nickname. With the new improvements, paddlers now have unrestricted passage, ensuring a safer and smoother journey.

Swipe through the gallery below to see the site’s before, during, and after transformation!

Final Stage

Next up are Sites One and Two, where aging, undersized culverts continue to degrade the river’s health. These crossings disrupt natural stream function, causing ecological damage, including impaired floodplains, degraded in-stream habitat, unstable streambanks, and weakened watershed connectivity.

Site Two: Multiple signs warn paddlers of the deteriorating culverts at site two.

The aging infrastructure also puts the transportation system at risk of failing during high-water events due to possible flooding and structural road damage. The undersized structures disrupt the natural flow of sediment and large woody debris through the system. This disruption negatively affects the natural instream habitat formation processes by reducing the likelihood that large woody debris will collect into debris jams that provide cover and create stream bed diversity.

Much of this section of the Crystal River flows through land owned and protected by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, increasing the habitat value of this stream relative to others with more development along the shoreline.

When the two remaining crossings are replaced, the need to portage along County Road 675 will be nearly eliminated, and fish and other aquatic species will reap immense benefits. This collection of projects is poised to enhance the region recreationally, environmentally, and, in turn, economically.

A Deeper Connection 

This project is about more than environmental and recreational restoration. Henry “Hank” Bailey, a Grand Traverse Band Elder and former Fish and Wildlife Technician with GTB’s Natural Resources Department, played a key role in helping reveal the importance of acknowledging the cultural and spiritual expressions of GTB’s stream restoration efforts during his tenure.  

For Hank, the Crystal River restoration is deeply personal. “This river has always been a source of life,” he reflects. “Long before settlers arrived, my ancestors relied on it in harmony for fishing, medicine, and their connection to ‘Mother.’ As I walk along the river today, I feel their presence. Reconnecting these waters is a very spiritual effort.” 

Projects like this are not possible without the help of our funders and partners.

We’d like to send a special thank you to:

Funders:

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians-Bureau of Indian Affairs: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (Distinct Tribal Program) | Roads Program, and Bridges Program | USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service – Regional Conservation Partnership Program (Tribal Stream and Michigan Fruitbelt Collaborative) led by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians | US Fish and Wildlife Service – Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act | US Department of Commerce – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal under the IIJA |  Leelanau County Road Commission | Trout and Salmon Foundation | DTE Energy Foundation | Walters Family Foundation |  Andrew R. and Janet F. Miller Foundation | The Brookby Foundation | United States Fish and Wildlife Service National Fish Passage Program Bipartisan Infrastructure Law | Great Lakes Fishery Trust – Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Fish Populations: Habitat Protection and Restoration

Partners Involved:

Conservation Resource Alliance | Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians | SWCA Environmental Consultants | Grand Traverse Engineering and Construction | Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | Leelanau County Road Commission | Gosling Czubak Engineering | Bureau of Indian Affairs | GEI Environmental Consultants | Natural Resources Conservation Service