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