Reconnecting U.P. streams benefits flora and fauna

What's happening: Michigan’s waterways are heading back to their more natural states, thanks to efforts by the state Department of Natural Resources to reconnect more than 140 miles of naturally occurring streams. Two projects in the Upper Peninsula are already in motion -- the removal of Luce County’s Spring Creek Trout Pond Dam is finished and the McAlpine Trout Pond Dam in Mackinac County is expected to be done by the end of September. The project is a part of America’s Ecosystem Restoration Initiative, a multiagency grant program headed by the U.S. Department of Interior to restore waterways to more natural landscapes. 

Natural benefits: Allowing nature to set the pace on water passages will have significant benefit for human infrastructure efforts, mainly by reducing flooding risks. An increase in more significant precipitation levels from snow melt or rainstorms have created emergency situations across the region, with many flooding situations made worse by blocked culverts. Reducing additional barriers will reduce the potential trap points for debris, including naturally occurring sediment transfer. Natural stream flow also helps with water quality by limiting stagnant water that creates algae blooms and promoting various wildlife that can help filter the water.
Connecting streams and rivers in more original patterns will have significant improvement in protecting some of Michigan’s most at-risk species, including the pickerel frog, Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake and other aquatic species. 

What they're saying: “The Superior Watershed Partnership is pleased to be working with the Michigan DNR to remove three obsolete dams in the Upper Peninsula,” Superior Watershed Partnership Planner Geraldine Grant said about the Big Trout Lake Fish Barrier, Carr Creek Fish Barrier and Dana Lake Pike Marsh dams. “Removal of these dams will benefit recreational users, address concerns with aging infrastructure, eliminate public safety risks, and improve river connectivity, aquatic organism passage and climate resiliency.”

What's next: Six additional U.P. locations — half of which are in Delta County — will be removed in the hopes of reconnecting more streams. All four are former hatcheries that no longer fit in the current infrastructure of the DNR. 
The entire project is expected to be completed by January 2027.