I had a great tour of the inside and outside of the Sabin Dam on the Boardman River the other day: Left me with a feeling of dread. Mankind can be so arrogant. To build this monster and several others like it on one of the most beautiful rivers in Michigan?
Well, the writing is on the wall to take it out along with the first to go, The Brown Bridge Dam hopefully this summer, then the Sabin and finally the Boardman Dam. What a project. The outcomes environmentally are not guaranteed so keep your fingers crossed. Incidentally, the Union Street Dam has to stay as it controls the water levels on Boardman Lake.
Great website on the subject: theboardman.org
I attended a water level committee meeting yesterday on Glen Lake for new procedures on dam manipulation on the Crystal River. We have come so far in protecting mother nature from the effects of this Dam: When i started manipulating the Crystal River Dam 20 years ago we were using stop logs that allowed a minimum of 4 inches of adjustment to the head. We now have the ability to manipulate in the centimeters. Another great website on the subject: http://glenlake.wordpress.com/
In any case, the Crystal River is looking great for the summer paddling season. The Glen Lakes have plenty of water and this rainy last few days only helped. So get outdoors on the Crystal River or the Boardman River this spring on a canoe, kayak, longboard or tube and make some memories. Don’t forget about our championship world class putt putt / mini golf course in Glen Arbor and our bike rentals in Traverse City on the TART TRAIL at Clinch Park.
Mike
