Conservation Resource Alliance

Transcription

1 Conservation Resource Alliance FALL/WINTER 2014 From No Trespassing to a Red Carpet Welcome Custer Weir Now Open If you visited the Custer Weir, just south of US 10, earlier this year, you would have been greeted by no trespassing signs, tall fences and rusting equipment. It was a foreboding and potentially dangerous site. Now, as a result of two very special grants, CRA and partners removed the declining buildings and defunct lamprey barrier to create a new, inviting, all access site to the Pere Marquette River. The new and improved site is the first and only universally designed fishing platforms and related amenities, including a bathroom facility, docking cleats, educational signage, river access steps, additional parking and a new boardwalk to safely connect the fishing platforms to the boat launch, on the Pere Marquette River. Watch for a spring ribbon cutting at the site to celebrate this great project. Details coming soon! Special thanks to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and Great Lakes Fishery Trust for leading the project funding. Also, big thanks to Custer Township, Mason-Lake Conservation District, Michigan DEQ, Michigan DNR, Natural Resources Conservation Service, OxyChem, Pere Marquette Watershed Council, Spicer Group, U.S. Forest Service, Swidorski Brothers Excavating and the Village of Custer for their efforts. New fishing platforms and updated features make Custer Weir the ideal place to enjoy the Pere Marquette.

2 About CRA Amy Beyer Director Sue Antaya Accounting Kimberly Balke Biologist Brandon Glowacki Field Technician Chris Pierce Biologist Casey Ressl Annual Gifts Coordinator Jill Rowley Administrative Assistant Matt Thomas Development Coordinator Diane VanderVeen Contracted Chief Financial Officer Nate Winkler Biologist In 1968, Conservation Resource Alliance was established with one goal to preserve and protect northern Michigan s waterways, wildlife, and forests for future generations. CRA is a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Through our River Care and Wild Link programs, we restore and protect over 700 miles of rivers, 5,000 miles of tributaries and diverse forests throughout 4 million acres in 15 counties of Northern Michigan. We ve been able to care for this region s natural resources because our partners and supporters continue to be the backbone of our organization. Thank you to all of our members for supporting hands-on feetwet conservation. If you haven t donated, please join us as a supporting member. Your commitment is critical to keep this important work moving forward. Staff Updates We are pleased to announce Brandon Glowacki will be staying on with CRA. Brandon is a native of Traverse City and started in May as one of our interns. As a graduate of Central Michigan University with a degree in Environmental & Land Use Planning, Brandon has a strong background in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and we re eager to put him to work on our private landowner programs and watershed management efforts. Thank you Mary Applegate for serving over 900 hours at CRA this year! Mary joined our team through the Huron Pines AmeriCorps program for six months. While serving as a restoration technician, she inventoried hundreds of road/stream crossings throughout northern Michigan as well as participated in a variety of environmental education events and hands-on restoration activities. Mary s service allowed us to complete important projects and offer environmental education services we wouldn t otherwise be able to do. Save the Date The Boathouse Wild Game Wine Dinner The Boathouse restaurant on Old Mission Peninsula is hosting a Michigan Wild Game Wine Dinner on Saturday, February 7 and will donate $10 from each meal to CRA. The cost is $65 per person and the event will feature wine pairings for each course from Bowers Harbor Vineyard, oils and vinegars from Fustini s, and venison from the Michigan Venison Company. We would love to fill the restaurant with CRA friends, so please consider sharing this opportunity with anyone you know that might be interested in great dining for a great cause. Please make your reservations directly with The Boathouse by calling

3 The Boardman: A River Reborn Update Work to restore the Boardman River is rounding the next bend as the phase to remove Boardman Dam comes into focus. CRA and the many partners that keep this project moving forward are pleased to report several important milestones and exciting plans ahead. This fall, the City of Traverse City and the Implementation Team accepted a settlement agreement with respect to the October 6, 2012 dewatering incident during the removal of the Brown Bridge Dam. The total settlement award was $300,000 to be paid by the contractor s insurer. This amount includes a sum of $180,000 for monitoring and habitat work in the river. CRA also announced several major funding awards including $1.5 million through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation s Sustain Our Great Lakes Program, $25,000 from Rotary Charities, $400,000 from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, $100,000 from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service s Great Lakes Basin Fish Habitat Partnership and $500,000 from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service s Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Engineers collect geotechnical data for the dam removal and Restoration Act. Cass Road Bridge designs. Next year will bring changes at Cass Road Bridge and Boardman Dam. Construction of the new bridge will take place first, potentially beginning in 2015, with removal of the dam to follow. The team is actively working to raise the balance of funding, including important match dollars for the recent grant awards. Thank you for your continued support and interest in this exciting project, and don t hesitate to call us if you have questions! Protecting Beaver Island s Biodiversity Defending Beaver Island s diverse native flora and fauna from invasive species is paramount to the island s future. That s why CRA and partners recently concluded treatment of several invasive plants including phragmites, reed canary grass, firstyear marsh thistle, autumn olive, honeysuckle, multiflora rose and oriental bittersweet. The work was concentrated on the island s Great Lakes shoreline as well as inland properties. Invasive phragmites treatment totaled over six acres around the island s entire shoreline. Areas of native phragmites were also noted and left to grow. CRA and partners will be back in the spring to treat spotted knapweed, sweet clover and bladder campion as well as another round of fall treatment. Special thanks to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Sustain Our Great Lakes program for providing critical funding for this project and thank you to our project partners including Beaver Island Association, Central Michigan University, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Little Traverse Conservancy, Michigan DNR, Peaine own backyard! AmeriCorps member Mary Applegate and Township, The Nature Conservancy and Wildlife Annual Gifts Coordinator Casey Ressl pulled over 100 purple and Wetlands Solutions. loosestrife plants from the banks of Kids Creek. CRA noticed we had an invasive species problem right in our

4 Timber Bridges and Healthy Rivers CRA completes up to a dozen road/stream crossing projects every year. These projects involve removing undersized and aging culverts and replacing them with structures that reduce the impact on the water, fish and wildlife moving beneath them. Many of the crossings we work on are refitted with timber bridges. As a building material, wood is abundant, versatile and a renewable resource. Timber bridges are strong, relatively lightweight and can easily last 50 years or more. And, they re picturesque! We celebrated two great timber bridge projects this fall. The first was on Springbrook Road where it crosses the North Branch of the Boyne River. This bridge was installed in 2012 to replace two perched culverts that were severely degrading the Boyne River Watershed. The second was on Ely Bridge Road where it crosses the Maple River. The Maple River Watershed has a number of crossings we ve inventoried, ranked and are tackling on a prioritized basis the goal in this watershed is 100% connectivity. Thanks to all who joined us and all the great partners in these watersheds! Support for Jordan River Bridge CRA is pleased to announce several big steps forward toward funding a bridge project over the Jordan River. Recent awards include $50,000 from the Charlevoix County Community Foundation, $100,000 from the Frey Foundation and $150,000 from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation. Known locally as Chestonia Bridge, two 16 wide culverts currently sit where Old State Road crosses the Jordan River (Antrim County). These culverts along with eroding streambanks and worn access trails are causing unnatural stream changes and speed up stream flow to the point where some fish and other aquatic species cannot get upstream. As a popular canoe and kayak launch, this site has a high recreational value as well. Both the health of the river and making this a safe, accessible site for recreationists are top priorities. Thank you to the Charlevoix County Community Foundation and the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act for seed funding for this project. We re eager to start stacking more support with these new private funds to reach the $1 million goal needed for this site. Want to help? Contact CRA to support projects like the Old State Road crossing that benefit the water and people of northern Michigan.

5 Leelanau County Lake Michigan 1 2 Benzie County Grand Traverse County Frankfort 22 Crystal Lake 115 Betsie Lake Otter Creek Platte Lake 31 4 B 3 5 Honor A Platte River C 9 Lake Ann 8 31 Green Lake Long Lake Duck Lake 22 Benzie County Manistee County 115 D E 15 F 14 Dair Creek Betsie River Little Betsie River Wexford County Benzie County Michigan Otter Creek Watershed Platte River Watershed Betsie River Watershed The Big Picture in Benzie County Since 2008, CRA and partners have poured efforts into the Betsie River, Platte River and Otter Creek. These watersheds course through large tracts of public land and are popular for just about every outdoor sport. Our approach for restoration work has been one of packaging multiple projects into larger phases of funding and labor. In doing so, we save capital resources and time while seeing real change on a watershed-wide scale. Over the last six years, we ve implemented three major phases of work in Benzie County. This is the first time we ve condensed all these projects onto one map. CRA is proud to say this is some of the most effective work we ve ever done in terms of having a high impact on our water and getting the most out of every dollar. You can see for yourself just how much work we ve completed in these gorgeous rivers. Please visit our website for more detailed information on each site. Completed Projects 1. Otter Creek Timber Bridge 2. Otter Creek Grand Traverse Band Brook Trout Study 3. Brozofsky Creek & Platte Road Culvert Replacement 4. Tamarack Trout Farm Restoration 5. Platte River & South Street Stabilization 6. Platte River & Burnt Mill Road Timber Bridge 7. Platte River & Burnt Mill Road Instream Habitat 8. Platte River & Reynolds Road Timber Bridge 9. Stanley Creek & Hulbert Road Culvert Replacement 10. Kinney Creek & Stanley Road Culvert Replacement 11. Dair Creek Recovery including Dam Removal & Culvert Replacements, and Betsie River Stabilization & Instream Habitat 12. Dair Creek & Landis Road Culvert Replacement 13. Misty Acres Dam Removal, Road Crossing Removal, Instream Habitat & Streambank Stabilization 14. Betsie River & Aiken Road Instream Habitat 15. Betsie Day Use Facility Stabilization 16. Betsie River & King Road Improvements 17. Little Betsie & Nessen Road Timber Bridge Upcoming Projects A. North Branch Platte River Culvert Removals (2) B. North Branch Platte River & Gudemoos Rd Culvert Replacement & Stabilization C. Woodcock Creek & Burnt Mill Road Timber Bridge D. Dair Creek Instream Habitat E. Red Creek & Haze Rd Culvert Replacement, Stabilization & Instream Habitat F. Betsie Streambank Stabilization & Instream Habitat

6 Flowing Well Celebration Over 30 friends and partners joined us at Flowing Well this August to celebrate one of our largest restoration projects. The former hatchery on the North Branch of the Manistee River and Flowing Well Creek contained 12 small dams and a host of environmental concerns. Over the last several years, we ve reconnected 37 river miles, improved 100 acres of wetland habitat and restored 150 acres of riparian habitat. We also partnered with neighboring landowners to protect adjacent lands. Brandon Fewins, N. Michigan Regional Manager for U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, commented, It s inspiring to witness private, public and nonprofit entities come together and make projects like this be successful. Flowing Well is a great example of how to collaborate and leverage programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to have a big impact in Michigan. Thank you to everyone who came and all the great partners that made this project a success. For all the details on Flowing Well, check out the project summary online. To request a copy, please contact us at Thank you Patagonia and Ann Arbor Bivouac Big thanks to Patagonia and Ann Arbor Bivouac for hosting a screening of the film DamNation. Proceeds from the screening benefited CRA. Patagonia s Environmental Programs Department also awarded CRA $1,500 through a conservation grant in partnership with Patagonia s wholesale grants program. If you haven t seen DamNation, be sure to check it out it s now available on Netflix. It is a powerful film exploring the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. The film s majestic cinematography and unexpected discoveries move through rivers and landscapes altered by dams, but also through a metamorphosis in values, from conquest of the natural world to knowing ourselves as part of nature. Our annual campaign is underway and it s easy to jump on board. Some of you already have Thank you! The rest of us can beat the year end clock by making a donation online, by phone, in person, or with the return envelope that you recently received in your mailbox. If your employer or company offers a matching program, please take advantage of that perk and let them be part of the effort as well. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

7 Thank You for Your Recent Support of CRA, River Care TM and Wild Link TM Bivouac Ann Arbor Crystal Lake Watershed Association Elliott Donnelley Chapter of Trout Unlimited Fischer Insurance Agency Great Lakes Fishery Trust, Inc. Henry E. & Consuelo S. Wenger Foundation Huron Pines Jenifer Thomas Design & Illustration Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Muskegon River Watershed Assembly National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Inc. Patagonia Jim Bedford Theodore & Judith Bernhard Chuck & Amy Beyer Paul & Maude Bigford Eric G. Carpenter Bob Carstens Yvon Chouinard James W. Coursey Denny & Vickie Douglas Pete & Anne Eardley Mark Elliott & Heather Kingham Nick & Cindy Fant Barbara Fessell Bob & Marlene Flannery Robert Garner Frederick & Patricia Lawless Greg & Suzanne Lonnee Edson D. MacDonald Scott & Barb Myckowiak John Nuske Gary Pomeroy Annis Pratt Leonard Rossa Tom Rozich Jacob Snider Armas & Rose Soorus Matt & Jenny Thomas John & Diane VanderVeen Maurice White Eddy Williams Petoskey Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation Rotary Charities Traverse City Products, Inc. Trout & Salmon Foundation US Army Corps of Engineers US Fish & Wildlife Service Wayne Andersen Bill & Sue Arnold John & Lois Gorys Ken Gum M.D. Richard & Barbara Hansen Jim Holzbach Dan & Barb Hubbell Charles Kehr Patrick & Mary Kelly Greg & Audrey Landsfeld Tad R. Lane Charles Wilson Brian & Vicki Woolcock Dennis Wyckoff In honor of Nate Winkler Mary Lee Orr Welcome New Members! Larry & Nancy Bordine David & Ann Irish Mark Pickett Yes! I Want to Support CRA and Practical Conservation! Enclosed is my CRA Membership contribution: Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Phone: Supporter $100 $50 $35 Leader $500 $250 Patron $5000 $1000 Sm Business $100 Lg Business $500 Other $ My employer will match (send forms) I wish my support to be anonymous Memorial, honorarium or gift membership Your donation is tax-deductible. Please Charge My Credit Card VISA MASTERCARD Card No.: Expiration Date: Signature: Credit card payments are also accepted online at: Make all checks payable to: Conservation Resource Alliance Traverse Highway, Suite 1180 Traverse City, MI Thank you!

8 FALL/WINTER 2014 Conservation Resource Alliance Traverse Hwy Suite 1180 Traverse City, MI Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Petoskey, MI Permit No Stewardship Spotlight Fischer Insurance Agency Understanding the needs of northern Michigan businesses, organizations and individuals is important for any insurance agency. Providing the excellent service, advice and the most appropriate coverage for every situation is a lofty goal to reach for. For the Fischer Insurance Agency, it s about more than these high benchmarks of success. This family owned and operated company is vested in their customer s satisfaction, seeking solutions that do more than simply reduce risk and anticipate the unforeseen situations that can impact their lives and businesses. Their 45 years and three generations of family involvement means they re in it for the long term and are dedicated to one goal: To make their customers the most important member of their family. As an insurance agent for CRA, the Fischer Team has come to understand the unique needs associated with a non-profit organization that coordinates large-scale conservation projects with dozens of diverse partners throughout the region. They also share a passion for the high quality resources that we are so dedicated to caring for. Supporting CRA s work, participating in project site tours and celebrations, is how the Fischer crew demonstrates that business is more than just business. Thank you to the Fischer Insurance Agency for all the personal and professional service provided to CRA while together we care for northern Michigan s resources! Learn more at or contact them at Printed on eco-friendly tree free paper.