Great Lakes Fishery Commission

FishPass Updates

Updated Mar, 2021

Dear partners and stakeholders:

On behalf of the FishPass team, I am pleased to provide the December 2020 - February 2021 update.

On January 15, 2021, Judge Thomas Power of the 13th Circuit Court, issued a preliminary injunction impeding the commencement of FishPass construction in order to consider a case concerning the alleged disposal of City parkland. It is important to note that the case was not a ruling against FishPass per se, rather, the ruling concerned questions about whether the City was allegedly disposing of park property at the Union Street Dam site to accommodate FishPass. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, its partners, and the community remain excited about FishPass and are reviewing all options as this progresses in the legal arena.

Engineering Design / Construction:

  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing all submittals from the prime contractor, Spence Brothers Construction, and the Phase 1 construction schedule. These administrative activities remain permitted under the preliminary injunction. Phase 1 of the construction includes relocating the watermain, constructing the arc-labyrinth weir, and preparing the nature-like bypass channel.
  • The FishPass team collaborated with the City of Traverse City to apply and eventually receive a $300,000 grant from the Michigan DNR Natural Resources Trust Fund to support the installation of river and park access features integral to the FishPass project. Items addressed by the grant include: a dedicated kayak slide rail with erosion resistant landings, ADA kayak and canoe access docks with ramp and transfer slide bench above and below the dam, stepped stone fishing access to the river, and new boardwalks that connect to existing boardwalk on the north side of the river and to Hannah Park on the south side.

Research:

  • The FishPass Advisory Board met in February 2021 to discuss, among many topics, the FishPass Operation and Maintenance Plan, research coordination, and progress updates from ongoing research activities.

Assessment:

  • FishPass assessment activities continue. Although no fish sampling occurred during this update period, the telemetry systems continue to collect movement data on tagged fish in the Boardman River and Grand Traverse Bay. In total, we are tracking 562 fish of various species within the system.

In the News:

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