Thanks to the 18 volunteers who gave up a Saturday morning to help out with a stream cleanup and habitat project on the Pigeon River in Hemlock Park in Ottawa County on August 23rd. The group removed several tires, a couple of rusted out drums, and hundreds of glass bottles from a quarter mile stretch...
Author: David Smith (David Smith)
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Upcoming Conservation Projects
Upcoming Conservation Projects Saturday, August 9 We will be joined by the Lansing and Kalamazoo TU chapters as we wrap up our work on Tyler Creek for the summer. The plan is to meet again at the golf course located at 13495 92nd Ave, Alto by 9:00 AM. Keep right as you enter the driveway...
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Action Alert – Public Input Sought for Agricultural Procedures Impacting Michigan Streams
Action Alert: Public Input Sought for Agricultural Procedures Impacting Michigan Streams Background: The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) is seeking public input on three GAAMPS by August 18, 2008. GAAMPS are Generally Accepted Agriculture Management Practices and these are the guidelines that farms and agribusinesses must follow in order to keep the protections provided by...
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Wa Wa Sum annual meeting recap
Congratulations to our newly elected board members and officers for SWMTU! Elected to the board for the first time are: Jim Flamming Jason Cook Reelected were: Andy Milnes Dave DeJonge Rob Fox JR Hartman Jim Scott Officer Elections were: President – Andy Milnes Vice-President – Jason Cook Secretary – Rich Steketee Treasurer – Marc Montpetit...
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See How Your State Senators and Representatives Voted on the Water Bills
Senate Bill 860 (S-6) – the less protective option for our aquatic resources. This bill was voted on May 15, 2008. Senator Prusi offered an amendment to SB860 to reduce the allowable damage to coldwater fisheries from 3% to less than 1%. The amendment was not passed, it received a tie vote, 19-19, with the...
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Water Withdrawal Legislation Update and Request for Action.
This past week the House finished passing all of the bills in their water withdrawal legislative package. Both Senate and House water bill packages now stand even in progress, and remain to be negotiated. Among the remaining points of difference are: Adverse Resource Impact Definitions for Coldwaters: The Senate is now at 3% reduction to...
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Rogue River a Trout Unlimited Home River?
A full-time TU staff person may be hired in the next year for the Rogue River as part of Trout Unlimited’s Home Rivers program. Laura Hewitt, the Watershed Programs Director from TU is putting together a draft plan which she will share with the SWMTU chapter sometime in June. After the plan is approved, TU...
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Salmon in the Classroom Photos Posted!
The 2007 and 2008 Salmon in the Classroom photos from the SWMTU sponsored program at Calvin Christian High School have been posted to the photo blog. Check out the photos of Mike Hoekwater’s Biology class and their salmon at https://swmtu.org/gallery/v/Dave+Smith/
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Action Alert – Water Withdrawal Legislation!
First, the good news. As you probably know, the Michigan House and Senate each approved the Great Lakes Compact. This demonstrates that Michigan will join the ranks of the states approving the Compact as protection against water withdrawals outside of the Great Lakes basin. Unfortunately, however, negotiations ended between the House and Senate for the...
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SWMTU Schedules Summer Conservation Events
Set aside a couple of hours on a Saturday morning and join us on one of our conservation projects scheduled this year. You will find the time well spent as we restore one of our areas trout streams. You will have the opportunity to perform some valuable work, meet other TU members, enjoy a friendly lunch,...