Posts from the ‘Environment’ Category
History of the Civilian Conservation Corps to be Presented at Hartwick Pines Logging Museum March 7
CCC crew building wing deflector for spawning trout on the north branch of the Paint River, three miles north of Camp Paint Lake, 1934
“The Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Grayling Area” will be the topic of a presentation at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 7, at the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum in Grayling. Department of Natural Resources and Environment historian Rob Burg will present the program that highlights the work the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did in Grayling, Gaylord, Houghton Lake, Kalkaska, Mio and Roscommon.
The CCC planted more than 400 million trees in Michigan, fought thousands of forest fires across the country and developed some of America’s most beloved national parks. In the Grayling and surrounding areas alone, the CCC operated the Higgins Lake Nursery, built the Logging Museum at Hartwick Pines, the Conservation Training School (now the Ralph A. McMullan Center) at Higgins Lake, the Reedsburg Dam near Houghton Lake, operated the Grayling Fish Hatchery, and made improvements at the Grayling Winter Sports Park (Hanson Hills).
This hour-long program will highlight these and other accomplishments of the “CCC Boys” during the Great Depression, when the CCC not only put men to work, but also helped to heal the state from the results of the lumber practices and wildfires of an earlier period. Michigan-and the entire United States-benefited from the work that “Roosevelt’s Tree Army” performed from 1933-1942.
Hartwick Pines Logging Museum is part of the Michigan Historical Museum system. The Logging Museum is located at 4216 Ranger Rd. in Grayling. Admission to the event is free; however a motor vehicle permit is required for entry into the park. For more information about the museum, visit www.michigan.gov/loggingmuseum.
Refreshments will be served. If you have any questions about this program or any other events at Hartwick Pines, please contact Rob Burg at (989) 348-2537 or by email at burgr@michigan.gov.
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The Traverse City Chamber of Commerce Weighs-In on the Threat of Asian Carp in the Great Lakes
I was pleased to get the following from Doug Luciani, of the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce. It is good to see the business community get behind this issue, as they absolutely should:
- Imagine a trip to the Manitou Islands while dodging 50-pound flying fish.
- Imagine your favorite fishing hole as a barren, fish-free dead zone.
- Imagine the elimination of thousands of fishery jobs and the evaporation of a $7 billion industry in a time when Michigan cannot afford further attrition.
- Sign the online petition to close the locks at www.stopasiancarp.com.
- Attend rallies, such as the one being held at the Traverse City Fish Ladder on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m. to encourage Federal action to close the locks in Chicago to prevent the destruction of the Great Lakes ecology and $7 billion fishery economy.
By now the news is widespread — Asian carp pose a serious threat to the Great Lakes as an Über-invasive species. Despite knowing about the seriousness of the threat and the fact that the invasive species has been ranging closer and closer to the Great Lakes watershed, little has been done in recent years to stem the growing danger to the Great Lakes bioregion.
Asian Carp at the Shedd Aquarium
The Free Press reports today that Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its decision to keep open the Chicago-area shipping locks that separate the Mississippi basin from the Southern end of Lake Michigan. Cox’s argument is that elements of the government knew about the discovery of Asian carp genetic material in Lake Michigan three days before the high court’s ruling, but that this information was not made available to the court in time for their decision.
The latest bit of bad news, however, takes the form of word that researchers have found evidence of another sportfish-killer — viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, or VHSV, in Lake Superior. Medill Reports in Chicago carries the story. The article states that, “the discovery means the disease is now documented in all of the Great Lakes and could be reaching epidemic proportions in Lake Michigan.”
“‘There’s a chance that this virus could cause traumatic mortalities,’ said Paul Bowser, professor of aquatic animal medicine and the study’s lead investigator. ‘In the very onset there will be a lot of hosts, and many [fish] are going to die, which is likely to have a severe environmental impact.’”
The virus is fairly easy to spread, which accounts for the rapidness with which it has moved from watershed-to-watershed. And because it is easy to spread, it is important for anglers and boat owners to take appropriate precautions against inadvertently assisting in spreading the virus to unaffected areas. Bowser adds that it is important to not “move fish from one body of water to another, and [to] wash your boats thoroughly after removing them from a lake … Everyone’s going to have to play a part in limiting the spread of this thing.”
Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center in Cadillac Announces Winter and Spring Programs
The Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center in Cadillac has announced its winter and spring schedule of programs. The center is located next to Mitchell State Park on M-115 in Cadillac, and is one of 10 Department of Natural Resources visitor centers around the state.
The Hunting and Fishing Center in Cadillac
There is no fee for the programs. Please note that some of the program dates have changed from the schedule previously announced on Jan. 6. The programs include:
Feb. 6, How to Geocache and Use Your Handheld GPS Unit. From noon to 2 p.m., this program will introduce participants to the activity of geocaching and provide the basics on how to use a handheld GPS unit.
Feb. 13, Guided Ice Fishing Program. This program will be from noon to 3 p.m., and participants should meet at the center at noon. Tackle, bait, an auger and shanty will be provided.
Feb. 20, Black Bears of Michigan. This presentation will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Following the presentation, the video “Walking With Bears” will be shown.
Feb. 27, Dog Sled Rides. From noon to 1:30 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m., dog sled rides will be available for children only. Parents must sign up their child during the event at the center.
March 6, Steelhead Fishing Workshop. Mike Willsey will offer this workshop to teach the basics of steelhead fishing from noon to 2 p.m. at the center.
March 13, Dog Sled Rides. The final dog sled rides of the winter season will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. and from 2 to 3 p.m. This event is for children only, and parents must sign up their children at the center the day of the event.
March 20, Guided Ice Fishing Program. This program will be from noon to 3 p.m., with participants meeting at the center at noon. Tackle, bait, an auger and shanty will be provided.
March 27, Geocache Workshop and Applications. This program will be offered from noon to 2 p.m. and is designed to introduce participants to the activity of geocaching, along with learning the basics of how to use a handheld GPS Unit.
April 3, Laser Shot Shooting Simulations. This program will be offered from noon to 3 p.m. at the center.
April 10, Home Study Hunter Safety Class. Pre-registration is required for this class, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. To register, call 231-775-1321.
April 17, Wild Turkeys of Michigan. This program will be offered from noon to 2 p.m. at the center.
April 24, Family Range Day. The center’s archery and pellet gun ranges will be open from noon to 3 p.m.
The center will be closed on Easter Sunday, April 4.
Mitchell State Park is located on M-115 in Cadillac. For more information about these events, call the visitor center at 231-779-1321. For information about the park, accessibility, or persons needing accommodations, contact the park supervisor at 231-775-7911 (TTY/TDD711 Michigan Relay Center for the hearing impaired) or visit www.michigan.gov/mitchell. Camping reservations can be made on-line at www.midnrreservations.com, or by calling the Department of Natural Resources central reservation system at 800-447-2757.
All motor vehicles entering a state park or recreation area must display a Motor Vehicle Permit, available for purchase at the entrance. Cost is $24 for resident annual and $6 for resident daily. A non-resident annual is $29 and a non-resident daily is $8. Please note that a permit is not required to visit the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center.
Streamside
The last few weeks have been busy ones in Michigan environmental news. The big story out of Lansing is Thursday’s announcement by Gov. Jennifer Granholm of the merger of Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). By merging the departments Granholm reverses the actions of prior Governor Jim Engler, who created the DEQ by separating its functions from that of the DNR.
As reporting in the Traverse City Record-Eagle makes clear, the merger will result in the creation of a new joint department to be called the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. The decision goes into effect on January 17th. Under the conditions of this new order, the governor will hold the power and authority to appoint both the department’s director, along with the state agriculture director.
In general, Michigan environmental groups are supportive of the governor’s decision to pursue the merger, although several have specific concerns with the details of the operational consolidation and also with the decision to leave the appointment of the director in the hands of the governor.
Also in environmental news impacting Michigan anglers, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that, “Huron-Manistee National Forests officials will complete a court-ordered environmental impact statement for a proposed natural gas well near the Mason Tract, a remote state wilderness area along the South Branch of the Au Sable River in Crawford County, east of Grayling.”
This has been a keystone issue for the Anglers of the Au Sable and the Michigan Sierra Club, who have been pursuing vigorous court action to keep Savoy Energy of Traverse City from drilling wells in the boundaries of the Mason Tract — specifically, “the Anglers group had concerns about noise, spills, loss of old-growth forest and the well’s proximity to wetlands near the Mason Tract, a 4,679-acre parcel donated to the state in 1954 under the condition it remain wilderness.”
Many people are aware of the pervasive outdoor culture of the U.P., but generally consider it confined to trolling on Lake Superior or deer hunting in the acres of pristine wilderness. But one of the best kept secrets of the peninsula is its multitudes of inland fishing opportunities, including many first-class trout waters. The city of Marquette, the largest in the Upper Peninsula, boasts easy access to many quality trout and salmon fisheries within several minutes of its boundaries.
Michigan's UP Wonderland
Carp River (Type 2 from Deer Lake Dam to Morgan Creek, Type 3 from Morgan Creek to Lake Superior)
The Carp is one of the more popular spots near Marquette, as it is just a short drive from downtown. For the most part, however, the proximity isn’t noticeable. A relatively steep river that empties into Lake Superior just east of Marquette, the Carp offers anglers chances to hone their skills in a variety of situations. The river is easily wadeable and wide enough to accommodate fly casting in most places. Some pools and runs can get rather cramped, however, so a short spinning rod might be a good idea to bring along. Two of the best access points are near the river’s mouth at the bridge on Highway 28 and near Marquette Mountain ski area at the bridge on County Road 553. The river flattens out near the mouth and fishing becomes fairly marginal until the salmon run. The best chances for fish the rest of the year are found off 553. The most productive spots tend to be the pools between rapids and holes underneath dead falls. Both dry and subsurface caddis imitations produce well, as do small Mepps spinners. Rainbow trout are the most abundant fish, and average eight- to twelve inches. Decent populations of brook trout and brown trout live in the river as well, and they are joined each fall by salmon and steelhead. The river is open year-round from the confluence at Morgan Creek, allowing fishermen to enjoy salmon and steelhead action in the spring and fall.
Chocolay River (Type 3 from confluence of Big Creek)
Located in Chocolay Township east of Marquette, the Chocolay River is deeper than the Carp, but still easily navigated by wading fishermen. Chest waders might be necessary after a heavy rainfall. Nearly all of the river is wide enough for fly casting, save a few points where willows hang across the entire width. Brook trout are the primary species in the Chocolay, and the average size is eight- to ten-inches. They can usually be coaxed out from branches of submerged deadfalls with small spinners, but dry flies fished alongside the stream bank past overhanging vegetation works well too. The river joins with Big Creek several miles from Lake Superior, and the downstream portion is open year-round. The river gets good numbers of lake-run fish in the fall, and fishermen have good luck fishing from the public access site off M-28. The site is one of two handicap accessible fishing piers in the UP. The river is much slower in this area and the bottom can be very silty, so be cautious when venturing too far out into the water. During the summer months, good fishing can be found upstream of the bridge off Highway 41 outside the main township.
Dead River
If you’re in town for a few hours or have some down time in the middle of your day, the Dead River is the perfect place to go. The Dead runs right through the city and has several popular access points. Its proximity to town is a double-edged sword, however, as parts of it receive much more pressure than most other UP trout waters. It used to be dammed at Tourist Park on the north end of Marquette until several years ago. The dam has not been rebuilt since, allowing the river to flow freely though that area. Although it is primarily known for its walleye, smallmouth bass and northern pike fishing, the Dead River also has a healthy population of brook trout and the occasional brown throughout. Anglers stack up near Tourist Park in the fall and spring for chances at spawning salmon and steelhead, but the spot is also good year-round for bass and trout. Access for the area is at the bridge on County Road 553. The river is good for fly casting or spin casting with either lures or live bait. Try deep pools and the edges of deeper runs. Additional access can be found off Wright Street through Marquette or upriver from the public boat launch off Forestville Road.
Strawberry Lake (Type D Lake)
If river fishing isn’t your thing, or you simply want a day’s rest from fighting currents and overhanging trees, Strawberry Lake might be your ideal destination. The lake is located near the Marquette County Fairgrounds, and is only a few acres in size. No motorized boats are allowed, but kayaks, canoes, and inflatables are ideal for its waters anyway. The DNR has done a good job managing the lake for brook trout and panfish, giving anglers a legitimate chance at satisfying the 15-inch minimum size requirement. It has very little topography and bottoms out at around 20 feet, so the fish generally go deep during the heat of the summer afternoons. Evening time produces some good action, however, as the fish come up shallow to feed heavily. Dry flies are a good bet, as are small minnow imitations and spinners.
Additional Upper Peninsula fishing information can be found at U.P. Trout Fishing.
If you are interested in a guide service, Uncle Ducky’s Charters provides float or wading trips for most Upper Peninsula waters.
Trevor Pellerite writes to T|N|T from his Upper Michigan home in Marquette — Robert Traver country. He is a senior English major at Northern Michigan University. After he graduates, he would like to become an outdoor writer and fly fishing guide.
This essay originally appeared in Northern Express and is reprinted here by permission of Rick Coates (editor). T|N|T thanks Rick for his kind permission.
There are three closely guarded secrets in Northern Michigan – favorite hunting grounds, morel mushroom locations and choice spots on a trout stream.
Trout fishing in Northern Michigan sometimes takes a backseat to the famous rivers out west but not this past August, as a few hundred who fly-fish headed to Northern Michigan for the annual Trout Unlimited (TU) convention held in Traverse City August 22.
Jordan and his Ro Skiff Hosting Anglers on the Au Sable for the TU 50th
This TU convention was a special one as it marked the 50th anniversary of the national organization. The weeklong conference featured guest speakers, authors, seminars and guided fly fishing trips for anglers who came from several of the 400 TU chapters around North America. There were also several parties, including a formal dinner honoring the founding members.
According to TU spokesperson Erin Mooney, Northern Michigan was picked specifically to host this special celebration
“Trout Unlimited was started in 1959 in Grayling by 16 fly fishermen,” said Mooney. “It has since grown from 16 to now more than 150,000 members. So coming back to where it all started just made sense.”
While it has grown into a respected national organization, members from Michigan are proud to carry on the heritage of the founding members in their efforts to preserve and protect the fish habitats in the state.
A RIVER OF HISTORY
The driving forces behind the formation of TU were George Mason, President of American Motors, and George Griffith who lived on the Au Sable, just outside of Grayling. Mason passed away prior to the launch of TU, but his legacy continues not only through being the original visionary, but also by his contribution of 1,400 acres along the South Branch of the Au Sable, known as the Mason Tract.
“Michigan has 22 local chapters with more than 7,000 members,” said Dr. Bryan Burroughs, Executive Director of Michigan TU. “We are fortunate to have several world-class trout streams and more than 11,000 inland lakes and with the Great Lakes we have the largest source of freshwater in North America. As an organization we strive to protect, restore and work with other conservation organizations to preserve these resources.”
In Northern Michigan, there are five TU chapters and, according to Bill Fernandez, President of the Adams Chapter based in Traverse City, it is at the local level where the organization is most effective.
“At the national level the focus is more on public policy issues. Each part of the country has different issues so the local chapters are able to focus on their needs,” said Fernandez. “Every dollar we raise stays in the area to improve trout habitat.”
THE ADAMS CHAPTER
Fernandez, along with 26 other concerned fishermen from the area, gathered 13 years ago to form the Adams Chapter. This chapter focuses on the Boardman, Manistee, Pine, Pere Marquette, Rapid and Au Sable Rivers.
“There was a TU Chapter in Traverse City at one time but it basically disappeared,” said Fernandez. “Basically, some of us who fly fish the rivers in the area were concerned about several issues and wanted to take steps to improve and protect the quality of the trout habitat, along with educating the youth and others about river habitat and fly fishing.”
To date, the Adams Chapter has successfully generated over $200,000 primarily through their annual banquet held each spring with all dollars going locally to “support conservation efforts and repair the stream deadening effects of erosion, sedimentation and over use.”
“Some of our projects are very visible to the public such as the decking at Mitchell Creek along the TART Trail, and the fishing decks at the YMCA,” said Fernandez. “Other projects that are less visible have been the work on the North Branch of the Boardman where we have improved the quality of the trout habitat and certainly our work over the years of funding the removal sand from the Boardman, which is a major threat to trout habitat.”
The Adams Chapter takes their name from dry fly of the same name – dry fly being the pattern of artificial fishing lure. The Adams pattern is a popular pattern in Northern Michigan and was developed by Lon Adams, one of the founding members of TU. The fly pattern was perfected by Len Halliday of Mayfield.
“THE HOLY WATERS”
Northern Michigan trout streams have reached legendary status among those who fly fish. Certainly the most famous is the Au Sable, known as “The Holy Waters.” Other rivers of note include The Boardman, The Pere Marquette, The Jordan, The Maple, The Black and The Sturgeon.
It is the goal of local TU chapters to protect that legendary excellence.
“We now number over 300 in the Adams Chapter,” said Fernandez. “All of the Chapters in Northern Michigan are very active, it is a great thing. TU is a wonderful organization. It is not a fishing club, sure we fish, but as an organization and local chapters our focus is about preserving these rivers and the trout habitat for future generations.”
TROUT CHAPTERS
Adams Chapter
Bill Fernandez, President
P.O. Box 2129,
Traverse City, MI 49685
(231) 941-7102
www.tctrout.org
Mason/Griffith/Founders Chapter
Mark Hendricks, President
15054 Riverview Rd. S.E.,
Grayling, MI 49738
(989) 348-1987
www.masongriffithtu.org
Headwaters Chapter
John Walters, President
6269 Mt. Vernon Hills Dr., Vanderbilt,
MI 49795
(989) 983-4404
www.headwaterstu.org
Miller/VanWinkle Chapter
Brian Kozminski, President
111 Grove Street, Petoskey, MI 49770
(231) 622-8300
www.mvwtu.org/
Ferris State Chapter
(Pine River/Pere Marquette)
Alex Forsberg
9745 Timber Ridge Rd.,
Farwell, Mi 48622
(989) 429-0724
One of America’s Toughest Trout Streams Is Right Here in Michigan: The Jordan River
John Patrick Hager of Wausau, Wisconsin, fishes the Jordan Rivers roily waters "English" style - from a "beat" cut into the riverbank overlooking a deep pool.
God created the Jordan River. And by any account, He did a very, very good job of it. But it was hundreds of tough, agile loggers who turned it into the trout stream it is today—the most technically challenging piece of water I’ve ever fished anywhere in the United States during nearly 40 years of fly angling.
The Jordan begins as myriad springs and rivulets in the northeast corner of Antrim County near the tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula. They seep out of hillsides, and bubble up from the aquifer to create clear, cold “fingers” of water. Ultimately, they join and turn into a river filled with butter-yellow brown trout, brookies with bellies as orange as a pumpkin, and rainbows as brilliant as the bumper on my old ’59 Pontiac.
That’s the part God created.
What makes the Jordan so damnably challenging to anglers is the jackstraw of logs that crisscross its bottom like thousands of toothpicks that were dumped from a box.
It’s as if the five-o’clock whistle blew on the last day of the logging drive a hundred years ago and all those old sunburned Swedes and Finns pulled their caulks out of big old tree trunks and simply stomped off to Marquette.
Over the ensuing years, those logs sank. Some jammed together to form tiny islands that now sprout grass, new-growth cedar trees, and a proliferation of gorgeous wildflowers that attract scores of photographers. It’s such a beautiful place, in fact, that the Jordan was designated in 1972 as Michigan’s first National Scenic River.
Thousands of other logs simply turned into a crossword-puzzle of trout hideouts, creating classic “pocket water” fishing. It’s the sort of place where a downstream float with a dry fly can be done, but not easily in most places. Forget about fishing nymphs completely. Actually, it’s best to cast upstream.
But let me repeat that casting here demands a high degree of precision and total concentration on the fly’s drift.
First, the river itself is pretty narrow in most places, perhaps twenty feet wide, with streamside tag alders and cedar trees ever ready to snatch an errant backcast.
Capt. Tony Petrella gets his feet wet in the Jordan River while trying to manipulate a dry fly over and around the myriad tangle of logs and felled trees.
Second, the maze of submerged and partially-submerged logs create “targets” that range in size from as small as a soup kettle to the dimensions of a bathtub, with a rapidly flowing current that whisks the fly along as if you were in Montana on the Madison.
The trick is to analyze the stretch of water ahead of you. Study the flow, and consider where the trout are likely hiding. Then try to figure out where you can drop the fly and get a few seconds of free-float before making a quick upstream roll cast to throw the hook out of harm’s way.
Success means never having to say you’re sorry you just broke off another two-buck fly.
Success also means a nine-inch or ten-inch fish that literally leaps six feet out of the water because he’s very angry that somebody jabbed him in the mouth with a hunk of metal. Actually bringing one of these trout to hand is an experience. Usually, it’s “How did he get under that log and break me off so fast?”
But casting to, and perhaps hooking, these fish is only part of the Jordan’s challenge.
The other is staying dry. Because the Jordan, as Theodore Gordon once wrote, “is as lucent as air,” it creates very deceptive optical illusions. You can be standing knee deep on one side of a big old sunken log, then get a shockingly cold dunking by stepping into considerably deeper water on the other side.
And I do mean cold, since the Jordan rarely gets warmer than 56 degrees.
That means part of your analytical process involving where to cast also includes “where do I step next?” This really is no place for hip boots, although at first glance it appears they’d be perfect. Nope. Stick with chest-highs. Maybe throw in a fold-up wading staff as well.
As far as the actual fishing goes, light rods such as a six-foot two- weight are perfect for the Jordan. A four-weight is almost too much gun, although some stretches do have a lot of hoppers in August and early September so a four can be useful then.
Capt. Tony Petrella
Generally speaking, you can expect good hatches of caddis. Stock your fly box with the usual color spectrum mostly in size 16 and 18, though some 20s certainly come in handy. Blue wing olives (Baetis) in size 16 and 18 usually are around, along with Sulphers (dorothea, in size 16), and Mahoganies (isonychia, in size 14). Sparsely tied parachutes seem to work best, and are easy to see because of the white wing post.
Smallish stoneflies in gray and yellow frequently pop up, and beetles, ants, and crickets are always good—especially in late summer.
So, if you’re tired of fishing in crowded places for hatchery fish, give the Jordan River a try some time. Believe me, you’ve never fished anyplace like this before!
Capt. Tony Petrella is a Coast Guard-licensed guide in southwest Florida for tarpon, snook and redfish during the winter and spring, and also floats and wades Michigan’s finest trout streams during the summer, and guides upland hunters in the fall. He can be reached at 231-585-7131, or tightloops@peoplepc.com, or at his website.
