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 project with major structures creating new habitat for trout. We anticipate this project starting in June and wrapping up in early July.
On May 15th the Coldwater River Watershed Council will host their annual clean-up day on the Coldwater River and Tyler Creek. Support will be provided by volunteers from Schrems WMTU and the Oak Brook Chapter of TU, The Michigan Nature Association with again conduct a Garlic Mustard plant pull (removal) with additional volunteers. Meet at Tyler Creek Golf Course, 13495 92nd Street, S.E. (M-50), Alto at 10:00 am for assignments. Lunch will be provided and we anticipate wrapping-up at 2:00 pm. Look forward to seeing you and please bring along a friend, your waders and gloves. For more information, or to sign up to volunteer, please contact Rich Steketee at [email protected]
Rogue River & Stegman Creek
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 he can effectively stage volunteers.
Schrems has teamed up with Josh Zuiderveen of Streamworks LLC and Timberland RC&D for two projects this summer on Stegman Creek. For those of you who are not familiar with Stegman, it is a coldwater tributary that dumps into the Rogue just north of the Boy Scout Camp. Stegman is a vital tributary that helps keep the Rogue cold enough in the summertime to sustain trout populations. If we want to keep the Rogue healthy, we have to take care of the coldwater tribs!
Project #1 – Stegman Creek at Northland Drive. Crossing under Northland Drive Stegman Creek runs too wide and shallow. We will be installing a boulder cross vain to neck down the stream channel. This will allow for sediment trapping on the edges of the stream and a deeper riffle pool running through the center. Tentatively this project is scheduled for July 10th, for more information or to volunteer to help please contact Stuart Decker at [email protected]
Project #2 – Bank stabilizations on Stegman Creek near Trestle Park. We will stabilizing and restoring two high sandy banks. This will involve some shoveling, woody debris placement and re-seeding. Tentatively scheduled for July 24th, for more information or to volunteer to help please contact Stuart Decker at [email protected]
Pigeon River
This summer Schrems will be working with Josh Zuiderveen on the Pigeon River in Ottawa County in Hemlock Crossing Park and possibly Pigeon Creek Park. Josh has gathered quite a bit of Money from Schrems, the Grand Haven Community Foundation and other personal donors to clean-up and perform habitat improvements/restoration on this river. For those of you who are not familiar with Pigeon River, it is a coldwater river that flows from central Ottawa County into Lake Michigan. This little river plays host to resident brown trout and gets a spring migration of Steelhead. Our project date for Pigeon is August 28, 2010. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Don Messinger at [email protected]
River Keepers Program
Many of you volunteered last year for our temperature logging program. Last season we installed 16 temperature loggers on six area streams and rivers. This summer we will be expanding our River Keepers program to include habitat mapping and macro-invertebrate studies. We will be installing temp loggers this year on May 8th. Later this summer we will be training volunteers for habitat mapping, and in September we will train willing volunteers for macro-invertebrate studies. This is a fun way to get out and learn more about our West Michigan streams and we encourage you to volunteer. For more information, or to volunteer for one or any of the River Keepers programs, please contact Jim Flamming at [email protected]
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