Trout Unlimited wants to hire someone to make things happen on the Rogue River! Trout Unlimited (TU) is North America’s leading coldwater fisheries conservation organization, conserving, protecting and restoring rivers and watersheds for trout and salmon. TU’s Home Rivers Initiative program was created in 1996 to perform collaborative, science-based watershed-scale restoration on coldwater rivers. To date, more than 20 Home Rivers projects have been initiated or completed across the country. The Rogue River in western Michigan is the site of TU’s newest Home Rivers Initiative project. It is a short drive north of Grand Rapids, Michigan and is an extremely...
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DNRE to Hold Statewide Public Meetings on Proposed Changes to Trout Regulations
The Department of Natural Resource and Environment is planning a series of statewide public meetings on proposed changes to trout fishing regulations to give anglers a chance to provide input on the draft plan. A copy of the draft plan is available online to review here. A year ago, the DNRE’s Fisheries Division presented a proposal to the public for modifying regulations governing fishing for trout on Michigan’s streams. After extensive public solicitation for response to the proposals, a decision was made in the fall of 2009 to move forward only with combining existing Type 5, 6, and 7 streams...
Notice of Annual Meeting
The annual Board of Director’s meeting of Schrems West Michigan Trout Unlimited will occur on Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at Wa Wa Sum Lodge, Grayling, Michigan. This is also the weekend of the annual member’s gathering. The election of of board officers and members will occur at the meeting. You can use the following information to vote for candidates for board members. Nominations for board members are: __ Tom Mundt __ Don Messinger __ Dave Smith __ Rich Steketee __ Dick Smith __ Larry Risbridger __ Mark Montpetit __ Write-in candidate You can vote for as many...
SIC – Calvin Christian Students Release Salmon
On May 25th, the Grand River became home for 35 salmon compliments of the Salmon-in-the-Classroom program from Mike Hoekwater’s Biology class. Mr. Hoekwater was the first teacher to take advantage of the Schrems SIC program offering; this marks the fourth consecutive year Mr. Hoekwater have offered SIC. These are the other schools we’ve supported by way a $1000 grant for purchasing need equipment for the Salmon-in-the-Classroom program: Hopkins Middle, Lowell HS, Goodwille Environmental (Forest Hills) and West Michigan Academy of Environmental Sciences. Two additional SIC programs are scheduled foe funding in school-year 2010-11: Lamont Christian and Belding HS.
River Keeper Program Kicks-Off Second Year
Our Schrems River Keeper program kicked-off for 2010 on May 8th. Volunteers (l-r) George Buursma, Josh Zuiderveen, Jim Flamming (‘Chief River Keeper’), Gary Winlow, Ryan Burke and Rich Brand gathered monitoring data from the six devises that remained in the Rogue River system through the winter. Also, new ‘loggers’ (monitoring device) were installed in: Barkley Creek, Shaw Creek and Cedar Creek. Loggers are also scheduled for installation on Penyer Creek (Muskegon watershed) and Buck Creek which runs through Grand Rapids. Look for more detailed information and actual data to follow.
Trout Spit Cellars
It was late afternoon, a Friday. I was working on my third glass of Italian Barolo, a medium bodied red, visiting with friends around our office conference table. “What made you take up wine making? I’m sure it isn’t an abundance of spare time,” Rick, a friend and fellow trout fisherman asked, cradling a glass of Cabernet. “That’s true. But a guy can only tie so many flies during the winter before he goes blind or acquires a permanent hand cramp. Another night scrunched over my tying bench could disrupt my already questionable sanity.” It was a good question. What...
Asian Carp update from Michigan TU
The following note comes from the Michigan TU Conservation Committee … “Here is some important information for TU members and chapters regarding efforts to prevent the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin. As you may have heard in the news recently, the US Supreme Court dismissed the last of the lawsuits filed by Attorney General Mike Cox, refusing to review the nearly 100 year old court decision which allowed the water diversion at Chicago that became what is now the Sanitary and Shipping Canal. So, where do we go from here?
Summer Work Schedule – Volunteers Needed!
Schrems West Michigan Trout Unlimited Summer 2010 Conservation Project Schedule Coldwater River The Schrems chapter has been blessed with two large grants for river restoration and habitat improvement on the Coldwater River. We have received a $20,000 grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and another grant for $40,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. We have partnered up with the Coldwater River Watershed Council, the Kent County Drain Commissioner and FTC&H on this project. We will be restoring and adding habitat to 2,500 feet of stream on the Dolan Property. This will be a large woody debris...
SWMTU looks to turn barren stretch of Coldwater River into trout haven
From Sunday’s Grand Rapids Press Victor Skinner | The Grand Rapids Press FREEPORT — The Schrems West Michigan Trout Unlimited chapter plans to transform a featureless 2,500-foot stretch of Coldwater River into ideal trout habitat using recent grants. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes program awarded the chapter $40,750, and another $20,000 grant came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners in Fish and Wildlife program. The funds will be used to bury numerous 18-inch tree trunks along a barren section of riverbed east of the Baker Avenue bridge near Freeport. The project, funded and...
Record 86 salmon released
On May 1st, students from Lowell High School’s three Ecology & NaturalResouce management classes of teacher (and former Schrems board member) Tammy Coleman, released a record 86 Chinook Salmon into the Flat River just upstream from the Grand River. > Read the article from the Grand Rapids Press. The salmon were raised from their egg stage in Mrs. Coleman’s classroom throughout the school-year as part of the Salmon-in-the Classroom program of Trout Unlimited. Lowell HS is one of the five area school participating in the SIC program thanks to the a grant from Schrems WMTU for start-up equipment. Two addition schools will...
Rogue River Clean-up May 15th
Kudos to Schrems TU member Ryan Burke and the Central Rockford Neighborhood Association for coordinating a Rogue River Clean Up! The clean-up is scheduled for May 15, (May 22nd if it’s raining). Everyone is to meet at 9:00AM in the parking lot behind Chase Bank in downtown Rockford. There will be a picnic BBQ lunch afterwards at Richardson-Sowerby Park. For more information, or to volunteer, please contact Ryan at [email protected] When signing up please indicate the extent to which you are familiar with the river and whether or not you have waders and/or a canoe. This is necessary so that...
SWMTU receives $40,000 to restore Coldwater River
The Schrems West Michigan TU chapter was awarded $40,750 today by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes program to improve habitat on the Coldwater River. The grant will fund restoration of 2,500 feet of habitat in the Coldwater River to reduce bank erosion and enhance populations of trout and other wildlife. The Sustain Our Great Lakes program is a public–private partnership coordinated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and funded by ArcelorMittal, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.D.A Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This year, additional...
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