Pigeon River Country Association Newsletter – Summer 2012
PRCA President’s Message: Summer is nearly over and it’s been a nice one. We hope you’ve had a chance to get up into the Pigeon to fish or hike or mushroom or just laze around enjoying its wild character.
Much of this newsletter is devoted to the results of a meeting in the PRCF between DNR and US Fish and Wildlife personnel. Elsewhere you’ll find references to its potential impact on horseback and campground use but the problem is potentially much greater so let me try to carefully describe it. The US Fish and Wildlife Service provides 75% of the funding for appropriate wildlife management projects such as floodings, etc. within the state. The states must provide the other 25%. In order to establish this cost sharing ability, states must pass enabling legislation. That legislation must include the requirement that land purchased with state fishing and hunting license money must be managed primarily for fishing and hunting. Until recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service has permitted activity on these lands as long as it didn’t negatively impact fishing and hunting. Now, however, they are insisting that such lands must be managed almost exclusively for hunting and fishing.
It’s hard to justify the High Country Pathway or many of the other Pathways as well as the horseback trails as being managed primarily for hunting and fishing when they go through lands (= the yellow areas of the map at the end of the newsletter) that were purchased using state fishing and hunting license funds. The DNR is now trying to address this problem, but it is a major one since the alternative is to lose all Federal Fish and Wildlife funds throughout the state for wildlife management, not just in the PRC. We are, of course, hopeful that this sudden change in enforcement by the US Fish and Wildlife Service can be managed so that longtime low impact uses of the PRC may continue. We’ll keep our eye on this.
We have good news on the Golden Lotus dam removal project. This summer there have been a couple of meetings involving TU and us, the Golden Lotus board, state personnel and the lawyers. We now appear to all be on the same page (I hope!) and moving forwards on removing the dam completely and safely from the Pigeon River. We are exploring various grant opportunities and the possibility of developing a Natural Wetlands where the pond is now. We are now, I believe, all recognizing that we have more of a common interest in preserving the character of the Pigeon River than we have as adversaries in court.
On another note we would like to thank our longtime webmaster Greg Keith for all of his efforts. However he is now working in Texas which makes it impossible for him to continue.
But we have been very lucky. We have a new webmaster, Drew YoungeDyke, who has already set up a new website at our new, easier to locate address: www.pigeonriver.org . You might try it out by submitting a photo you’ve taken in the PRC for our Picture of the Month. Of course if you’re in the PRC, all you have to do is go to Forest Headquarters to see the most recent photo. Also our new email address is .
Pigeon River Country Advisory Council Meeting Report — July 13, 2012
THE Meeting began at 6:30 PM in the forest headquarters, with 14 of the 18 appointed members present. Other ex-officio members and on-lookers filled to the room to overflowing.
Public comments included complaints about relocation of one of the satellite horse camping sites, this one replacing a more accessible site off Osmun Rd., and various complaints about recent unsightly clear-cuts and areas that may perhaps need extra attention regarding reforestation. The president of the PRCA made a plea that the PRCF manager continue to be responsible for campgrounds in the PRCF even though the funding now comes from the DNR Parks & Recreation division under last year’s reorganization.
Slight adjustments were made to the minutes of the previous meeting and the agenda of this meetIng— primarily to allow for a continuing education session and for an update on the latest regarding the Song of the Morning dam removal (see special section in this newsletter).
Old Business was given over to a review of the present state of the Equestrian Access Plan.
As previously explained by the Forest Manager at the annual PRCA open meeting on June 30, implementation of the plan drawn up during the past year, particularly the designation of new horseback-riding trails to connect present ones, had been held up pending a review and input from the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Scott Whitcomb passed out the USFWS Trip Report that he had recently received and briefly discussed its contents. He said USFWS will be contacting the DNR about addressing the concerns listed in the report. It also turns out that the rules regarding use of land acquired through hunting and fishing license fees are even stricter than those acquired through funding sources based on the Pittman-Robertson Act, so that even trails and campgrounds located on such lands are questionable unless they can be shown to serve primarily the needs of hunters or fishermen. Since these funds are the origin of over half of the land at the heart of the PRCF (see map and accompanying article) much more remains to be settled than just the location of horseback-riding trails. Also, there was some discussion over renovation plans concerning the Elk Hill Equestrian Campground, especially regarding how access for larger trailer rigs might be made without actually increasing the size and changing the character of the campground.
Pete Gustafson described a new program for dam projects that will be administered by the DNR. The initial appropriation to fund the program is $2 million. The DNR is developing the rules that will govern eligibility and opportunities for grant applications to the fund. Gustafson offered a motion that the Advisory Council recommends that rules for grant funding under the new DNR Dam Fund Program be developed in a manner that will make the Golden Lotus dam removal on the Pigeon River eligible and a top priority. This means that the rules should not exclude voluntary settlement agreements in judicial proceedings from funding consideration. The motion was seconded and approved.
There were no Subcommittee Reports at this meeting.
New Business at this meeting consisted of a slide presentation by Sarah Topp, the PRCA sponsored summer intern, regarding the work being done by her and volunteers supervised by her on the High Country Pathway, beginning primarily in the north and northeastern parts of the pathway where overgrowth of shrubs, clear-cuts, and storm-damage had made the pathway all but impassible, and in some instances, barely traceable. This approximately eighty mile long pathway, which loops both through the PRCF and the western part of the Atlanta State Forest, has been a big attraction, both for hikers and bicyclists—although it was never intended originally for that latter purpose. Among the things that still have to be remedied is the unsafe bridge over Canada Creek (which has presently necessitated a detour in the pathway route) and remarking of the route in a number of places.
Ex-Officio Reports at this meeting included the following:
First, came the PRC Forest Report by Scott Whitcomb, Unit Manager. Beech Bark Disease and Emerald Ash Borer are both running rampant in the northern lower peninsula, threatening large portions of our hardwoods. Even though the PRCF stands are more diverse, there is still a major problem to be faced as to how to harvest those trees that cannot be saved, lest they be completely wasted. While the DNR and allied researchers are investigating more disease-resistant varieties of or replacements for these species, we are nevertheless witnessing what Scott calls “a huge ecological change.” Scott also mentioned that Certification requires that new forest area management plans be developed. The one for the PRC is in the works. He said it is based largely on the existing PRCF Concept of Management. It is expected to be released sometime this coming October or November.
Meanwhile there will be PRCF open house on August 1st 3-6pm when the public is invited to review and ask questions regarding timber management plans for 2014, with the Compartment Review (decision making session by the DNR) to take place on August 22nd starting at 9am, also to be held at the forest headquarters building. Scott particularly spoke about the plans for two clear-cuts—both of which exceed the Concept of Management’s 40 acre limit— one approximately of 52 acres, and the other of 62 acres. He explained how both the wildlife as well as the forest might benefit, particularly in view of the tendency of the elk to demolish any regrowth in smaller size cuts and how these larger cuts will involve “islands” or small areas in their midst left intact to break up the visual impact of these clear-cuts.
Next came the Wildlife Report by Brian Mastenbrook, District Wildlife Biologist. He reported that the last elk count estimated the size of the herd at around 1040 animals, and so two regular elk seasons are planned (Aug. 28-31st and Dec. 14-17th). About one hundred licenses will be issued for each season. Brian also called attention to the deteriorated state of the dam at the Dog Lake Flooding. Because of lack of funding and the dam’s inaccessibility, plans for now are to remove debris from old beaver activity, draw down the water level some, and leave the rest to the beavers to determine. He also reported no wolf problems yet, despite their presence northeast of the PRCF, nor have feral swine (some in north central Cheboygan County) given more than some worry in this area. Brian did seem, however, to be worried that the Advisory Council seems to have become somewhat disengaged from wildlife concerns and interests.
Rick Henderson, new Geologic Field Operations Supervisor for the DEQ, announced that Andy Stempke is the new District Supervisor and will soon replace him as the DEQ Ex-officio member of the Advisory Council. He also spoke of not only Michigan’s strict environmental protection regulations but also of the oil & gas and other mining industry’s appreciation that Michigan has trained geologists in his department who can understand the complexities faced by the industry.
This background and expertise is of particular value when it comes to the challenges involved in the new technique of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”. Although this technique has been used on a small scale in Michigan for years on many shallower wells, it’s use in deep wells appears to be a major factor in the future of Michigan oil & gas extraction. New facilities for processing the products of such extraction—the principal target being Collingwood Shale−are being presently built near Kalkaska and Gladwin. According to the website information Henderson recommended that we consult, this formation about 40 to 45 feet in thickness, underlies most of the northern lower peninsula and in the Kalkaska area is found at a depth approximately two miles beneath the surface. Other areas being explored for drilling have been in Antrim and Cheboygan counties.
According to Henderson, five principal ingredients go into the mixture pumped down these wells: water (lots & lots of it), sand, a “biocide” (to kill contaminants that might degrade the gas to be extracted), a chemical thickening agent, and again, a chemical thinning agent. It is these two latter brews that are fueling much of the worries. However, the drillers are required by law to notify the DEQ what chemicals are being used and the DEQ will be posting this as public information. What will remain secret are the exact proportions of these chemicals used in each particular operation. Henderson suggested that we refer to the Michigan Government/DEQ website (see also www.michigan.gov/frackingfacts for a 4-page PDF) for more information. (Our readers may also want to download a 39 page PDF document on Hydraulic Fracturing in the Great Lakes Basin: The State of Play in Michigan and Ohio” published by the American Wildlife Foundation, see www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Region... ).
Henderson also stressed that the denial of a drilling permit to Song of Morning Ranch amounts to a new benchmark in the legal standard set by the Amended Stipulation and Consent Order and Judgment reached in 1980 regarding further oil & gas development in the PRCF.
Questions were raised about the soundness and safety of the 55 year old Enbridge pipeline crossing the PRCF, particularly in view of the spillage that happened some time ago in the Kalamazoo River. The council chairman assured us that Enbridge is presently conducting safety and soundness tests — but this is in preparation to stepping up the amount of products being sent through it!
Last but not least, the District DNR Parks and Recreation Supervisor, Anna Sylvester, reported on the great upsurge in state park and campground usage this year compared to last year, but lamented the struggle with reduced personnel to cope with it. She said that, while Forest Campground use is up 40% in the district, it is unchanged in the PRC, so it is hard to justify additional campground workers for Scott. She said participation in the Recreation Passport “P for Parks” program when paying for vehicle license plates was 24% last year and they are hoping for 30% participation this year. If that happens, funding from that source for the Forest Recreation Program will go from $300,000 to $700,000.
The meeting ended well within schedule. The next PRC Advisory Council meeting is scheduled for October 12 starting at 6:30pm at the PRC Forest headquarters. (Report by R W Kropf with extra help from Joe Jarecki)