Meeting begins at 1:05 PM. 1. Maple River Updates-

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1 Location: Carp Lake Twp. Hall, 6339 Gill Road, Carp Lake, MI March 1 st, :00 3:00 PM Attendees: Brian Kozminski, Trout Unlimited, Neal Godby, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Fish Division, Greg Walz, Ed Davis & John Sheets, Miller Van Winkle Trout Unlimited Chapter, Larry Cassidy & Nancy Salar, Emmet County, Spencer McCormick, Caroline Keson, Lauren Dey & Daugherty Johnson, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB), Cathy Freebairn, Paradise Lake Improvement Board/ Paradise Lake Association, Kieran Fleming, Little Traverse Conservancy, Dirk Shorter, Landowner, Brian Gutowski, Emmet County Road Commission, Jen B. Gelb, Tip of Mitt Watershed Council, Paul Drevnick, University of Michigan Biological Station, Meeting begins at 1:05 PM 1. Maple River Updates- A packet containing CRA project completion sheets and a Maple River watershed map of completed and upcoming project sites were distributed to attendees. Road/Stream Crossings (RSX s) Chris Pierce gave a chronological update on completed sites and upcoming projects in the Free Span the Maple Initiative. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to achieve aquatic connectivity throughout the watershed; the total cost of the initiative is $3.1 million dollars. Road stream crossing structures replaced to date are Robinson Road/Pleasantview Swamp, Pleasantview Road, Ely Bridge Road, and Robinson Road. Next road stream crossing to be completed are Brutus Road with Lake Kathleen dam removal and the contiguous Woodland Road crossing pending. Fundraising for Pipeline Road on the East Branch and Reed Road on Van Creek has begun and CRA welcomes the opportunity for collaboration to complete these sites from partners. John Sheets discussed work to be completed on Maple River Road and inquired about parking for the use of fishing the river on this road. Since this is a federal project there are requirements for the length of the guardrail which will minimize parking at this site. Brian Gutowski mentioned the option for parking would be Gregory Road. Neal Godby site reviewed restoration efforts on Robinson Road and indicated substantial changes at the site to include sediment reduction, old timber and gravel bed exposed. 1

2 Large Woody Debris (LWD) /Habitat Improvements Large woody debris work will be done by MDNR Fisheries and CRA downstream of the restoration completed on Robinson Road. LWD was installed downstream of Brutus Road to enhance fish and aquatic life habitat. John Sheets has fished this stretch and observes channel diversity with pools, runs, and cover present since LWD was installed. CRA took out nails and spikes on at least 68 CCC in-stream structures last summer. These structures were put into the river for fish habitat but nails and spikes in the structures pose safety issues to the river and users. Chris noted 75-5 gallon buckets of spikes and nails were taken out of the river. CRA will be working with partners to install LWD on stretches of the river upstream of Ely Bridge Road this coming field season. Lake Kathleen Dam Chris updated the task force on the status of dam removal on Lake Kathleen and culvert replacements on Woodland Road. Mr. Paxson Offield, the Lake Kathleen property owner, supported dam removal, but passed away before work could commence. A feasibility study was completed on dam removal, indicating cost estimates, risk, and the condition of the dam. NEPA will be completed in The property is intended to be sold by the Estate s Trust and there has been a large effort by the State of Michigan DNR Fisheries Division to apply and acquire the property through the State of Michigan Land Trust. Neal Godby received support with the application ranking high however MDNR Divisions do not have the capacity to manage and sustain the property. Neal asked Larry Cassidy if he knew whether Emmet County had an interest in being the applicant. Larry indicated they are applying for acquisition of 2 other properties during this cycle therefore with the timeline and complexities of the Lake Kathleen property it did not seem likely. Kira mentioned that she has been communicating with Marty Krupa. Kira and Chris were invited to attend the Emmet County Parks and Recreation Committee meeting in January to discuss the project and property and at that time the committee neither opposed nor supported the acquisition from Kira s perspective. The committee was concerned about liability and needed to know the value of the property. Nancy Salar indicated that she didn t feel the committee was in support at this time. Kira mentioned that the Estate s Trust lawyer approved an appraisal to be completed on the property. Paul Rose is to complete the appraisal and should be completed by March 6 th and with indication that it is close to the true cash value. 2

3 Neal asked if getting a letter of support from this group would help the County decide or support this acquisition and Larry indicated that it would be best to let them think about it. Chris discussed survey assessments completed on the Hungerford s Water Beetle habitat and present populations in the river. The beetle was found in the river where Pipeline Road intersects and in other areas. There is funding available and a plan to move the beetles that are present in areas slated for restoration to other areas of the river conducive to beetle habitat. Sea Lamprey populations were discussed. The Feasibility Survey for Lake Kathleen provides a plan to prevent passage by recommending installation of a low head barrier system comparable to the structure at the mouth of Tannery Creek that TOMWC installed in their restoration efforts. USGS and USFWS monitor the lamprey closely and there has been six suspect lampreys found in the inland waterway. Neal mentioned that the USFWS is reviewing the potential for sea lamprey first barrier to be at the Cheboygan locks system, the mouth of the waterway. USFWS and other agencies are evaluating the sterile male release and barrier method. There was a discussion on current populations of coldwater species in the west and east branch and whether removal would impact these coldwater fish species populations. Neal indicated that warm water and migratory species would not prefer the colder waters present upstream and would likely not proceed into these sections of the river. Inventories Last summer CRA and TOMWC inventoried road stream crossings on stretches of the inland waterway. Inventory data is uploaded to northernmichiganstreams.org and is available to everyone. 2. Carp Lake/River Update CRA staff and partners will float areas of the Carp River to assess stream channel conditions. The Carp River watershed is the next initiative to free span. Priorities to the Emmet County Road Commission are Gill Road and Munger Road. Munger Road has a 35 foot drop with 2 undersized culverts. Once the river is floated and stream banks and road stream crossings are observed a list of priority road stream crossings will be made. 3

4 3. Partner announcements Kieran Fleming, LTC- LTC is encouraging and working to increase winter use on LTC Preserves. This year LTC began to groom trails on their preserves and have already seen use triple on their preserves. They have been assisting CRA with their knowledge and expertise on the State of Michigan Trust application process for the Lake Kathleen Property and will continue to assist CRA and the County if and when needed. Dirk Shorter, Maple River Watershed Property Owner- Has been busy managing his property for timber and bird management and will work with CRA to install LWD this coming field season. Catherine Freebairn, Paradise Lake Association- Paradise Lake Association has been focused on the invasive species management in the lake and has had positive results with their laminar flow aeration system. Daugherty Johnson, LTBB- would like to partner on Reed and Gill Road work and may have funding available to partner with CRA. Brian Gutowski estimated the RSX replacement on Reed Road to be in the $200,000 range. Caroline Keson, LTBB- Gave out maps of inventories completed on the Carp River siting instream conditions such as erosion areas, potential access areas for monitoring, beaver activity suspected, and seeps. These locations were displayed on the area of the Carp River where LTBB owns property, near the mouth of the river as well as upstream of the LTBB property. LTBB will begin monitoring the river soon and anticipated three to two monitoring locations on the river. They may be able to assist with pre and post monitoring in areas near Gill Road and other RSX s within the watershed. They would consider installing temperature loggers in areas on the LTBB property near the Gill Road RSX. Brian Gutowski, Emmet County Road Commission- Brutus Road will be closed beginning August 1 st during construction to complete the Brutus Road RSX. ECRC will continue to work with CRA to complete these RSX s. Larry Cassidy, Emmet County- wants to stay up to date on activities completed in his District and will provide updates to the Board of Commissioners. Greg Walz, Ed Davis and John Sheets, Trout Unlimited-TU is going to complete a habitat inventory on the river. TU is working on Pine Trail as there is high water present and will work on reconstructing the trail. TU is going to complete an insect density survey in the main branch of the river this summer. TU is interested in whether or not lampricide and dams impact insect density. 4

5 Neal Godby, MDNR Fisheries- MDNR will be evaluating and monitoring habitat conditions upstream of Robinson Road and other sites along the river. The MDNR monitoring schedule for fish surveying on the river is 3 years on and years off and will commence in Nancy Salar, Emmet County- wants to stay up to date on what activities are coming up in the Carp and Maple watersheds and will continue to come the task force meetings. Jen Gelb, TOMWC- TOMWC is working on completing the Burt Lake Section 319 Watershed Management Plan. The plan addresses Maple river management activities. The next meeting is April 1 st at the Tuscarora Township Hall. Stream bank erosion inventories, shore surveys, storm water and road stream crossing inventories were completed for portions of the Maple, Sturgeon, and Crooked Rivers. This year is a Comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring year for TOMWC, so all lakes and streams in TOMWC s service area will be monitored. Paul Drevnick, U of M Bio Station- new member of the faculty staff at U of M. Bob Vandekopple couldn t come so Paul is representing U of M. Entomology, Limnology and other classes use the river system for field study. Lake Kathleen Dam removal is a great opportunity to study pre and post changes in the river system. U of M has over 100 years of data from the Maple River stemming from research, physical, chemical and biological data. Kira Davis, CRA- Announced the Tribal Stream and Michigan Fruitbelt Collaborative Project was a recipient of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program to (RCPP). The RCPP is a partnership of Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Conservation Resource Alliance, Leelanau, Grand Traverse Regional Conservancy and Little Traverse Conservancy. The RCPP will bring close to $8 million dollars to Northern Michigan for Farmland Preservation and Watershed Protection. This program streamlines three farm bill programs into one to include the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Agricultural Easement Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Fruitbelt partners and the collaborative will receive $1.7 million to address aquatic organism passage and aquatic habitat practices and $6 million to protect farmland. Meeting Adjourns: 2:45 PM Minutes taken by; Kira Davis 5