Pigeon River Country Association

Spring 2007 Newsletter

The annual meeting of the Pigeon River Country Association will be held at the Pigeon River Country Headquarters and Information Center, beginning 1 PM on Sunday July 8th. 2007. A light lunch (sandwiches & pop) will be provided at noon before the meeting. The PRCA board is all non-paid volunteers, so we want to encourage you to get involved and make your voice heard. Hope to see you there!

Advisory Council Report

The first Pigeon River Country Advisory Council meeting for 2007 was held on April 20th. According to the new meeting schedule adopted by the Council in December, the first meeting would normally be in January, so this year there will only be three regular meetings, although an orientation meeting for new members was scheduled in May. The first matter of business was the reintroduction of members, new and old, and especially of Laurie Marzolo, the interim PRF administrator after Joe Jarecki officially retirement in May.

Next on the agenda was the review of the plans for the new bridge on Sturgeon Valley Rd. over the Pigeon River. Members of the Otsego County Road Commission explained the details, discussing details such as extra width for pedestrians, rail design, and parking areas. Generally speaking, the plans met the Council's approval. Construction is scheduled for summer 2008.

A large part of the meeting was then taken up with discussion and debate concerning Aurora Energy's plans to drill for gas on the Blue Lakes tract that was annexed to the Forest some eighteen years ago. The mineral rights were retained by the former owner, so there appears to be no way of preventing this development short of the state trading some other state-owned mineral rights in an exchange for those on Blue Lakes. Otherwise, the State could end up as a defendant in a "takings" lawsuit. As a result, despite the objections of a number of parties (* see the accompanying report in behalf of the PRCA-member inspection of the area) the Council was informed that the DEQ would be issuing its drilling permits to Aurora during the last week of April (however, as of 5/15/07 it appears that the permits have been put on hold). Further discussion then centered around the degree of Council involvement in the final development plans for this part of the Aurora Blue Lakes gas-well project, particularly the placement of the production wells flow-lines, and service roads, gates, etc. Former PRCAC president Dave Smethurst, in particular, demanded that the after the preliminary exploratory wells are drilled, that Aurora and the DEQ present the plans for each production well to the Council, including an explanation as to why or why not directional drilling could or could not be used to reach each location from fewer, more central and less sensitive drilling sites. Henderson of the DEQ also said that Ken Petrie of Aurora Energy Company told him that Aurora did not intend to drill the wells until there is no chance that there can be an exchange of mineral rights.

During the second half of the meeting three motions regarding oil & gas were passed. They were: 1st. a Motion by Smethurst, with support by Walters, that on all oil and gas matters involving the Pigeon River Country State Forest the Pigeon River Country Advisory Council requests that DNR and DEQ involve the Advisory Council in the development plan process, including but not limited to field reviews, pipe and flow line placement, production facilities, river and wetland crossings and proximity to surface water. 2nd, a motion by Walters, with support by Glasser, that the Advisory Council strongly encourages the DNR to make every effort possible to make a mineral rights exchange for Blue Lakes so that the DNR acquires the mineral rights in Blue Lakes in exchange for State owned mineral rights outside the Pigeon River Country. 3rd, a motion by Ennes, with support by Smethurst, that the Advisory Council recommends that the DNR acquire by purchase, exchange or other means the minerals from any existing state only surface ownership in the PRC and that future PRC purchases include mineral rights as well as surface ownership. Also, the Council requested that the minutes reflect that the Council appreciates the efforts of Merit Energy Company to proactively address the contamination at the Charlton 4 CPF and especially appreciates the efforts of Randy Sanders. Jarecki then assured the Council that the DEQ conditions on the permits they will issue for the test well phase will incorporate almost all of the recommendations in the DNR 2/23/07 memo to the DEQ except Aurora must submit a new application for the B3-6 well so the test well and the production well (if there is one) will be drilled from the same location. The DNR recommendation was from Fisheries, Wildlife and Forest, Mineral & Fire Management Divisions. Things not incorporated in the DEQ permit were penalty for leaving gates open and site restoration standards will not be addressed until the final production plan is submitted.

District Forest Manager Dayle Garlock then discussed the DNR and State budget crisis which he said is the worst he has seen in 30 years working for the Department. He went on to say that, due to the Governor's Executive Directive restricting hiring and promoting employees, the Unit Manager vacancy created by Joe Jarecki's retirement will not be filled immediately. Instead, Atlanta Unit Manager Laurie Marzolo will temporarily be assigned as the Unit Manager of both Pigeon River Country State Forest and the Atlanta Management Unit. Garlock introduced Marzolo who described the positions she has held since being hired as Forest Technician in 1985.

Speaking for DNR Fisheries, Dave Borgeson said that implementation of the Sinkhole Lakes plan (see article on Sinkhole Lakes below **) to place boulders and prepare parking areas may be set back because the excavator broke down and it may be a while before money can be spent to repair it.

Council Chairman Pete Gustafson closed the meeting after reporting that the draft update of the Concept of Management will be ready for public review in the near future. He said it would be shared with the Council before it is on the NRC agenda and before the public meeting is held to discuss it.

Report compiled by R. W. Kropf and Joe Jarecki

* Blue Lakes Well Site Inspections

On March 18th. three members of the Pigeon River Country Association, Mike Brown, Doug Mummert, and myself -- all of us also members of the Oil & Gas Committee of the Pigeon River Country Advisory Council -- set out to make a personal inspection of all the gas well sites proposed by Aurora Oil & Gas Company on the State-owned Blue Lakes tract that was added to the Pigeon River Country Special Management Unit back in 1989.

For practical purposes, this proposed Blue Lakes addition to Aurora's "Blue Lakes" gas-field project, with its central processing facility located to the east near the north end of Black River Rd. can be divided into three -- or really four -- parts. The northernmost section lies completely north of Blue Lakes Rd. where it cuts through the Blue Lakes tract from east to west. Equipped with a GPS unit and camera, as well as maps supplied Aurora as well as those supplied by the State, we were able to locate the stakes marking all five wells proposed for that section. Three of the five were within a stone's throw of creeks or wetlands. None of these wetlands were marked on the Aurora-supplied map -- although to be fair, Aurora had indicated where underground lateral borings would be necessary where pipelines encountered creeks and swamps.

The second area to be inspected, a week later, was the group of proposed well sites just south and east of Stewart Creek and Robarge (Stewart) Lake. It appears that most of the stakes had been removed (by hunters or snowmobilers?) over the winter. Only one stake was found in place with the site designation markings still legible. Another two were found without legible markings, one of them lying on its side along a two-track. However, a profusion of ribbons led to two approximate locations that were well within a quarter mile of the lake and creek. To the contrary, a lack of ribbons left the whereabouts of the southernmost well site in this group not being located at all.

The third area, inspected the next day, involved those sites closest to the Black River. And although all located on high ground they remain very close indeed. Four of them had been relocated to new locations, for example one of them (designated D4-15) had originally been located only about 370 ft. from the river, but had been relocated to about 600 ft. from the river instead. However, it took over an hour a week later to locate the southernmost well site in this group, and when finally located, it didn't seem to tally very closely with the location indicated on Aurora's map. But it was nearly a half-mile northwest of the confluence of the river with Hardwood Creek.

Proposed well sites in fourth area, on privately-owned land south of Hardwood Creek, have not been staked out yet. However, the Aurora map indicated that this area would be reached by a 700ft. (more or less) bore under Hardwood Creek. Not so, unless the bore is relocated from the route indicated on their map. Following their proposed route, if my GPS is reading correctly, they will have to bore about 1100 ft. if they are going to avoid further destabilizing an unstable hillside containing cold springs that feed the creek from the north side, and ripping up an old-growth area just to the south.

        All in all, one has to ask a few questions about this whole project. We on the Oil & Gas Committee were told, by a DEQ representative, that the DNR requests that all well sites be kept at least 1320 ft. from water and wetlands when it involves state-owned mineral leases. While in this case, unfortunately, the mineral rights are not owned by the State, still the surface is. If one presumes that the 1320 ft. request is primarily for the sake of surface water protection, one wonders why the DNR is not requesting, indeed insisting, that this be consistently done on the Blue Lakes tract. Yes, the DNR has done a fine job in keeping the drillers a good distance away from the pretty little Blue Lakes themselves. But the DNR seems to have backed off from its own standards, especially in the northernmost areas of the Blue Lakes tract when it comes to the wetlands and creeks that drain into the Black River itself. Should not the State insist that directional drilling from higher and drier locations be used instead?

Another question has to do with why some of these proposed well sites, two in the northernmost part particular, are so close to state land and mineral ownership that is supposedly out-of-bounds for Antrim gas field development. Does this mean that the State will be losing potential royalties income to a private interest? If so, and if allowed to continue, while it may be supposedly "legal", it allows for what seems an unethical precedent. (Report by R W Kropf)

** Sinkholes and Sinkhole Lakes in the PRCF

One of the special features of the Pigeon River Country Forest is its sinkhole lakes. Sinkholes are an occasional feature in areas where underlying limestone — which is easily dissolved by acid water — is eroded into what is known as "karst" formations, which often contain underground streams and caves. Such karst formations are fairly common in the NE portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Sinkholes are formed when the roof of these caves deep underground eventually collapse.

Some of these sinkholes are simply deep depressions, sometimes found in a line where an underground stream flows beneath. Such are the dry sinkholes just east of Shoepac Lake a few miles south of Onaway. Others, where the bottom of the sinkhole becomes plugged with marl or other less permeable material, form lakes. Shoepac Lake itself contains several sinkholes, as does Rainy Lake a bit farther to the Northeast, even though, at the surface, these two lakes appear rather ordinary, at least most of the time. (Rainy Lake appears to have lost at least part of its "plug" periodically, and in 1925 went completely dry!)

Of the eight identified sinkhole lakes in the Pigeon River Country Forest, at least six of them are of the classical round sinkhole type with very steep banks. These six are Lost Lake and West Lost Lake, North and South Twin Lakes, Section Four Lake, and the smallest, known as "the Devil’s Soup Bowl". The water of these six is typically milky blue reflecting their dissolved limestone origins and are fed mostly by underground springs. Ford Lake looks more like a normal lake with more gentle banks, while Hemlock Lake, while it has the typical steep bank along its eastern and southeastern shore, it has, like Ford Lake, also some more gradual, even swampy shores. The depths of these lakes range from 30 to 60 feet, quite unusual for such small lakes in country with such sandy or gravely soil. Just southeast of Hemlock Lake is a dry sinkhole similar to those near Shoepac Lake.

All sinkhole lakes in the Pigeon River Country Forest have been closed to fishing for most of the past four decades while the DNR Fisheries Division conducted studies of the growth and survival rates of various strains of trout. These studies have been finally completed, and the plan is to stock four of these lakes with two of these strains: two with Assinica strain Brook Trout, and two with Steelhead strain Rainbow Trout. The three lakes closest to Twin Lakes Rd., because of the danger of increased shore erosion, will not be stocked. But whether stocked with trout or not these sinkhole lakes remain among the most picturesque jewels of the Pigeon River Country Forest. (This article—with illustrations—can be viewed at www.PigeonRiverCountryForest.org)

New Pigeon River Forest & High Country Pathway Map

Work continues on a new topographical map which will not only cover the entire Pigeon River Country Forest but also the 80+ mile long High Country Pathway and the other DNR designated pathways in the area, which include the Shinglemill Pathway, the Clear Lake-Jackson Lake Pathway, the Sinkholes Pathway, the Pickerel Lake Pathway, the Green Timbers area trail, and that portion of the North Spur of the Midland to Mackinaw Shore to Shore (horseback riding) Trail that passes through the PRCSF. Based on a state modification of the latest official USGS maps, this 40" x 40" map (to be printed on waterproof paper) will also show not only all the county roads but also all the Forest roads that are open to vehicular traffic, campground locations, elk-viewing meadows, and even recommended scenic vistas. State owned land will be shown with a green back-ground, private land with white. All lakes and watercourses, down to the smallest fishable creeks (as well as marshlands and swamps) will be marked in blue. On the reverse side of the map will be information about the PRCSF and the High Country Pathway, camping regulations and other essential information, plus other helpful information about the Forest and its wildlife. Although primarily a project of the PRCA and entirely funded by the Association, we are seeking an official DNR stamp of approval. Draft samples or computer displays of the map will be available at the annual meeting in July. We have high hopes that this all-purpose map will be available before the end of the year and will just about meet the needs of every type of visitor to the forest for years to come. Meanwhile, the only detailed maps of most if not all of these pathways can be found in the limited number of copies of the 1997 edition of the Field Guide to the High Country Pathway that are still available from the Association. (Send $4.50 to the PRCA at PO Box 122, Gaylord, MI 49734-0122.)

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To contact the Newsletter Editor call (989) 732-9580 or email me at rwkropf@stellamar.net .

MEMBERSHIP

Any person interested in helping protect the Pigeon River Country and its resources and wildlife is invited to join us. Individual memberships are $15 per year, or family memberships are $20 per year (federal tax deductible).

Members will receive a quarterly newsletter and are invited to the annual open membership meeting, held at the forest headquarters building, usually on a Saturday during June.

You can become a member by sending your check payable to P.R.C.A. at:

The Pigeon River Country Association, P.O. Box 122, Gaylord MI, 49734-0122

To contact us by e-mail: info@pigeonrivercountryforest.org