Au Sable Journal

This issue of your newsletter has been delayed by your editor's Fiftieth high school reunion in Kansas. We apologize.

The city where I grew up is located on the banks of the lower Missouri, north of Kansas City. It is the oldest city in Kansas. It was small by any standard, and remains so. It is now probably considered a suburb of Kansas City, a city younger than Leavenworth by decades.

The river near where I played as a child is now an endangered river, so listed by American Rivers. Moreover, the city may find its salvation to be the attraction it has for retired Army officers. They are returning in significant numbers and renovating the wonderful old homes to live in an area that holds great amenities for them at Fort Leavenworth: free medical services and highly attractive commissaries. The best V.A. facility in the country is also located there.

A small community in Kansas, once very dear to me, remains healthy although someone more pessimistic than I would say it is borderline, and a magnificent river still flows nearby though endangered by the hand of man.

Midwest Fly Fishing

For a long time I have wanted to introduce you to a magazine that has the interests of the midwest fly fisher at heart. It has been on my desk five times a year for the past two years, and has been enjoyed much longer than that. Unfortunately you will not find Midwest Fly Fishing on the magazine racks of book stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies. You will, however, find it sold in more than eighty fly shops and general sporting goods stores in a twelve-state area of the midwest, including Michigan. Most importantly, it is also available through individual subscriptions.

Tom Helgeson, the publisher and editor, says that the mission of MFF is to report respectfully and accurately on the sport and adventure of fly fishing in the midwest, the anglers both past and present who practice the sport and the issues and circumstances that affect the health of the streams, rivers, and lakes that we all fish. Tom says that, and I can back it up. He does all that and more.

You will find that Midwest Fly Fishing has a deep respect for the idea of "home waters" and the unique and compelling responsibility that each of us has to protect and enhance our home resources. With that philosophy in mind, MFF writers live near and have long relationships with the waters and fly fishing they write about.

I'm certain that many readers of the Riverwatch subscribe to Midwest Fly Fishing. For those who do not I recommend a trial subscription. I'm certain you'll like it. To subscribe send $15 for one year, or $27.50 for two years to Midwest Fly Fishing, 4030 Zenith Avenue, South Minneapolis, MN 55410.

You can communicate with MFF by telephone: (800- 356-1628) or (612-925-5128).

MFF can also be reached by e-mail at mwflyfishing@mm.com. It's web-site is: http://www.mm.com/mwflyfishing.

Tom Helgeson, the editor and publisher of MFF was an editor for many years with the Minneapolis Star/Tribune and the St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press. He teaches a summer fly fishing school on the Missouri River in Montana each July and leads trips to the Florida Keys in the spring and to Alaska each fall.

Our New Web Site

We also now have a web-site, although much of it is under construction. Its address is http://www.mich.com/~anglers. Right now we have four past issues of the newsletter on-line. We also have an on-going history of The Anglers, a listing of our current board members and past board members, and information on how to join. We intend to put additional stories from the Riverwatch on-line and plan to include other information not normally published in our newsletter.

The North Woods Call

What can we say that hasn't already been said about the importance of Glen Sheppard and The North Woods Call. Shep is not getting any younger, just like the rest of us, and I, for one, don't know what we're going to do when he decides to hang up his hat, his typewriter, his computer, his pencil, or whatever an editor and publisher does when he decides he's had enough and says, "That's it," and retires to the good life in the drumlins and on the trout streams.

The Call is unique and Shep is irreplaceable. I suppose a lot of people in various industries around the state and in the mahogany offices - and even the sheet-rock offices - of the State Capitol in Lansing are looking forward to the day when Shep closes the Call, undoubtedly hoping it will be sooner than later. However, those who value the land, rivers, lakes, and wild creatures for their own sake hope it will never come.

I think both sides are living in a dream world.

Shep is a good friend to my delight, and I have no inside information on his retirement. I don't know how long he intends to be the spokesman and advocate for the "real world" in the north woods: the spoiler of unrelenting development; the gentle critic of satisfied and self-important environmentalists; the defender of trout, trilliums, mayflies, and rivers; the nagging gadfly in Lansing's environmental politics; the joyful chronicler of dogs, grouse, and gameless hunts; the skillful teller of stories; the down-to-earth, gritty, let-it-all-hang-out reporter; and more. With all of the above, the "and more" is the most impressive. I can't list all of what Shep does and has done, and I can't cite all the reasons he has been so important to our north woods for so many years. I can only say that whatever he does, and however he does it, nobody else does it any better if they do it at all.

So enjoy the curmudgeon of the drumlins while you can. And enjoy the Call while it's here for us to enjoy. If you truly love this state and its land and waters you should have the Call in your home every other week.

It truly is "the newspaper for people who love the north."

The subscription is only $25 a year, or even better, $44 for two years. You can subscribe by calling 616-547-9797, or by writing Mary Lou (The Boss) at 509 Turkey Run Road, Charlevoix, MI 49720.

When you do, tell Mary Lou to continue to keep Shep well and hearty. I don't know what our trout, rivers, woods, grouse, and all other things wild and beautiful, that is, the "real world," will do without him.

Where Are Your Inputs?

In the last two issues of The Riverwatch we have solicited input from readers regarding what should be done to improve the fishing in the Au Sable. To start the debate, we reprinted in our January issue a four part story from the Detroit Free Press written by Eric Sharp. We also had some other relevant stories. In the last issue, in addition to my story there was one by Bob Linsenman, a report by Don Boyd regarding the proposed studies for the river, and some DNR stocking guidelines written by DNR biologist Dave Smith.

We are pleased to have in this issue stories by Chauncy Lively, Paul Townsend, Norm Hyams, and Skip Favro. The contributions of Chauncy, Paul, and Norm are in response to our initiative begun this year, and the story from Skip was first printed in The Riverwatch over seven years ago. We hope these essays will move others to continue the dialogue. I thank them for taking time to give us their views.

Acid Rain's Dirty Business

One important input was from John Spencer, a doctor in Traverse City, who sent me a copy of a news story from Science (Vol. 272, 12 April 1996). It was about how acid rain leaches minerals from soil, and how the loss of calcium and magnesium has continued in spite of reduced industrial air pollution.

John noted that "perhaps this may have an application with regard to the Au Sable's productivity problem - or to the leaching of toxics, etc., even though our soils are supposedly well-buffered."

The story reports research conducted by ecologists from the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, and an environmental engineer from Syracuse University. They have found that acid rain in their study area has been leaching the soil of vast quantities of the base mineral ions that buffer, or neutralize, acids and which are essential to plant growth. At the rate which these ions are still being depleted, they find it could be decades before the acid-ravaged ecosystems become healthy again.

Has this been studied to any extent on our trout streams in northern Michigan? I know of no significant study.

Though our soils in the lower northern peninsula are known to have been well buffered they could have become less so. I suggested this in my story for Fly Rod & Reel five years ago which was then repeated in the January 1996 Riverwatch.

In that article, I also cited the phenomenon of acid shock, the rapid rise in acidity caused by early snowmelt which can be ten times more acidic than the remaining snowpack. This surge occurs at a critical time with fish in poor condition: rainbows are spawning or ready to spawn and brown and brook trout fry are emerging from their gravel cribs.

I also pointed out that road salt, including salt brine, besides being a serious contaminant, releases mercury and other toxic metals strongly held in the soil and stream sediments.

Moreover, the increase in acidity caused by salt addition also helps to release mercury and other minerals thereby giving our streams and our trout a double whammy in early spring from snowmelt and from the accumulation of salt and brine used on our roads throughout the winter.

I have received no comment from any fishery biologist regarding the impact the above might have on our trout population. I know of no research that has studied the impact.

Other Fly Fishing Internet Sites

There are many other fly fishing sites on the Internet, too many for a brief listing. Here are some I know about:

You may find the mailing list Flyfish to be to your liking. To join send e-mail to listserv@lsv.uky.edu with subscribe Flyfish Your Name in the body.

Two general newsgroups are Alt.fishing and rec.outdoors.fishing. Politics and conservation issues are more common in rec.outdoors.fishing.fly. Its sister newsgroup is rec.outdoors.fishing.saltwater.

FTP sites include ftp.geo.mtu.edu/pub/fishing, and you can find the Flyfishing FAQ at ftp.geo.mtu.edu/pub/fishing/flyfish-faq/faq-1.basics.

There are many web sites. Try http://www.flyfishing.com to begin. Another good starting point is GORP at http://www.gorp.com/gorp/activity/fishing.htm. GORP lists its sites by geographical location with links to national parks and wildlife refuges. It also lists on-line magazines.

Forums are held at The Fishing Network (http://www.the-fishing-network.com/).

The Anglers are affiliated with FFF. Its site as of this writing is http://www.ool.com/fff.html, which may soon change to http://www.fedflyfishers.org.

There are many, many more. I promise an in-depth look, with analysis, of Internet fly fishing and environmental sites for the next Riverwatch. Send me a list of your favorites. RWOL

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