MECOSTA COUNTY, Mich. — When it comes to living in West Michigan, rivers and fishing have long been two of the most popular attractions for the region. However, in years past, these rivers weren't primarily used for recreation, they were used for industry.
A relic of this era are the numerous dams and barriers that are continuing to block the free flow of our rivers and the habitats of fish populations for purposes long since abandoned. So why were these dams here, and why are they being removed now?
Let's take a look!
The First Question:
Why are there so many dams around West Michigan waterways?
The Why:
There are many reasons dams were built on West Michigan waterways in the past, but most were related to industry. Sawmills, logging, ice production, and to power various industrial equipment are some of the most common reasons.
The dam highlighted in the video portion of this story, Buckhorn Dam in Mecosta County, was built for the purposes of a state-run fish hatchery back in the 1800s according to Jeff Abel, the superintendent of Mecosta County Parks.
Jeff Says "Our understanding [is it] was used mainly for production of ice during the winter months." Jeff Continued "They would use the ice blocks to keep the fish cool as they were driving the railways to different creeks and things and then they would dump those fish right over the creeks. That's how fish stocking was done in the earlier days."
The Second Question:
Why are we removing these dams now?
The Why:
For the Buckhorn Dam, a short answer is this is when funding became available for the project. The Muskegon River Watershed Assembly (MRWA) and the Michigan DNR joined forces to apply for an "America The Beautiful Challenge" grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
One goal of this challenge was to fund projects that would result in “Reclaiming resilience and removing barriers to aquatic organism passage in Michigan streams.” This project was ready to go and will receive part of $5 million in grant money given to Michigan causes and is just one of 27 stream barriers being removed with this funding.
The long answer is that these dams and barriers have always hurt fish and wildlife in West Michigan, it was just thought previously that the benefits outweighed the damages.
Marty Holtgren, the Principal Watershed Scientist for the MRWA, tells us that the benefits to removing these dams will be many.
Marty explained, "The full scope of these funds is fish passage, to start reconnecting these rivers, but it's also to address issues where there's public safety hazards. Buckhorn Creek is a perfect example. It actually has a piece that's collapsing on the deck of the dam. Another piece is climate change. We know that dams often increase temperatures, sometimes two to four degrees, in these rivers. So it's those suite of benefits that we're looking at."
So what are the impacts to fish populations?
"When these dams were put in place, they completely blocked fish passage, they destroyed habitat, and they warmed temperatures. Most of these dams are a complete blockage to fish and you have these fragmented populations. The important piece is most of the cold water in these systems is up river, and those fish can't access those cold water resources that they need for spawning and natural reproduction," Marty continued.
When asked about the results of removing these dams, Marty was hopeful.
"Once they're removed, you'll have this free flow of fish movement, many coming in from the larger river systems, and fish populations should increase dramatically based on these dam removals."
While these removals may take a piece of history away from West Michigan, they are ultimately restoring our state to an even more historical and natural place of existence. One that will allow us and the next generation of Michiganders to enjoy our region's exceptional beauty and bounty to the fullest!
-- Meteorologist Michael Behrens
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