Five years ago, Fly Rod & Reel magazine asked me to contribute an abbreviated version of the following essay to their special issue on The Angler's Environment. My task was to report on the environmental health of Michigan as it related to fly fishing. Since space was limited, the FR&R report had to be less than 2000 words.
An expanded telling of this report,"Tough Times in Gitche Gumee,"was published later in the North Woods Call.
I wrote the following original report with generous and much appreciated input and guidance of many, including fishery biologists, knowledgeable anglers, environmental writers, and critical reviewers. After a recent review of this essay I must say little has changed in the past five years - as one would expect.
However, some things have changed - mostly downhill. Writing it today would require, for example, an increased emphasis on Antrim drilling, on the need for more large woody debris in our rivers, and on our failure to control military expansion in the headwaters of the Au Sable and Manistee rivers. A similar essay today would also praise the efforts of the DNR, anglers, and environmentalists for the relicensing of hydro power dams in Michigan and the settlement the DNR achieved with regard to the operation of the Ludington power system. (Though there have been some "villains" in the DNR over the past five years, there have been many heroes. We will never forget them.) I'm also certain that, with additional research, this essay could be updated and improved in many ways.
With the above observations, with the caveat that any essay on this subject will be incomplete, and with some additional reservations, I've decided to republish this five-year-old analysis to serve as a kick-off - as a point of departure - for an extended effort over the next three or four issues of The Riverwatch to engage in a dialogue with anglers and biologists, property owners and canoe advocates, resource managers and resource users, regarding the state of health of the Au Sable River (and its sister, the Manistee). We want to address questions that illustrate the threats to the rivers, define the rivers' decline, and give guidance to what should be done to protect and enhance the rivers.
Though the essay was intended to emphasize environmental problems throughout Michigan, I believe it very strongly and appropriately applies to our two rivers. When I wrote these words, I certainly had the Manistee and the Au Sable in mind. As I said, "they are the heart of fly fishing in Michigan."
So hear my call and send me your comments, your analyses, your opinions, your theories, and your stories. I may not be able to publish everything, but I fully intend to use the best I get. I will be especially interested in receiving input from our fishery biologists - active and retired, research scientists, resource managers, environmentalists, and journalists (from Michigan and elsewhere).
As examples, we have some stories in this issue related to the resource. George Alexander brings us up to date regarding large woody debris, and the continuing effort to keep fallen trees in the river rather than have them cut-out and/or removed. Ron Weber's story about his trip in August tells us that, yes, there are problems, but the Au Sable must still be cherished, and very good fishing can still be experienced. Jay Gleason assures us that at least three serious sites of erosion and sedimentation at stream crossings will be addressed this next year. (A special thanks is due to Jay for making this happen.) Duane Burdick recalls some memories of the South Branch and his hopes for the future. His recorded year (1966) of "the last good fishing" on the South Branch is not too far different from my own regarding the Mainstream. It must have been heart-breaking to actually see the devastation of the river taking place and being helpless to stop it.
So I think we have a good, though tentative, beginning for a thorough and rewarding dialogue. I am looking forward to your contributions. RWOL
© Copyright 1997 - , Anglers of the Au Sable, Inc. All rights reserved. Last modified: January 20, 2005
