July 24-Pine River Cleanup
Wayne Anderson | Published on 7/24/2024
Pine River Cleanup July 24th – Elm Flats to Dobson Bridge
Today’s trip had 10 eager participants. Eight Club members included Mark Miltner, Kathleen Imre, Paul Marcussen, Jacqui Morgenstein, Mike Rodenberg, Jocelyn Trepte, Susan Wilgus and Wayne Andersen. Rounding our todays crew were 2 guests. Michigan Trout Unlimited Aquatic Ecologist Dr. Jordyn Stoll and Michigan Trout Unlimited Intern Nate Schroeder. They are doing some research work on the Pine River this week and they accepted our invitation to join us on today’s cleanup. They were both accomplished paddles and added to the pleasant atmosphere of the group.
Arriving at Elm Flats we were disappointed to see that the river was higher than normal and turbid making it unable for us to see the river bottom. The Pine River is very flashy and rises quickly with rainfall within the watershed. Due to the lack of visibility in the water column we were restricted to locating floating litter and litter items trapped within the log jams. A disappointment but the crew prepped their watercraft and ran the shuttle with confidence that we would have a successful cleanup leaving the river better of less litter.
The weather was perfect with air temperature in the low 70’s and the water temperature comfortable for wet wading. The overcast cloud cover made for a comfortable July Day.
The crew captured the usual litter items of cans, bottles of plastic and glass, footwear and other items. Note that 3 canoe paddles were also recovered from the river and returned to service.
Two broods of wood ducks and one brood of mergansers were encountered along with some individual waterfowl. Wild flowers were on display in several locations along the river banks. Joe Pye Weed (which isn’t a weed) is starting to blossom. Black-eyed Susans and Wild Bergamot were also in bloom as well as other wild flower species.
The group worked very well as a team while floating downstream with many pleasant conversations with our guest paddlers and among the regular Pine River Cleanup Crew. There were no unplanned swims or rescues today.
A sincere “Thank You” to all who participated in today’s cleanup. Accompanying pictures were submitted by Jocylyn Trepte and Dr. Jordyn Stoll.
** Any omissions, mistakes or oversites on this trip report are the sole responsibility of the scribe, Wayne Andersen.
