July 11, 2012 — Many of us love the chance to fish, swim, and kayak right in our backyard. In fact, more and more communities and counties are betting on that to set our region apart from other areas in the country. An important element of that is opening areas to recreation and keeping our rivers and lakes clean.
Last week we visited the celebration of another such success!
Paint Creek is part of the Clinton River and a designated coldwater trout stream. For years, there has been a successful partnership between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Clinton River Watershed Council, Trout Unlimited, and area municipalities to improve the local trout fishery. As such, this local water resource has the potential to enhance the fishery and local economy.
In studies by this group it was determined that the Paint Creek Dam was causing significant problems in the restoration of the fishery (i.e., trout can’t get past the dam) and was named one of the highest priority dam removal projects in Michigan.
This project did receive funding and last week we celebrated the successful completion of the project which included:
- Remove the dam on Paint Creek and re-connect 16 stream miles;
- Restore 1,500 feet of stream channel and re-connect 2.5 acres of floodplain/wetlands;
- Reduce bank erosion by greater than 95 percent in this area;
- Restore native fish populations and improve managed trout fishery.
Congratulations to all involved!
You can leverage your SEMCOG membership to help your local government become more sustainable and effective. Amy’s posts will focus on SEMCOG’s member services.
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