Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited Condemns Pigeon River Fish Kill On June 22nd 2008, a massive fish kill occurred on the Pigeon River in northern Michigan east of Vanderbilt. A discharge of sediment and water from a dam is being blamed for the fish kill. The Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited voted to condemn this...
Category: Conservation
Pigeon River Project Report
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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/
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...
Tyler Creek Work Projects
Saturday, June 14 We will be joined by the Lansing and Kalamazoo TU chapters as we continue our work on a new stretch of Tyler Creek. Contact Dave Smith at [email protected] By phone at (616) 394-8765. Saturday, July 26 Our Tyler Creek project wraps up as we are joined again by the Lansing and Kalamazoo...