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Pigeon River Country Association Newsletter - Summer 2009
The
annual PRCA Open Meeting was held as scheduled, Sunday afternoon, July 15th, but
attendance was down considerably from previous years, one reason no doubt being
that the main (Sturgeon Valley Rd.) bridge over the Pigeon River is still in the
process of being replaced—necessitating what is being said to be the longest
detour in the state’s history.
Nevertheless, despite a drastic reduction in forest recreational use this summer
(Pickerel Lake Campground also remaining closed for much needed repairs), there
was a long discussion regarding the reasons for and the effect of the new
regulations concerning horseback riding in the PRC Forest. The forest manager
spent considerable time explaining why and how the Pittman-Robertson Act (the
source of the federal funding which facilitated the purchase of roughly half of
the PRCSF) affects the management of the whole forest—even those parts acquired
later through oil and gas well royalties). What was not brought into this
discussion, but probably should have been, was the fact that the present
restrictions as mandated by the 2007 revision of the DNR’s official management
plan for the PRCSF were enacted as a measure to correct a situation that had
gotten out of control. This does not mean that further adjustments will not be
made to meet the various recreational needs of the public.
Another topic taken up at the meeting was the future of this
newsletter. With the retirement of our Vice-president, Rudi Edel, (now replaced
as VP by Eugene Horan, our former Advisory Council representative) we will have
to assume the responsibility of printing out the letter ourselves, not just its
editing and mailing. Various options were discussed, among them encouraging
those members able to receive the newsletter over the internet to opt out of
receiving the printed version. Other options ranged from hiring professional
printing and mailing services to the association acquiring a color printer for
this purpose (which the board has subsequently done) and continuing to rely on
volunteer help for assembling the pages, folding, stamping, and mailing.
Meanwhile, in addition to thanking Rudi for so much of the production work, we
also need to thank PRCA members Ray and Billye Thatcher for their help in
accomplishing the later part of this tedious operation. Nevertheless, we will,
at the same time, encourage those who are content to receive an electronic
version to save more trees and to save the association postage costs by signing
up to do so in place of receiving the paper version.
It has seemed rather
isolated up here on the west side of the Pigeon River Country since the bridge
over Sturgeon Valley Road has been out all summer and the campground at Pickerel
Lake is also closed (still!) for some needed renovation work. But several major
items have happened.
This spring we
lost another one of our founders and a steadfast supporter in Jerry Myers. His
family asked that memorial donations go to the Association and we are now
working with the new Unit Manager, Scott Whitcomb, and the Myers family to
develop an extensive display for the front of DNR Headquarters. Jerry loved to tell people about all
the possibilities in the Pigeon, and so we all thought that putting information
at the entrance to headquarters describing access
for all those who love the PRC would make a good memorial. Current plans call for separate displays for hunters, fishermen, horseback riders (who think incorrectly that the PRC is completely closed to them), mountain bike riders, hikers, morel pickers, elk viewers, and others. The Concept of Management will be used to explain how and why there need to be some usage limits in the PRC.
Also this spring both Trout Unlimited and the Pigeon River Country Association
joined the State of Michigan in its lawsuit against Golden Lotus, the owners of
the Song of the Morning Ranch. We are asking the court to order the removal of
the dam on their property that had the massive silt spill last summer. I can’t
really say anything about this action since we are now in litigation, but rest
assured that we continue in our efforts to protect the Pigeon River Country.
Public information about last summer’s failure is on our website,
www.pigeonrivercountryforest.org and I encourage everyone to check it
regularly for updates.
I’ve gotten several questions about the address labels, so let me
explain them again. The year (e.g. /07) that appears on your label is the last
year you paid your dues according to our records. Please correct us if the year
is wrong. We will continue sending you the quarterly newsletter for an
additional year, but we ask you to please renew your membership, either by
returning the enclosed form or going to our website. If you wish to have your
newsletter sent to you by email (and save us the cost of mailing it to you),
please send us a request at
info@pigeonrivercountryforest.org. Your dues fund the annual intern who
works in the Pigeon River country, and this is even more important now given the
financial challenges in Michigan. And remember we are a 501c3 organization.
Last
year the state legislature passed a law that allows each county in the northern
Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula to pass an ordinance that allows ORVs
and ATVs to use some or all of its county roads. Moreover the legislation grants
each township the right to establish different rules governing ORV and ATV use
within the township if a county ordinance doesn’t meet with township approval.
In effect this required every county to negotiate with all of their townships in
an effort to establish county rules for ORV and ATV use. While DNR rules
prohibiting ORV and ATV use in the Pigeon off of county roads didn’t change, the
law meant that the rules for ORV and ATV use on county roads within the Pigeon
had to be revisited.
Joe Jarecki led
an effort to convince Otsego, Montmorency, and Cheboygan counties that ORV and
ATV use within the Pigeon should be prohibited. At the Otsego and Cheboygan
County Commission meetings that I was able to attend, restrictions on ORV use in
the Pigeon were a major issue. Members of the PRCA, Headwaters TU, Audubon
Society, Michigan Conservation Foundation and many others all spoke out in favor
of limiting ORV and ATV use in the Pigeon. The reasons given included the damage
to the environment, the likelihood that illegal use off of county roads would
increase and the violation of the quiet of the Big Wild.
Otsego and
Montmorency counties basically agreed to ban ORV and ATV use on virtually all
county roads within the Pigeon. However they are allowed on many of the county
roads outside of the PRCSF in those counties. There is a map for Otsego County
on the Otsego County website
www.otsegocountymi.gov/off-road-vehicle-(orv)-ordinance-09-03-236/ which
shows where they are allowed and where they are not allowed. (They are not
allowed on roads marked in red.) Unfortunately, the Cheboygan County Board of
Commissioners decided to allow ORVs and ATVs to use all Cheboygan County roads
in the Pigeon. Needless to say these ordinances make enforcement of the rules
quite difficult for local law enforcement personnel.
I don’t think
there are many people who believe that all Cheboygan County ORV riders who go
into the Pigeon will stay off of DNR roads and turn around when they get to the
(poorly marked) Cheboygan/Otsego County boundary. Headwaters TU has suggested
that all users of the Pigeon should telephone reports to the Otsego, Cheboygan
or Montmorency County sheriff’s Department if they see illegal ORV/ATV use in
the PRC. (Anywhere on state land, including DNR roads, or on most Otsego and
Montmorency county roads.) This way there will be a record of illegal use that
hopefully can be used to persuade Cheboygan County to change their rules on
ORV/ATV use within the Pigeon. Your board recommends that we all do this!
The phone numbers
are: Cheboygan County Sheriff 231-627-3155; Otsego County Sheriff 989-732-3555;
Montmorency County Sheriff 989-785-4238. Please do not use 911 to make these
calls.
(Ray Hoobler, PRCA President)
Over
the past dozen years or so, the PRCA has continued to take an interest in the
work sponsored by Upper Black River Watershed Restoration Committee. A
consortium of interested organizations such as Trout Unlimited, Huron Pines
RC&D, and various government agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the DNR Fisheries Department, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
have banded together to try to improve the condition of the upper part of the
Black (officially the Cheboygan-Black—since there are three other “Black rivers”
in Michigan) and in particular, to restore its famed brook trout population.
The main branch of the upper part of this river flows through a good part of the
eastern portion of the PRC Forest, but in recent decades has been troubled by an
excessive number of beaver dams (trapping activity not being what it used to be)
and other conditions leading to excessive warming of the water to the point of
adversely affecting the native brook trout population. (Brook Trout thrive in
water around 55-60 F, and quickly abandon water that becomes noticeably
warmer.) This past summer a crew of young men hired by Huron Pines have been
continuing to remove beaver dams, especially those blocking the feeder creeks,
and completing efforts begun in past years to provide more “cover” for the trout
to hide in. A crew working (pictured above) has been
fastening logs and other “woody debris” in place in a section of the river
downstream from Town Corner Campground. (R.W.
Kropf, editor)
The regular summer quarterly meeting of the Pigeon River Country Forest Advisory Council was held on July19th at the Forest Headquarters beginning at 6:30 PM. Among the various matters taken up by the Council were…
It appears that for the present that ORV use on County roads within the PRCSF will be restricted as follows, Otsego County: All roads within the PRCSF will be closed but roads on the border will remain open to allow travel around the perimeter to neighboring Counties. Montmorency County: Restrictions similar to Otsego County except that a short portion of Blue Lakes road will remain open to the last privately held parcel (the 4-40 Club) on the road to allow those property owners to access their land from county roads. This though no one was quite certain if those landowners were ORV Users or supported ORV use. Lastly, Cheboygan County: All county roads are to remain open to ORV use. Despite attempts by the DNR, Advisory Council members and citizens in general to influence the Cheboygan County Commissioners to close roads within the PRCSF, they voted to leave their roads open to ORV use. After this was reported to the Advisory Council it was asked of DNR Law Division Personnel what their plan of action was going to be? They stated that a position of “Low Tolerance” was planned. As representative of the PRCA, I asked for a plan of “No Tolerance” rather than “Low Tolerance” for the reason that while the communities in Cheboygan County benefit from the PRCSF they have chosen to ignore pleas to help protect the PRCSF for what it is and what is sought after within the PRCSF and that “No Tolerance” is the best way to protect the PRCSF and get that message across.
As reported in the last newsletter the issue of snowmobile and vehicle use for Elk retrieval in closed areas was again discussed. The Advisory Council did agree that they considered retrieval of an illegally harvested Elk a permissible management practice as it would allow DNR Law Enforcement Officials to perform their duty in gathering evidence. But that retrieval of a legally harvested Elk was not and that hunters successful in the drawing should be prepared to use dragging or quartering and packing the animal out if they were successful in the harvesting an Elk. This practice is used in Western states were many Michigan hunters travel to have a chance to hunt Elk. It was also mentioned that other hunters of big game in Michigan (including the PRCSF) such as deer and bear are on their own to get the game out of the woods without special assistance from the DNR. This is a part of the traditional hunting and generally accepted practice of ethical hunters. Advisory Council members who are also hunters felt that they would not like to see deviations from the Concept of Management when asking that the DNR strictly enforce restrictions to other user groups. After discussions a motion was passed by the full Advisory Council recommending that, “snowmobiles and other motor vehicles not be allowed on any roads or trails except those open to the general public under the vehicle access plan”, emphasizing the need to follow the guidelines in the official Concept of Management and that retrieval of a harvested animal is not considered a valid excuse for ignoring these restrictions.
The DNR is
still working on acquisition of properties within the boundary of the PRCSF as
well as a portion of the Ford property that has been under discussion for
acquisition. The only negative comment that I have heard is from a horseback
user that fears if additional lands a purchased and included in the PRCSF
Boundary this would just add to lands where they cannot ride. One needs to
consider that while they would be denied unrestricted riding, to the best of my
knowledge, the current land owner (the Ford Family) does not allow any public
horseback use. That said this acquisition could increase horseback in the area.
The DNR Fisheries division reported that the survey of Hackett Lake
(planned for possible acquisition) has been postponed due to division funding
cuts.
It
was also reported that discussions continue into the possible acquisition of the
mineral rights on the Blue Lakes Tract, however current leases would have to
expire or be forfeited before a purchase would be finalized.
The Oil & Gas
sub-committee recommended that the Advisory Council ask for written
clarification as to whether Oil & Gas drilling can occur within the “Pigeon
River Natural River Zone” and if there are restrictions what those might be. A
motion was presented and passed by the Advisory Council to this effect.
A second Motion by the Sub-Committee was presented asking for
written interpretation as to if, “Under Non-Development leases issued within the PRCSF where allowed under Concept of Management, any surface disturbance for
installation of infrastructure is allowed” The Council meeting ended around
9:30PM. The next meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 PM at the PRCSF
Headquarters on Friday October 16th, 2009. The public is
welcome to attend. (Michael Brown, PRCA representative to the PRCSF Advisory
Council)
Pigeon River Country Association
PO Box 122
Gaylord, MI 49734-0122
info@pigeonrivercountryforest.org
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