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Meeting Minutes – December 14, 2011
Jan 10th
Meeting Attendees
Wayne Andrews, Leonard Gustin, Brandon Rasler, Mike Beachy, Bob Hagin, Bob Roth, Tom Cripe, Joseph King, Lee Troyer, Don Fiwek, Chris Miller, Court Walker, Guest: Mike Oesch
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the November meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
Mike was the only one that had been out since the last meeting. He reported catching 5 browns in a 3
hour trip.
Treasurer’s Report
Don reported a balance of $8,924.63.
Communication
The winter newsletter was sent out yesterday by Brandon.
CR 43 Project
Public notices will go out to landowners on Saturday, December 17th.
Indiana on the Fly
The date for the event in 2012 is Saturday, January 7th. Lee, Mike, Don and Bob Hagin plan to attend.
Indiana Gaming Commission
We have received our one-day license to hold our spring rafle.
Adopt-A-Trout
Mike announced that Adopt-A-Trout tickets are available for club members to sell.
Elkhart Conservation Club Brown Trout
Mike will try and schedule Ed Evans for a February or March meeting to present his vision where he
wants to take their brown trout stocking program.
Annual Spring Outing
The date for the 2012 event will be May 5th. We are still looking for a headliner, being either a speaker
or a demonstration.
Habitat Access Maintenance (HAM)
The smoked hams will be delivered to the landowners this Saturday.
Upper Midwest Trout Unlimited Regional Meeting
There has been no further communication on this proposed meeting.
Brown Trout Stocking Program
Mike will contact the Crystal Springs Hatchery the end of this month. They do their testing in January
and the results go in with their permit application.
Program
Dave Arrington made a presentation on the work his company has been doing on the Little Elkhart river
watershed. This is a program resulting from concerns about the water quality of the Great Lakes and
the drainage that comes into the Great Lakes from rivers and streams. Dave has been working with
grant monies available to reduce the amount of sediment, nitrates, E Coli and other harmful runoff
from entering the stream. He has worked with farmers to create vegetation along the waterways and
constructing alternatives to cattle being in the waterways. Results have shown that harmful effluents
have reduced dramatically including the reduction of hundreds of tons of silt yearly. He has been
working on this for eight years and Suggests another six years of work to be done.
Next Meeting – January 11, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
Winter 2012 Newsletter
Dec 14th
Catch up with what is going on with LECTU in the 2012-Winter newsletter.
Dave Arrington to Present at December Meeting
Nov 14th
Meeting Notice
Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited
Wednesday , December 14 at 7:00 P.M. at the Middlebury Public Library
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2tygvg
Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited
Wednesday , December 14 at 7:00 P.M. at the Middlebury Public Library
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2tygvg
At the December 14h chapter meeting Dave Arrington will speak to LECTU members. Dave is the President of LGL Natural Resource Associates and a senior wildlife ecologist. He is in charge of putting together a watershed management plan for the Little Elkhart River drainage system and then implementing best management practices. Please join us to hear an update on the progress of the Little Elkhart watershed.
Dave’s project started in 2005 with water quality testing and a land use inventory. Dave and his crew test the water quality in a variety of ways however it is the automated sampling machine that can give him data every two minutes and is recorded on a computer. The auto sampler is a very effective way to monitor the water quality and the changes it goes through during a high water event.
Dave explained that the major problem with the water quality of the Little Elkhart River is directly attributed to livestock and farming practices. The Little Elkhart River contains levels of phosphorous, nitrates and E-coli that are far above target levels. Manure run off during high water events confirms these findings.
Sediment levels in the Little Elkhart River elevate drastically during high water run off due to live stock having direct access to the river proper and the ditches that feed the river. The livestock will trample the banks causing erosion and sedimentation run off. This sedimentation of the river covers the rocks and gravel inhibiting bug life that are key to trout survival.
Dave has identified the major sources of these problems and is now in the restoration phase of the project. In his presentation Dave showed photographs of a barnyard before and after a restoration. The creek was fenced off 20 feet from the waters edge, preventing cattle direct access. Seasonal grasses were planted in the buffer to build up a natural filter between the pasture and the creek. A crossing was then constructed with fencing and lined with stones. Cattle do not like to stand on the stones and will prevent the livestock from standing directly in the water, as they often do in the heat of the summer. The stone prevents sediments from running into the creek during rains and keeps the banks intact on either side.
Dave has his work cut out for him. In the headwater area alone he has identified over fifteen miles of river and creek that will require fencing improvements like he outlined. Thanks to Dave and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of LaGrange and Elkhart Counties our home waters will see water quality improvements that will have a lasting effect.
Meeting Minutes – November 9, 2011
Nov 11th
Meeting Attendees
Mike Beachy, Don Fiwek, Leonard Gustin, Tom Cripe, Court Walker, Lee Troyer
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the October meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
Mike reported catching 14 browns in two trips in the well field area during October. Several browns were approximately 4 inches, indicating natural reproduction. Mike reported seeing a few redds where browns were spawning.
Treasurer’s Report
Don reported a balance of $8,915.01.
Accident Insurance
Mike stated that we received the accident insurance policy. The Secretary will keep it on file.
Communications
Mike would like to get the winter newsletter out in December. Items to include are as follows:
- Indiana on the Fly
- Tie-A-Thon – Beneficiary this year is Casting for Recovery
- Trout catch rate statistics – Maybe Brandon can put a report together
- The President’s letter is ready to go
- Brandon has an article about the Little Elkhart that could be included
- Lee will do the Featured Fly
- Court will do a write-up on the Hoosier River Watch project
- Adopt-A-Trout
Stream Improvement
The work that was completed from Tornado Bend past the C&R downstream boundary in the park is really turning out well. It has created holes with gravel bottoms and the structures are holding up well.
CR 43 Project
John Law informed us that we will need to get a permit from the DNR for the project. There is no hearing scheduled and it is our understanding that none will be necessary. Mike has the public notices prepared for delivery to the landowners. We will need to send a $200 check with the application once the public notices have been delivered.
Indiana on the Fly
The date for the event in 2012 is Saturday, January 7th. Thus far, Lee, Mike, Don and Leonard plan to attend. Lee is in the process of ordering hats to sell and also for the Spring Outing.
Indiana Gaming Commission
We do not need to re-qualify for a gaming permit to sell raffle tickets. The application is already sent in.
Adopt-A-Trout
The rod and reel for the raffle arrived. Mike printed 1,000 tickets. Members need to get out and sell the tickets.
Elkhart Conservation Club Brown Trout
The trout are scheduled to be released next week. It is anticipated that the Little Elkhart will get a substantial number. Ed Evans wants to discuss with us his ideas for their trout program. He mentioned keeping the trout for two years, thus raising substantially larger trout before they are released.
Annual Spring Outing
The date for the 2012 event will be May 5th. Mike has reserved the pavilion. We need to come up with a featured speaker for the event.
Middlebury Parks/Hoosier River Watch
Thanks to Court Walker and Brandon Rasler for assisting with testing on the Little Elkhart. Court reported that he does not have the results yet from Tom Enright.
Habitat Access Maintenance (HAM)
We will again be giving out smoked hams to the Little Elkhart landowners. Lee will get the hams from Old Hoosier Meats and Lee and Mike will distribute them as follows: Schwartz 3, Yoder 1, Oesch 1, Hoover 1 and Adam 1. These are approximately 5 lb hams that will run approximately $230.
Trout Unlimited Resolution
Mike reported in our October meeting that TU passed a resolution that TU Chapters are not to participate in hatchery trout stocking of non-native species in waters that hold native populations of trout. Apparently this has generated quite a bit of controversy within TU. However, it does not affect our chapter as our waters are not home to native trout populations.
December Meeting Program
Dave Arrington will be the speaker at our December meeting.
New Business
- TU 2012 Film Tour – Mike received communication about the TU 2012 Film Tour. The club would have to pay $800 but TU would do the advertising. This probably needs to be hosted in a larger metropolitan area than we have available to our chapter.
- Regional TU Meeting – There is an effort to organize an Upper Midwest Regional TU Meeting. There will be further details coming.
- GLC/FFF Fly Tying Expo – This will be held at Holt High School on December 3. Lee and Mike plan to attend.
Next Meeting – December 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
Meeting Minutes – October 12, 2011
Oct 17th
Meeting Attendees
Mike Beachy, Don Fiwek, Leonard Gustin, Brandon Rasler, Carlisle Roose, Lee Troyer, Court Walker, Joseph King, Jim Phillips
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the September meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
Mike reported catching 12 browns on three different trips during late September and early October. The Pine Cone fly worked well. Lee hooked two kings and his wife hooked one at Leper Park on October 6th.
Treasurer’s Report
Don reported a balance of $9,599.20. We netted $1,523.77 during our fiscal year. Mike gave Don an invoice for $110 for our accident insurance.
Communications
The fall newsletter went out.
Habitat Project
Work was completed from Tornado Bend past the C&R downstream boundary in the park.
CR 43 Project
All paperwork has been submitted by John Law. John tells us that there is a chance that we will not even need a permit because it is not a major project. We are waiting that determination.
Indiana on the Fly
The date for the event in 2012 is Saturday, January 7th. Our registration and fee has been sent in and accepted. LECTU is on the show poster. There was a discussion as to whether we should sell hats at the show. Mike said we only have 4 in inventory. Lee will order a dozen hats. The preferred color is olive or beige, preferably with the underside of the bill being black to enhance visibility. Don suggested that we try and get a higher quality hat this time. There is no need to order any more T-shirts.
Indiana Gaming Commission
The qualification application has been sent in. We need to allow 8 weeks for the process. Once qualified, Mike will fill out the application and send a check.
Adopt-A-Trout
Mike reported that the Hardy reel has been received to go with the Winston WT 9’ 5 wt rod.
Annual Spring Outing
The date for the 2012 event will be May 5th. The date was needed so that we can put it on the Adopt-A-Trout tickets.
Middlebury Parks/Hoosier River Watch
This is a structured program to measure and monitor water quality and bug life on streams. LECTU volunteers (Court Walker and Brandon Rasler) participated with the first sampling on October 6th. Tom Enright will share the findings with LECTU. The program calls for a minimum of 8 assessments in 24 months but Tom Enright wants to do it more frequently.
Trout Unlimited Resolution
TU passed a resolution that TU Chapters are not to participate in hatchery trout stocking of non-native species in waters that hold native populations of trout. This does not affect the Little Elkhart as trout are not native in the Little Elkhart.
Trout Stocking
Crystal Springs hatchery has been cleared by the State of Indiana to bring trout into the state for 2012. Mike reported that they will not have the 7 – 9” browns available as they are that size already. However, the trout will be less expensive than those we purchased from Cedar Brook. Last year we spent $2,000 for the browns. The browns from Crystal Springs will cost $2.50 each with the transportation cost of between $150 and $300, depending if we can share costs. Lee moved we get our browns this year from Crystal Springs. Past experience is that they supply a higher quality product. Motion was seconded by Don. The motion was passed.
Christmas Habitat Support Project
Don moved that we continue the project of buying hams for the landowners that allow us access to the Little Elkhart. Lee seconded the motion. The motion passed.
Valparaiso University Lecture Series
Valparaiso University is conducting a series of lectures on Healthy Rivers. Mike passed out a flyer with the dates and speakers.
New Business
Lee suggested that we try again to get Dave Arrington to put on a program for LECTU this fall. Mike will try and contact him.
Next Meeting – November 9, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
Meeting Minutes – September 14, 2011
Oct 4th
Meeting Attendees
Mike Beachy,Don Fiwek, Leonard Gustin, Bob Hagin, Bill Myers, Penny Myers, Brandon Rasler, Carlisle Roose, Lee Troyer, Court Walker, Tim Magnuson, Joseph King
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the August meeting were approved as amended.
Fishing Reports
Mike reported catching 4 browns and 1 rainbow on August 16. He used a size 16 Madam X. He also caught 6 rainbows on September 1 at SR 120 at Bristol.
Leonard caught some brookies on the Black River up to 12+ inches.
Bill and Penny Myers did well on their western trip.
Don Fiewk fished the Eagle River at Avon Park in Colorado.
Treasurer’s Report
Don reported a balance of $9,749.64.
By-Laws
Don did some work on our by-laws in response to the Trout Unlimited initiative and presented the revised by-laws for approval. Lee suggested that instead of eliminating written approval of expenditures of $200 or more that we include approval of $200 or more and that email approval by the President is sufficient. Don made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Leonard. It motion was approved.
Communications
Brandon will prepare and send the fall newsletter shortly. Mike will submit the featured fly as well as a write-up on stream work, Riverfest , Youth fishing and the President’s message. Court will do a write-up on the beginning fly fishing class.
Habitat Project
There is a work day this Saturday which will be our last work day of the year. We will start at Spring Street and work downstream to the steel bridge. Workers are to meet at Riverbend Park at 8:00 AM.
CR 43 Project
Mike has been working with John Law on the planning for improving the stretch downstream from the CR 43 bridge. John Law has experience in laying out this type of project and the permitting process. John has written up the various documents required for the permits, etc. Landowners will also need to be contacted about the proposed project. The permit fee is $200. However, there is the chance that the regulatory agencies may give approval after an on-site walk-thru of the proposed project. After approval, we have two years to get the project started.
Beginning Fly Fishing Class
A beginning fly fishing class was conducted by Charlie Ray on August 27th. The participants reported that it was well done and that they learned a lot. The only snafu was that another group had rented the pavilion at Riverbend Park. There is interest in repeating this class next year. We will need to make sure that we reserve the pavilion.
Casting for Recovery
Penny thanked the club for their donation. Penny stated that there were 120 women applied for this year’s retreat. There is only space for 14 women to attend.
Indiana on the Fly
The date for the event in 2012 is Saturday, January 7th. Mike Beachy will get us registered for the event. He has the application ready to send in.
Indiana Gaming Commission
The qualification application is ready to send in. Mike will take care of this.
Adopt-A-Trout
After discussion, it was decided that we will get a Winston 9’ 5 wt rod along with a Hardy reel for this year’s raffle.
GLC of FFF
This was brought up at our August meeting and tabled until our September meeting for action. It was decided that we not contribute to the Au Sable and Manistee River studies at this time.
Clean Air Defense Letter
Mike received a letter from G. Richard Mode of the National Wildlife Federation soliciting supporting signatures to defend the continuation of the Clean Air Act. The letter stated that there are initiatives in government to eliminate all or portions of the act. The club decided to take no action at this time.
Officer Elections
The following slate of officers was presented:
President – Mike Beachy
Vice President – Leonard Gustin
Secretary – Lee Troyer
Treasurer – Don Fiwek
Board of Director (3yr) – Court Walker
Leonard moved to adopt the slate as presented. Bill seconded. Motion was passed.
Wayne Andrews will have 1 more year as a director. Bob Roth will have 2 more years as a director.
Trout Stocking
It was decided that we will continue to stock 7 – 9” browns going forward for the foreseeable future. Stocking the same size each year will give us a better baseline for determining growth rates and survival rates.
Next Meeting – October 12, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
September Meeting
Sep 13th
Meeting Notice
Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited
Wednesday , September 14 at 7:00 P.M. at the Middlebury Public Library
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2tygvg
Stream Cleanup
LECTU has scheduled Stream Cleanup work days this summer. Our goal is to move log jams out of the main channel of the river to keep the water moving and cool. This provides better habitat for the trout that we are trying to protect. The more volunteers we get the more we can accomplish. I would like to start to spread out and tackle areas outside the catch and release section in the coming years. We need help in identifying problem areas, securing permission from property owners and volunteers to work on improvement projects. If we continue to work as a team I believe we can accomplish a lot. Please consider volunteering some of your time this summer to help LECTU make a difference for the river and for the trout.
Saturday September 17th
Stream Cleanup – 8:00am Riverbend Park Map
We will be working in the river. Bring your waders, water, gloves, garden rake, bug spray and long sleeves.
Stream Cleanup – 8:00am Riverbend Park Map
We will be working in the river. Bring your waders, water, gloves, garden rake, bug spray and long sleeves.
Catch Report
Don’t forget to report your catch at lectu.org
© 2010 Little Elkhart Chapter Trout Unlimited http://www.lectu.org
17585 Ireland Road
South Bend, IN 46614
Meeting Minutes – August 10, 2011
Sep 12th
Meeting Attendees
Wayne Andrews, Mike Beachy, Tom Cripe, Leonard Gustin, Brandon Rasler, Carlisle Roose, Lee Troyer, Court Walker
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the July meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
Tom Cripe reported catching a 15” rainbow at Tornado Bend on June 22nd.
Mike B. caught 4 browns and 2 rainbows on July 29 downstream from Chris Miller’s place.
July 31, Mike caught 1 rainbow on the Rowe Eden and 4 browns and 2 rainbows on the Little Elkhart.
Mile and Chris spoke with a bait fisherman at CR 35 who said he had just caught and killed his 163rd
trout of the season.
Fish Shocking
Daragh Deegan did some shocking on the Little Elkhart upstream of SR 120. That resulted in 2 browns
from 10” – 12” and 6 rainbows ranging from 11 1/2 “ to 14+”.
Treasurer’s Report
There was no Treasurer’s report as Don Fiwek was not in attendance.
Communications
It was decided that we publish a fall newsletter in late September, prior to the deer hunting season.
There is a lot of deer hunting that takes place along the Little Elkhart corridor and anglers need to be
reminded to be cautious.
Beginning Fly Casting Class
A beginner fly fishing class will be held on August 27th and will be limited to 5 participants. Charlie Ray
will be the instructor. Cost will be $10. It will start at 9:00 AM and end at 11:00 AM. We still have room
for one more participant.
River Fest Report
LECTU participated with the Middlebury Parks Dept in the planning and running of the Middlebury River
Fest held on July 16th. It was estimated that 250 people attended. LECTU had a booth, demonstrated
fly tying and also fly casting. While LECTU did not have a lot of traffic, we did make several worthwhile
contacts. In addition, it was a good community program for our club to support.
Youth Fishing Derby
Middlebury is having their Youth Fishing Derby at the Essebhaus ponds on Saturday, August 13th from 9
– 11AM. Our club has helped in the past and we will help again this year. Court, Brandon, Mike and Lee
will help to measure and count fish. Volunteers are to be there at 8:30 AM.
River Work Days
We have had 3 work days thus far. In previous work days, we cleaned out from Tornado Bend to
Rassler’s Run. Last Saturday, we removed tree tops and built wing dams below Rassler’s Run. We will
have a work day on September 17 and the goal will be to complete the work to the steel bridge.
Indiana on the Fly
The date for the event in 2012 is Saturday, January 7th. Mike Beachy will get us registered for the event.
Indiana Gaming Commission
The Indiana Gaming Commission is having a seminar on gaming permits in South Bend on August 26th
from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM on the process of gaming permits. We applied and received a gaming permit
for our raffle for this year’s spring outing.
Stream Improvement Planning
Mike Beachy and John Law of the SJRVFF did a walk through from CR 43 to the Schwartz’s property. A
large extent of this stretch is loaded with sand with very little habitat. John suggested that our best
approach in improving the habitat in this stretch is to cut some trees that are leaning over the river in
such a way that it will push water to the other side to create holes for habitat. In addition, rocks placed
along the banks would protect and stabilize the banks. This work would be done in concert with the
landowner. John will write up his plans and work on getting the required permits.
GLC of FFF
The Great Lakes Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers is conducting a study on the effects on pre-
fracking on the Au Sable and Manistee rivers. They are raising funds for this. Lee suggested that
possibly LECTU would do a matching fund deal up to a certain pre-defined limit. This will be tabled until
the next meeting when our Treasurer will be in attendance.
Correspondence
John Legg of Fort Wayne inquired about fishing the Little Elkhart. Mike Beachy responded by giving him
some guidance.
Officer Elections
The officer elections for LECTU will be held at the September meeting. Jim Phillips term as a director will
be up and will be replaced by a director for a 3 year term. Court Walker has announced that he will run
for that position.
Trout Stocking
There was considerable discussion about our trout stocking plans for 2012. The discussion centered
around whether we should stock larger browns or smaller browns. Leonard suggested that this would
be a good time to determine as a club what our long term stocking goals should be and what we are
trying to achieve long term.
Next Meeting
September 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
An Open Letter from the Anglers of the AuSable
Jul 20th
July 20, 2011
Dear Fly Fishing Club Leader,
By working together, the Michigan fly fishing community has an opportunity to better understand some of our most prized rivers and stay in front of emerging threats to coldwater streams and trout populations. We are writing to ask for your financial assistance to fund a major, two year study of temperatures, flow rates and water chemistry on the Upper Manistee and Au Sable Rivers and their tributaries.
In June, the Anglers of the Au Sable board of directors approved a major investment in water quality monitoring on the Au Sable and Upper Manistee rivers. This two-year project will help scientists, regulators and anglers clearly document the state of our rivers today – at the dawn of a potential boom in new and intensive oil and gas development in northern Michigan. This research, performed by some of the top geologists in state, will also provide DNR fisheries biologists with a wealth of new data to better understand and improve our coldwater fisheries – even in the face of deep budget cuts within the department.
To pull this off, we could really use your help.
Fracking Controversy Nationwide
Over the past year, the Anglers of the Au Sable have worked to gain a better understanding of “fracking” – a controversial method of extracting natural gas from deep reserves previously unreachable by traditional drilling methods. For more information about some of these critical issues read Riverwatch Issue 60 on our website, ausableanglers.org.
In short, hydraulically fractured gas wells are the subject of numerous conservation and public health debates across the country. Fluids used to extract shale gas from deep formations contain toxic chemicals; the ensuing migration of methane gas through rock fissures is suspected for outbreaks of contaminated drinking wells; and isolated cases of fluid spills have directly contaminated rivers.
The state of New York imposed a temporary moratorium on fracking in 2010. The state of Arkansas imposed a moratorium earlier this year after numerous earthquakes raised concerns that the fracking of deep shale wells was causing abnormal seismic activity. And in April 2011, Chesapeake Energy — one of the nation’s largest producers of natural gas — temporarily halted
all fracking operations in Pennsylvania after one of its deep shale wells suffered a spill that polluted a nearby stream. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a comprehensive study of the environmental impact of fracking. That study may not be completed until at least 2012.
New Urgency in Michigan
In Michigan, one of the most acute concerns with fracking is large-scale withdrawal of groundwater. The Au Sable and Manistee rivers rely on groundwater for their consistent, cold-water flows. It takes five million gallons or more of groundwater to drill a “fracked” gas well. That’s 100 times more water than each of the traditional Antrim Shale wells that have dotted the northern Michigan landscape over the past 50 years. And, this withdrawal takes place “up front” during the process, so while the effects may be temporary, they may be severe when the withdrawal is taking place.
As of early May, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality had issued 18 permits to drill hydraulically fracked wells for natural gas in the Utica-Collingwood formation in northern Michigan. Another 12 permit applications were pending. One of those wells was within a couple miles of the headwaters of the Manistee River.
The upper Au Sable River and Upper Manistee watersheds sit atop some of Michigan’s thickest deposits of Utica-Collingwood shale, and the watersheds may see considerable fracking-related development in future years. In two auction cycles in 2010, oil and gas companies paid nearly $200 million for state-owned mineral leases on more than 120,000 acres across northern Michigan. That sum equaled the total lease revenue to the state over the past eight decades. In October 2010, for example, one firm spent $1 million to acquire drilling rights on more than 33,000 acres within the Au Sable watershed near Grayling. Because shale gas in the Utica-Collingwood formation is found at a depth of 10,000 feet, all of the wells drilled into that layer of gas will use the fracking technique.
Our Answer: Document River Conditions Now
The long-term potential impacts of additional development, including fracking, on cold water trout fisheries are largely unknown.
At our June board meeting, Anglers approved Part 1 of a comprehensive, two-year water quality monitoring study on the Au Sable and the Upper Manistee. Conducted by Dr. David Hyndman, the chair of the geology department at Michigan State University, this study will place advanced temperature and flow gauges at 40 locations on those two rivers. The result will be a detailed portrait of river conditions before any fracking rush is fully underway. If fracking takes off and river flows are impacted, we seek to have clear evidence to urge regulators and industry to prevent any degradation of our world-class fisheries.
In addition, regarding Part 2 of the study, we are in the planning stages of a water chemistry study of the same waters. If finances permit, this will take place over the same period of time. Patterned after similar work in Pennsylvania, the chemical analysis will allow us to detect potential future chemical impacts in the rivers from fracking.
We Need Your Help to Keep Watch Over Rivers
The Au Sable-Manistee monitoring study is patterned after a similar approach led by local Trout Unlimited chapters in Pennsylvania, where the fracking controversy is in full bloom. In Michigan, our monitoring techniques are scalable, meaning we can eventually add detailed chemical analysis and more river systems to the project if additional funds are available. We plan to share all data with state biologists to enhance further understanding of the fisheries.
None of this is cheap. The cost of Part 1, the Au Sable-Manistee temperature and flow study, is $96,000. That’s a huge expense for any nonprofit. But we view it as crucial. An investment of up to $5,000 from your Club would go a long way to help the Anglers cover these significant river protection expenses.
We welcome your feedback on this project and the rest of Anglers’ ongoing conservation work.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Tom Baird
Vice President – Anglers of the Au Sable
Chairman – Anglers of the Au Sable Oil & Gas Committee
Terry Lyons
Chairman -Anglers of the AuSable Resource Agency Committee
VP Conservation, GLC, FFF
