Sunday, February 28, 2010

Rock Weir in Chesanin, Michigan on Shiawassee River

RIVER ROCK INSPECTION

– Thus far the Shiawassee River rock rapids have experienced a fairly tame winter.
Unlike the previous winter, the river hasn’t overflowed or suffered from giant ice flows.
As a result, the Village of Chesaning has been advised to postpone the inspection until “a major event” occurs.

The advice came from Rowe Inc. Project Engineer Mike Nielsen, with the approval of river rock structure designer Elon “Sandy” Verry of Grand Rapids, Minn. The cost of bringing Verry back to Michigan for the inspection and report will be approximately $15,700. Since little has happened to affect the rock placement, it seemed a wise recommendation to postpone the inspection.

During the Village’s Feb. 16 meeting, in addition to recommending a delay in contracting Verry for monitoring, Nielsen suggested the village hire Verry directly rather than going through the engineer as it would save the village money.
He went further to recommend that if the rock rapids did require adjustments, the village should simply call Pete’s Contracting, back, since village officials had been so pleased with the contractor’s work on the project.

There were still some issues associated with the CMI grant that required attention. According to Nielsen, the final $20,000 of the grant won’t be released until the grant has been closed out. Nielsen added, “It is unlikely you’ll go more than a year without having ‘an event’.”

http://tricountycitizen.mihomepaper.com/news/2010-02-21/News_Briefs/NEWS_BRIEFS.html

Monday, February 22, 2010

The Shiawassee River as a Key Piece of Economic Development

Winter Speaker Series:

The Shiawassee River as a Key Piece of Economic Development

Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 5:30 p.m., Caledonia Twp. Hall, Owosso

David Lossing, Mayor of Linden, will describe how their community has taken advantage of their riverside location to further community development, including providing for recreational access, and describe upcoming plans. Mr. Lossing has been the Mayor of the City of Linden since 2004 and has been involved in a number of regional discussions in southern Genesee, Oakland and Livingston counties dealing with land use, multi-use bike paths, and the establishment of the Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail. He’s involved with a number of local and statewide organizations and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Michigan Municipal League. He also serves as the director of government relations at the University of Michigan-Flint.

http://shiawasseeriver.org/
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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Updated Map: Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail

Click on image for full size view
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Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Quiet Water Symposium


15th Annual Quiet Water Symposium 
 Non-motorized outdoor recreational enthusiasts come together sharing
equipment, concerns, opportunities, adventures and experiences.

I've been going this event for many years and I learn new stuff every year.
The inter-action among the crowd, vendors, displays, & speakers is magical.
If you enjoy being outside, clear this calendar day for some indoor networking.

Date:..........  Saturday March 6, 2010
Location:    The Pavilion for Livestock and Agriculture Education
.....................(Farm Lane, south of Mt Hope - on the campus of MSU - Lansing,MI)
Time:.......    9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Admission:..Adults $8.00  -  under 12  Free

MAPS

The Symposium has a wide range of exhibits on the show floor.
Everything under the sun is featured from clubs, nature centers,
handcrafted canoe/kayak, trails for biking, hiking and paddling,
conservation groups, outfitters and liveries, along with a wide variety
of outdoor oriented retailers as well.

EXHIBITS
Beautiful hand-built canoes, kayaks, rowing craft, outdoor gear.  Antique and
restored classic canoes, traditional snowshoes, bicycles - and more.

OPPORTUNITIES:
Paddling Adventures - Recreational Clubs - Paddling safety, instruction and skills
Model Boat Painting - Flint Knapping, etc., etc.
     
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP:
Watershed groups - Red Cedar Flyfishers - Environmental Groups -Nature Centers

DEMONSTRATION
Wooden canoe re-canvassing - Fly tying - Outdoor and Traditional Skills

SPEAKERS
Cliff Jacobson, Doc Fletcher, Gary and Joanie McGuffin, Eric Hansen,
Emma and Richard Bailey, Phil Cotton, Jonathan Morgan, Wendy Watson,
Jonathan Ahlbrand, Chad Cottom, Sara Waters, Gil Cramer, Allen Demming,
Randall Thoreson, Cal Lamoreaux, etc., etc.

http://www.quietwatersymposium.org/qws2010.html
Michigan State University and the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
are the gracious hosts of it all. (ANR Week) continues to be one of the largest
events of its kind in the nation. ANR Week 2010 provides a wide-variety of topics
in areas such as agriculture, horticulture, and natural resources,
i.e. Quiet Water Symposium, Michigan Wildflower Conference,
Growing of Michigan’s Organic Future, etc., etc.

Keepers of the Shiawassee Protect, promote and restore

New volunteer group to host meeting

Published: Saturday, February 13, 2010 6:17 AM EST - Tri County Times
Fenton — The Shiawassee River, the liquid ribbon that flows through Holly, Fenton, Linden and Argentine all the way to the Saginaw River, is the topic of discussion for the first Keepers of the Shiawassee meeting on Thursday, Feb. 18.

The Keepers of the Shiawassee is a volunteer group that is beginning to develop the river as a paddling trail by organizing cleanups, installation of signage, and canoe/kayak launches. “The Shiawassee River is one of our greatest resources and has the opportunity to provide recreation and economic development to our region,” said Maggie Yerman, an advocate for the Shiawassee River and key organizer of Keepers of the Shiawassee.

Keepers of the Shiawassee has grown out of efforts started by Headwaters Trails, Inc. in Holly that created a paddling trail along the river from Holly to Fenton, and who organize an annual canoe race. Though local river cleanups take place in Fenton, Linden and Argentine, there has not been an organized effort to link volunteers in Genesee County to develop and promote the river. The Keepers of the Shiawassee hope to establish the water trail with safe and legal launch and landing sites and facilities every 4 to 6 river miles for novice and recreational paddlers.

The water trail would not stop in Genesee County. Friends of the Shiawassee River in Shiawassee County spearhead the development and promotion of the river.

At the end of the day, these collective groups hope to see a paddling trail that’s nearly 100 miles long, from Holly all the way to the Shiawassee Flats. Last year, the Fenton Community Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint lent its support by providing a grant to the Center for Applied Environmental Research, UM-Flint for interpretive signage, brochures, and developing a canoe launch.

“We are very pleased to be working with such great communities who embrace the river and see it as an opportunity to bring people in to enjoy nature and see what southern Genesee County has to offer,” said Sara McDonnell, program coordinator at University of Michigan-Flint.

 Southern Lakes Parks & Recreation has been providing administrative support to the group.
They also offer some great kayaking classes for all different levels.
The classes take place in the security of the Fenton High School Pool.

More information is available at their brand new website
www.slpr.net

Friday, February 12, 2010

New Map for Shiawassee River

New Link Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail http://www.umflint.edu/resources/pdf/outreach/shiawasse-river-trail-map.pdf A cool map of the Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Keepers of the Shiawassee

Keepers of the Shiawassee:
New group to meet to plan future water trail work for Shiawassee River

By Liz Shaw | Flint Journal
February 06, 2010, 2:28PM



FENTON -- Like the headwaters of the Shiawassee River itself, the vision began in northwestern Oakland County,
when a group of paddling enthusiasts dreamed of opening a water trail from Holly to Fenton.

Today, the seven-mile Shiawassee River Heritage Trail is one of the area’s most popular and well-maintained waterways
for canoeing and kayaking, hosting annual paddling events that draw people from all over southeast Michigan.

Of course, the Shiawassee River doesn’t stop at Fenton – a fact that Headwaters Trails advocates have always kept firmly in
mind as they’ve worked on ways to join efforts with similar groups along the river’s 100-mile path from Holly to the Shiawassee Flats in Saginaw County.

Keepers of the Shiawassee is a new volunteer group springing up from that joint effort to continue developing the river
as a paddling trail through organized cleanups, signage and safe, legal launch and landing sites for canoes and kayaks, spaced at regular intervals.

The new group will build on last year’s achievements, when the Fenton Community Fund of the Community Fund of Greater Flint
provided a grant to the University of Michigan-Flint Center for Applied Environmental Research for interpretive signage, brochures and canoe launch development.

“This Shiawassee River is one of our greatest resources and has the opportunity to provide recreation
and economic development to our region,” said Maggie Yerman, a key organizer of Keepers of the Shiawassee.

Anyone interested in helping to protect, promote and restore
the Shiawassee River is invited to attend :

The group’s first informational meeting,
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Feb. 18
Fenton Community & Cultural Center,
150 S. Leroy St.,
Fenton.

Light refreshments will be provided.
Please RSVP to (810) 591-0080.

http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/outdoors/2010/02/keepers_of_the_shiawassee_new.html

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

New Wikipedia page

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiawassee_River_Heritage_Water_Trail
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The Shiawassee River as a Key Piece of Community and Economic Development

The Shiawassee River as a Key Piece of Community and Economic Development

Tuesday, February 23, 5:30-7:00 pm,
Caledonia Township Hall,
135 N. State Road.
Linden, Michigan

David Lossing, Mayor of Linden, will describe how their community
has taken advantage of their riverside location to further community development,
including providing for recreational access, and describe upcoming plans.

Mr. Lossing has been the Mayor of the City of Linden since 2004
and has been involved in a number of regional discussions in southern Genesee,
Oakland and Livingston counties dealing with land use, multi-use bike paths,
and the establishment of the Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail.

http://citycouncilcook.blogspot.com/2010/01/learning-opportunity.html

HeadWatersTrails Inc - Quiet Water Symposium 2010

HeadWatersTrails Inc

Monday, February 01, 2010

FlyOver Video - Shiawassee River




A view of the Shiawassee River from Holly towards Fenton showing many twists and turns.