The following letter was sent in response to the MDNR's request for comments regarding the proposed passage of Great Lakes species above Sabin Dam on the Boardman River.

May 16, 2014

Mr. Todd Kalish, Fisheries Division Michigan Department of Natural Resources 970 Emerson Road Traverse City, MI 49696

Dear Mr. Kalish:

RE:

Adams Chapter of Trout Unlimited Boardman River Assessment Response

As President of the Adams Chapter of Trout Unlimited I thank you for this opportunity to comment on the Boardman River Assessment. The Assessment was, for the most part, well written and full of very interesting information. The Assessment was placed on the Chapter’s website and a notice with a link to the Assessment was emailed to all members encouraging them to respond either directly to you or to the Chapter through me. Emails and letters that I received are included at the end of this letter.

The Adams Ch

The following letter was sent in response to the MDNR's request for comments regarding the proposed passage of Great Lakes species above Sabin Dam on the Boardman River.

Response to Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Boardman River Assessment Draft

The Boardman River Assessment Draft is indeed an interesting document that deserves scrutiny by all who are interested in the cold-water resource and wild, self-sustaining trout populations in Michigan. After reviewing the Boardman River Assessment Draft (Assessment), I would like to share my own observations and opinions regarding the future of the Boardman River.

As documented in the Assessment, there has been no stocking of trout upstream of Sabin Dam since the late 1960’s. Since the 1970’s it has been the intention of concerned anglers, conservationists, Trout Unlimited, and other organizations to promote the quality of the cold-water resource and encourage the natural reproduction of resident trout species rather than stocking the river with hatchery-raised trout. Dozens of stream improvement projects have helped keep the Boardman River a “Blue Ribbon”, “Top-Quality” cold-water river as defined within the Assessment. These efforts were intended first to improve the cold, clean quality of the watershed, but offered the additional benefit of creating a habitat conducive to the natural reproduction of brook trout and brown trout for more than fifty miles of river.

The removal of several dams on the Boardman due to a lack of relicensing, has given us the opportunity to cool the water and improve the quality of our cold water resource. Below Brown Bridge Dam, the first to be removed, rising water temperatures in the last several years resulted in an infestation of zebra mussels inadvertently transported from Lake Michigan to the river in canoes, kayaks, wet waders, and other unintentional means. Colonie