Pastor, trout bum, and environmental activist Rich Hamstra spent a summer Sabbatical from his church duties an assisting in the Volunteer Fly Fishing program at Yellowstone National Park. His role? Fish. Fish, a lot!
Join us for Rich’s photo-essay telling of his amazing summer adventure gathering data on Yellowstone trout and trout waters.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Watermark Country Club, 5500 Cascade Road, SE, Grand Rapids, MI
Doors open at 5:30 p.m, dinner at 7:00 p.m.
Cost: $25.00, includes meal. Cash bar.
If you want to register now and pay later, email Don Messinger at dgmessinger@gmail.com
The 2012 banquet is going to be something really special, so come back here for more details as they develop. If you’d like to reserve your spot now, please use the Pay Pal form below to do so.
Date: Wednesday, March 22, 2012
Time: The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Stonewater Country Club, Caledonia (map)
Questions: call Jason Cook at 616-745-5951 or jacook@alro.com
Individual – $60
- 1 Dinner Ticket
- 1 Door Prize Ticket
- 1 $10 Raffle Ticket if rsvp by March 9
Individual Sponsorship – $250
- 1 Dinner Ticket
- 1 Door Prize Ticket
- $150 Raffle Tickets
- Program Recognition
- 1 Entry into Sponsor Raffle for Sam Lacina Commemorative Net
Five Person Table Sponsorship – $600
- 5 Dinner Tickets with Preferred Seating
- 5 Door Prize Tickets
- $300 Raffle Tickets
- Program Recognition
- 1 Entry into Sponsor Raffle for Sam Lacina Commemorative Net
Ten Person Table Sponsorship – $1,200
- 10 Dinner Tickets with Preferred Seating
- 10 Door Prize Tickets
- $600 in Raffle Tickets
- Fly Rod for your table to be raffled amongst your guests
- Program Recognition
- 1 Entry into Sponsor Raffle for Sam Lacina Commemorative Net
Dinner Choices
- Chicken Marsala
- Pot Roast
- Walleye
|
|
As part of the large in-stream Dolan property project in 2010, SWMTU is required to monitor the status of the project and report the findings. By following this link, you can read the 18-page report.
If you are interested in just the summary, here it is ….
The Dolan Habitat Improvement Project is a unique and innovative effort to restore coldwater habitat to a designated county drain. The project was designed to improve aquatic habitat, while having minimal impact on stream flow and drainage-related function. Thirty five log structures were constructed for this project.
Initial results are encouraging. The logs appear as though they are naturally occurring and have been in place for a long period of time. Water is free flowing through the project reach and, based on Year 1 monitoring results, there are no significant concerns for bank erosion or physical instability of the structures.
Trout populations were found to have increased by about 2.5 times in the first year of monitoring, with an increase in the amount of naturally reproduced fish. Several trout, many of them very large, were observed spawning within the project area during the first week of November, 2010. Macroinvertebrate scores increase by three points, and remain Excellent. A slight increase in physical habitat score is directly related to addition of log structures. Long-term results will dictate the overall success of the project on improving aquatic populations.
Continued project monitoring will be extremely useful for determining wise use of future funds. If the project is determined to be a success, several opportunities for similar projects exist in the area, and throughout the state. It is anticipated that the project will serve as an example of successful coldwater restoration in a designated county drain – two uses of a resource that have traditionally been conflicting.
Join SWMTU for the West Michigan premier of “Connect” — the third high-energy fly-fishing movie from Confluence Films.
The movie is set for Saturday, February 11 at the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids. Movie time begins at 2pm, doors open at 1pm. Get your tickets now from the Wealthy Theatre and save two bucks off the normal $12.
Want to know more? Watch the trailer here: http://www.confluencefilms.tv/index.php
Nicole DeMol wants to make us aware of a public comment on the Grand River Watershed DNR Assessment. She plans to go to the December 28 meeting. Comments will be received until January 15, 2012.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division has released for public comment a draft report details the physical and biological characteristics and proposed management actions that impact aquatic resources associated with the Grand River watershed.
To ensure that all those with interest have an opportunity to learn about the study and provide comments, public meetings will be held in Belmont at the Plainfield Charter Township Hall, 6161 Belmont Avenue on Wednesday, December 28 at 7:00 p.m.
A copy of the report and more information can be found at:
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10364_57228-266191–,00.html