August 24th, 2013 - Northern Michigan 6 River Sweep
Sturgeon River Report
This project was led and organized by the Boyne Mountain Sports Shops - Ethan WInchester.
He got several organizations to team up to clean 6 rivers in one day, something the BRCS has only dreamed about doing but never has. Ethan made it look easy.
The 6 Rivers Are:
Bear, Boyne, Jordan, Maple, Pigeon, Sturgeon
This was the first year this was ever done in Michigan as far as we know.
The BRCS was given the task of cleaning the Sturgeon which we have done many times before.
7 TAPC members and one non-member came to Wolverine to work.
2 TAPC members went to the Boyne River to help there.
We had two teams - One for Wolverine to Rondo and one for Rondo to N White Bridge.
The river was pushy as usual but no one got seriously injured.
Here are the pictures from the project.
John and I first went fishing.
I found one too.
Rondo to N White Team
I walked around on too many logjams that day.
Way too many.
David found a float tube that he liberated.
Steve does a great job, too.
Bob sliding under Scott Rd. Bridge. Jocelyn - Winner of the Photo Contest Award.
This paddler waited too long for help. We left him.
Jocelyn in a precarious position.
So many logjams. I'm too old for this stuff.
Glenn watched me like a hawk and saved my a** a few times. Thanks Glenn.
Marvin leaning hard on a logjam. Nice form Marv.
Wildlife abounds on the Sturgeon.
Wild life abounds on the Sturgeon.
John recruits an assistant to help with his boat. Nice uniform.
Rondo to N White Rd haul - 4 big bags. Some was recycled.
Wolverine to Scott Rd - Jocelyn
Wolverine to Scott Rd - David
Scott Rd to Rondo Landing haul - and crew.
Most unusual and unusable item found - a coil of copper cable.
Probably worth a lot of money but too nasty to deal with.
Our total haul was 14 bags of trash.
Big Bear Adventures graciously picked up all our trash to place in their dumpster.
THANK YOU! Jamie and BIG BEAR ADVENTURES OF INDIAN RIVER.
Most inventive moment:
David invented a new knot when his boat kept floating away.
The dinner and drinks at Boyne Mountain after-party was very nice. The resort was very generous to us and we got a free ride to the top of the mountain on the two place chairlift on Hemlock. We met many new river cleaning friends and we plan to stay in touch and share some good times on the rivers in their areas soon.
The Sturgeon River is not for the faint of heart and it's even worse when you have to clean it.
We love to do this project and we congratulate Ethan and Boyne Mountain for pulling this project off. We will be happy to continue to do this project as long as we can into the future.
Count us in!
Norm Fred
Boyne River Cleanup Report
By John and Angie WIllis
This is truly a gem! We cleaned the 4 miles of river that can be
paddled and ended in Boyne City at the Lake Charlevoix boat ramp. Lots
of trout and not much trash, except as we approached Boyne City. Adam
was guide extraordinaire We learned a lot about this river and it's
watershed. The afternoon was spent picking trash near road access' of
the Boyne River and it's tributaries.
Boyne River Photos and Report by Angie and John Willis
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Later that night:
Boyne Mountain provided a fun afternoon for the participants at the resort. There was food drinks and plenty to do with lots of people there. Here are just a few pictures of the resort.
Thanks to Boyne Mountain for a fun day.
Norm Fred