A relatively new technique for stabilizing eroding stream banks is showing great promise in Michigan, as a demonstration project on Highbank Creek in Barry County has not only repaired a damaged creek, but has provided excellent fish habitat as well.

The technique, called “toe wood,” has been around for about a decade but hasn’t been used much in Michigan until now. Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Chris Freiburger learned of the technique and thought it had applications for some of the issues facing Michigan streams.

The area Freiburger chose for the demonstration project involved a stream that had been dammed for a mill more than a century ago. The dam had been partially removed in the 1920s, but the abutments were left in place until the landowner knocked them down into the creek out of safety concerns. The debris formed a partial dam that not only impeded fish passage, but also contributed to erosion on the stream. A significant amount of sediment was swept downstream, silting in about an acre and a half of Thornapple Lake.

The Barry Conservation District applied for a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fish passage grant, as well as a DNR aquatic habitat grant to remove the dam and restore the stream. Read more

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission on Thursday, Sept. 10, lifted a spawning closure on the Betsie River in Benzie County. The lift went into effect immediately.

In 2012, the closure was put in place when the Betsie River experienced historically low water levels that left migrating Chinook salmon and steelhead vulnerable to illegal harvest. Recent weather patterns have resulted in water levels returning to normal conditions, so the spawning closure placed on the Betsie River mouth is no longer necessary. Read more

The public again this year is invited to purchase surplus salmon that has been harvested at Michigan Department of Natural Resources weirs around the state.

Seasonal salmon runs include large numbers of fish returning to their native streams to spawn and die. The DNR maintains multiple sites (weirs) where fisheries biologists and technicians collect eggs and milt (sperm) from Chinook and coho salmon for use in state fish hatcheries. Once egg-take needs are met, fish in prime physical condition are made available to the public by American-Canadian Fisheries, a private vendor that assists the DNR with the salmon harvest. Read more

Plano, IL – War historians trace the origin of the term “bunker” to World War I, when first used by German forces to describe bomb-proof shelters above and below ground. By the beginning of World War II in 1939, ‘bunker’ had entered the military lexicon of both Allied and Axis powers to describe various command and control centers and weapons storage facilities. Read more

A Message from Keep America Fishing: Do you believe that the only way to conserve our public lands and waters is to lock recreational fishermen out? Do you view recreational fishing as an extractive activity on par with oil drilling and commercial bottom trawling? Of course you don’t. But right now, that’s what some anti-fishing organizations are actively accusing us of. When demanding areas off the New England coast be designated as “fully protected” marine monuments, their real agenda is to set up no-fishing zones.

The federal government is currently exploring this issue. There is the potential for all recreational fishing to be banned, even though there’s no evidence to suggest we pose a threat to the habitat or fish populations in these areas. It’s time to make your voice heard above our opponents – send a letter today.

The Department of Natural Resources is requesting help from anglers in an ongoing study of smallmouth bass in northern Lake Michigan.

Central Michigan University (CMU) and the DNR have been tagging smallmouth bass in the Beaver Island Archipelago since 2005, at Waugoshance Point (Wilderness State Park) since 2009, and in parts of Grand Traverse Bays since 2014. Anglers are asked to report the whereabouts of these tagged smallmouth bass by providing information on capture, capture location and tag number to the DNR via michigandnr.com/taggedfish/tags. If anglers release tagged fish, please do not remove the tag and just report the requested information on the website as indicated. Read more