Michigan Dams Ruin Native Fish Habitat, NWF Tells Agency - Brief Article

International Wildlife, May-June, 2001

As the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers relicensing applications from two Michigan dams, NWF is asking the agency to increase flow from the two dams to restore fish habitat and to remove a remnant dam near one of the structures.

The dams, located on the Dead River, a tributary of Lake Superior, have dewatered more than a mile of the river, devastating populations of sturgeon, coaster brook trout and other native fish.

Reservoirs created by the dams have inundated 200 acres of wildlife habitat and sparked lakeside development, which displaces animals such as wolves and lynx. NWF is calling on FERC to require the dam owners to maintain ownership of adjacent land to deter further development into wild areas.