Ice Tea

Contributions to the Anglers of the Au Sable helped buy more than $60,000 worth of ice tea for the Crawford County Road Commission.

Let me explain.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Act of 1991 (ISTEA - pronounced ice tea) established a fund for specific transportation enhancement activities. This act defines such activities to include those that are targeted toward scenic enhancement and beautification. Many bike paths and jogging trails along highways are examples you may have seen.

But of special interest to The Anglers are those ISTEA activities directed toward "mitigation of water pollution due to highway run-off". Transportation enhancement activities such as these have been incorporated as part of the statewide planning process being developed by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and federal funds are allocated to local road commissions for qualifying projects.

The Anglers helped prepare a Transportation Enhancement Fund Application to the MDOT to secure over $60,000 in federal funding for stream crossing enhancements designed to keep sand, silt, and road salt out of our favorite rivers. The Anglers sponsored the initial streambed studies and prepared the first draft of the ISTEA grant. In all, over $100,000 will be spent on these projects alone to reduce pollution in the Au Sable system. The remainder of the funds is comprised of at least a twenty-percent match from Crawford County and non-participating project funds from other sources such as 319 grants and donations from local organizations. The Anglers have agreed to assist the Huron Pines RC&D and the Au Sable River Watershed Reclamation Committee (ARWRC) in monitoring the impact of the crossing improvements, but we have no additional financial obligation.

A number of the sites identified in the streambank erosion inventory produced in 1991 by the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) qualifies under the program's requirements. MDOT states that "projects that advance our ability to manage and avoid environmental impacts are important. New approaches to old problems are encouraged."

So how did The Anglers select improvement sites?

Several of your board members met in the Spring of 1994 to review upper Au Sable and Manistee stream crossings impacted by county roads. We reviewed a list of crossings derived from the SCS streambank erosion inventories of both rivers. From these we selected the candidates for our stream improvement projects.

Applications for funding must contain supporting evidence to ensure the effectiveness of the proposed designs of the mitigation measures. To gather evidence of existing pollution, the Anglers sponsored Mike Alexander, a graduate student at Michigan State University (MSU) working on a masters degree in Entomology. Mike agreed to study the impact of silt and sand run-off, and the possibility of reduced aquatic life downstream from these sites.

I visited most of these prospective project sites during snow-melt, taking photographs and VHS recordings to document periods of heavy run-off in order to record evidence for the funding applications. In June of last year Mike and I were very fortunate to have MSU professors, Bill Cooper and Jean Short, and representatives from both the DOT and DNR to help us understand which sites most nearly fit the spirit of ISTEA.

It was critical that the sites meet the grant criteria, as federal funds are ear-marked for specific purposes. Most importantly, the sites must have sediment run-off that can be shown to directly pollute the water below the crossing. The Mount Frederic Road crossing of Kolka Creek, the Bradford Creek crossing north of the town of Frederic, and Whirlpool Road crossing of Halliday Creek have the characteristic problems that qualify for this grant.

Successful projects require that the applicant with jurisdiction over the existing transportation facility, such as the Crawford County Road Commission in our case, provides at least a twenty percent match. Jim Briney, the managing director of the CCRC has stated that performing improvements to stream crossings in the Au Sable River watershed is a priority for the road commission. They fully supported the application for funding to improve their capability to perform need crossing improvements. ISTEA also requires a sponsoring organization with a proven record of successful environment enhancement projects. Mike Wenkel, on behalf of the Huron Pines RC&D agreed to be the actual sponsor for the application, and secured engineering bids for the roadwork from Northeast Design Group in Charlevoix. The Au Sable River Watershed Restoration Committee (ARWRC) also supported the application.

Proposed Projects

The primary objective of the proposed projects is to implement proven enhancements to selected road crossings to reduce non-point-source pollution (highway runoff). Sediment restricts the natural flow of creeks, warming the waters, and endangering the aquatic life, not only in the creeks themselves, but in the Au Sable River which begins in the local headwaters of Kolka and Bradford Creek, and is the downstream terminus of Halliday Creek.

Warming has been shown to have a disastrous effect on the brook trout which inhabit these waters. Since cold water can carry more dissolved oxygen, all species native to the river have a reduced chance of survival. Increased sediment delivery to streams reduces the fall standing crop of trout in direct proportion to the amount of sediment. This equates to an annual loss of trout of all sizes. Losses of fish due to sedimentation cannot simply be mitigated by stocking additional fish because excess sedimentation reduces the carrying capacity of streams by cutting habitat and food resources. Few stocked fish would long survive. As sediment is transported downstream by a river's current, it alters channel morphology, buries cover, imbeds gravel, smothers spawning substrate, and creates greater laminar water flow (reduced hydraulic diversity, which simply means a more uniform current). All these processes degrade habitat for trout, forage fish, and other aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates.

As these creeks feed the Au Sable , the increased sediment delivers the same adverse effect on the waters of the Au Sable with a subsequent loss of fish. The removal of Salling dam from the Au Sable River near Grayling has proven that water temperatures can be improved by three to four degrees with an increase in flow, and spawning activity has already been observed in previously silted-in areas of the river bed.

Whirlpool Road -- Halliday Creek

Whirlpool Road is a sand/gravel two-lane road approximately one and a half miles west of Stephan's Bridge off North Down River Road. Approximately a mile south toward the Mainstream is Halliday Creek which flows directly into the Holy Water. The crossing currently has a single culvert which narrows the flow considerably from the width of the creek which is eight to fourteen feet in that area although the natural stream is much less than that. I observed brook trout in the shallows upstream from the crossing, and Rusty has observed spawning activity there in the fall. (Editor's note: This creek flows through property that has been owned for almost twenty-five years by Ruth and Skip Favro. Skip and I have long seen extensive spawning activity in this creek, and one fall with the assistance of Gary Schnicke we tagged some spawning browns.)

Gravel, sand, and silt, caused by winter plowing and road grading, have built up along the road edges and the lighter sand and silt flushes into the creek during spring thaws and heavy rain. Best Management Practices, or BMPs, call for an extended pipe arch culvert, rock rip-rap, and sod to improve the crossing. Cobble ditches are required to catch road run-off, and proper grading will prevent curb build up.

Mount Frederic Road - Bradford Creek and Kolka Creek

The Bradford and Kolka Creek sites are on Mount Frederic Road, approximately three miles north of Frederic on Old Highway 27. These creeks are direct tributaries to the upper Au Sable. To get there, turn left on Mount Frederic Road and go west approximately six-tenths of a mile. At less than half a mile you will cross the east branch of Bradford Creek which has recently been enhanced under the direction of the Au Sable River Watershed Restoration Committee.

BMPs for Bradford Creek call for extension of the existing culverts as well as rip-rap, cobble ditches, sod and proper road surface grading. BMPs for Kolka Creek call for installation of a box culvert with wing walls as well as cobble ditches and detention basins. The road grade will be raised approximately one to two feet to divert run-off from the stream.

Townline Road - Big Creek

This particular Big Creek, in Crawford County, flows into the North Branch of the Au Sable downstream from Kellogg's Bridge. Townline Road runs East from F97 and crosses Big Creek from relatively steep approaches on both sides. The existing bridge showed extensive signs of wear, and was slated for repair at the time we visited in the spring of 1994. ISTEA funding cannot be allocated to build a new bridge, but enhancement of the approaches and other measures may qualify under the grant.

The bridge has since washed out almost entirely, and has been closed for extensive repair. Although the Anglers did not directly participate in the grant request for this facility, it is our understanding that improvements are in store for this problem crossing and may be included in 1996 under ISTEA.

Next year, pay special attention to the riverbed both above and below the crossing. If your visit comes during the spring run-off or during a heavy rain, you will likely find sand, silt, and brine polluting the creek. By the end of 1996, however, we expect the project construction phase to be complete, and the trout can begin to enjoy the benefits of your contributions.

RWOL

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