TU Condemns Pigeon River Fish Kill

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 event at their quarterly meeting on July 12th and authorized the Executive Committee to investigate potential legal action.

For further information, here are a couple of links to news articles:
Fish Kill in Pigeon River blamed on dam.
Detroit News: State Officials Meet over Fish Kill

Comment (1)

David Smith

February 18, 2009

See the DEQ Press Release that I posted on this topic on February 18th. The wheels of justice are grinding forward…

There has been a lot done on this. The first time the dam failed, TU took part in a lawsuit to remove the dam but the judge ruled against us primarily since at that time the dam was providing electrical power and the ranch was not connected to the grid. The judge did say in his ruling that if a similar incident occurred in the future, that the dam should be removed. Our chairman at the time was actually sued for libel for comments he made about the dam, but the case was dismissed.

Trout Unlimited has been involved this second time around too. We have taken part in discussions with the DEQ and the owners of the Song of the Morning Ranch about removal of the dam while the state built their legal case. Unfortunately a settlement could not be reached so this is going to court. Stay tuned for further news…

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