Michigan TU Chapter Updates

by Joe Barker

Fred Waara Chapter

The Fred Waara Chapter continues to impact Upper Peninsula watersheds, trout, and people positively through numerous collaborations. In addition to the Iron County projects detailed in the summer 2020 issue of Michigan Trout, the Chapter is working on important projects throughout its large geographic footprint. With the Partners for Watershed Restoration (PWR), which includes the Copper Country Chapter and the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, several hundred trees were planted along the Pilgrim River and Lost Creek last October. The Pilgrim is one of the few coaster brook trout strongholds in the Upper Peninsula., and Lost Creek is a coldwater refuge tributary to Yellow Dog River. Through a $5000 grant from the Cleveland Cliffs Foundation, the group will continue tree planting initiatives (shown in the photo above) this fall. Several other PWR projects are also being planned. The Chapter also supports the Alger Conservation District in revamping the West Branch Whitefish River King Road crossing. Work includes pre and post-project macroinvertebrate sampling in addition to post-project plantings.

FWCTU provided educational activities at the Richmond Township Fishing Derby in mid-June. This event serves more than a hundred kids each summer. The Chapter acquired ten new sets of fly tying equipment through a Marquette Rotary Club grant, which will be used in a youth fly tying workshop at Northern Michigan University in June. In August, the Chapter will participate in an university information fair to promote the TU mission, the Chapter, and some great opportunities for NMU students to get involved.

Vanguard Chapter

It has been a long, tedious road through the COVID pandemic, but it looks like the Vanguard Chapter can see the light at the end of the tunnel. After almost a year and a half of no in-person meetings and social distancing, in May the Chapter had a scaled-down but in-person gathering at their annual fishing weekend at Au Sable Riverview Resort in Grayling. Participation was reduced, and there was only one shared meal, a Friday fish-fry held outside. Unfortunately, water temperatures were still in the low 50s, and the fish were still waking up from their winter slumber.

Early June brought another gathering for the Chapter at Rochester Municipal Park for a casting clinic with Dave Leonhard from Streamside Orvis in Traverse City. Dave never ceases to amaze with his casting and teaching ability. Members were able to correct any problems with their casts that developed over the last 18 months. Dave also provided an excellent overview of past, present, and possible future technologies employed in the hardware and techniques of fly fishing. Never one to disappoint, Dave encouraged everyone to get out and practice their skills on the rivers and streams of Michigan with their newly found tips to improve their game.

The Chapter is looking forward to returning to normal this summer with Paint Creek projects, including instream habitat improvement, constructing angler access points, and conducting fish surveys through electro-shocking with Michigan TU Aquatic Biologist Kristin Thomas.

Mason-Griffith Founders Chapter

Mason-Griffith Founders Chapter President Karen Harrison is known for being a can-do advocate who avoids the spotlight. But her accomplishments will get lots of attention on August 19. That’s when the Michigan Environmental Council is to present her with its Petoskey Prize for Environmental Leadership. Awarded annually, the Prize salutes a volunteer activist whose outstanding grassroots environmental leadership is marked by commitment, creativity, and courage. Those qualities certainly pertain to Harrison, according to a nomination submitted by MGFTU member Thomas Buhr. Over the last 18 years—the last eight of which include steering the Chapter— she has led numerous initiatives to preserve and promote the Au Sable River. They include shepherding a number of restoration projects, raising more than $1 million through grant writing and fundraising, energizing the Chapter, and organizing and participating in various related activities, ranging from fly-tying classes to cedar-tree plantings.

“I have yet to see a volunteer, or anyone for that matter, devote so much heart and soul to the protection, restoration, and stewardship of one of Michigan’s prized aquatic resources,” wrote retired Michigan DNR biologist Steve Sendek in a letter supporting Harrison’s nomination.

Harrison will receive the Petoskey Prize at MEC’s 23rd Annual Environmental Awards Celebration on the grounds of Gordon Hall in Dexter. It comes with a $5,000 gift to MGFTU. The event is open to all. Celebration sponsorships and admissions are now available. For information, visit MEC’s website (environmentalcouncil.org), email joe@ environmentalcouncil.org, or call 269-823-8722.

Ann Arbor Chapter

Now that a six-year study by the MDNR and AATU has concluded that Mill Creek in Dexter can sustain brown trout, and the MDNR has committed to annually stocking the lower creek through 2030, the Chapter has renewed its study of the upper stream. A group of volunteers is creating a comprehensive map to locate thermal refuges and potential spawning grounds. Hobo and Mayfly temperature loggers and drones for infrared thermal imaging will be used in the study. AATU teams will continue working to increase woody habitat, plant bushes and trees along the banks to increase shade while improving bank stabilization, and maintain several wader wash stations.

The Chapter supports three teachers and 75 fourth-grade students as they raise brown trout from eggs in their classrooms for release into Mill Creek and sponsors an additional high school in their Salmon in the Classroom program. AATU, Huron River Watershed Council volunteers, and MDNR Natural Rivers Staff, with help from Stihl Corporation and Boullion Sales, have developed and provided training in chainsaw operation, safety, and aquatic wood management for the Huron River watershed to provide access for anglers and kayakers on publicly accessible sections of the waterways and increase habitat for fish and aquatic insects.

AATU has scheduled its annual conservation banquet for October 14 at Barton Hills Country Club.

Leon P. Martuch Chapter

In May, a crew of Martuch Chapter members consisting of Bill Holler, Josh Jenkins, Tom Monto, John VanDalen, and Steve Wilkowski installed new temperature loggers at six sites on the Cedar River. The data from the loggers will help the Chapter and MDNR better understand the temperature variances on the river. Temperatures will be automatically taken every hour. The information can be downloaded to a smartphone directly using an application from Onset. This is a significant improvement over the old system that required the logger to be fit into a reader hooked to a computer then downloaded. Now, a person only needs to be within 150 meters of the logger with a smartphone and will be able to read the results and download the information.

Because of the ongoing COVID situation, in lieu of a banquet or auction, the LPMTU is requesting donations to specific projects to help it continue conservation and education work in 2021. For example, an $80 contribution will sponsor one foot of trout habitat on the North Branch of the Cedar River, where the Chapter maintains conservation rights on a three-quarter-mile length of the river in the 270-acre George Lane Preserve in Gladwin County. Lane was a founding member of LPMTU, who donated the land to the Chapter after his passing. A contribution of $50 will cover the annual running and maintenance costs of one of

Ann Arbor Chapter members removing woody debris on Mill Creek. Chapter’s nine local Salmon in the Classroom programs.

Copper Country Chapter

Last fall, the Copper Country Chapter collaborated with the Partners for Watershed Restoration, Sustainable Resources Institute, Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area, and Michigan Technological University to organize a tree planting event on the Pilgrim River. This riparian area has been taken over by invasive reed canary grass, which out-competes native vegetation, reducing bank stability and stream habitat complexity. Eighteen volunteers planted over 150 trees, and CCCTU volunteers are now working to continuously remove reed canary grass from around the planted trees to give them the best chance at becoming established. Additional locations will be planted this coming fall. The Chapter awarded three research grants to students at Upper Peninsula universities whose research is in line with the TU mission. Simon Freeman (LSSU) is studying larval lake whitefish, Craig Tangren (MTU) is evaluating sediment removal on the Salmon Trout River, and Dan Monhollon (NMU) is investigating fine-scale brook trout movement in the Rock River. Applicants submitted materials that were reviewed by the board for selection. These were the first competitive student research grants awarded by CCCTU, and the Chapter plans to make this an annual event. The Chapter purchased ten temperature loggers and deployed them in trout streams throughout the northwestern Upper Peninsula. Loggers will be deployed at these sites annually to generate a long-term stream temperature data set. This information will be interesting and important for prioritizing habitat restoration and protection efforts in the years to come.