Looking back on the Midland flood of 2020

Posted on by farlane

Swinging the Arch into Position by Charles Bonham

Five years ago yesterday, the City of Midland was devastated by the collapse of the Edenville & Sanford dams. If you’re wondering whether or not the State of Michigan taken this tragedy to heart, the answer according to this mLive article appears to be “Nope”:

“Did we really use Midland to do deep learning and then change our regulations and invest in this infrastructure time bomb?” said Bryan Burroughs, executive director of Michigan Trout Unlimited and a member of a former task force that issued a suite of mostly unrealized recommendations on dam safety after Edenville.

“Not dramatically, not significantly.”

…Republicans and Democrats pledged action. Lansing politicians secured large sums to rebuild the mid-Michigan dams, channeled smaller pots of money to other dams and added state inspectors. But corresponding dam safety reforms were introduced and quickly faded away. “We’re still at the starting blocks waiting for the gun to go off with dam safety in Michigan,” said Bill Rustem, a former task force member and advisor to Michigan governors William Milliken and Rick Snyder.

Lots more in mLive & also check out the latest in the case of Midland residents & businesses vs the State of Michigan in the Detroit News.

Charles shared a ton of photos with us during the Midland Flood of May 2020, so I thought it would be a great time to check back and see how things are looking lately! See more lovely spring pics in Charles’s Dow Gardens gallery on Flickr!

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Meeting in the Middle on the Gordie Howe Bridge

Posted on by farlane
Connection of the Gordie Howe Bridge by Joe Decenso

Connection of the Gordie Howe Bridge by Joe Decenso

One year ago today, I shared Joe’s photo of them laying the last girder on the Gordie Howe’s Bridge. With over 3,000,000 views on Facebook & Michigan in Pictures was the most popular post ever so I figured I would return with his shot of the crews meeting in the middle of this Canadian-funded bridge from Canada to the US.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge Authority has confirmed a September 2025 opening date, and you can head over to their website for lots more info & updates.

You can see lots more from Joe on his Instagram and for sure view & purchase his photos on his website!

Gordie Howe’s Last Girder by Joe Decenso

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Damn Cold Michigan Morning at Barton Dam

Posted on by farlane
Barton Dam - Cold by Bruce Bertz

Barton Dam – Cold by Bruce Bertz

Most of the schools in Michigan were closed today due to single digit or subzero temps as the entire state wonders what box it put the electric blanket in. ArborWiki’s entry for Barton Dam says that:

The City of Ann Arbor purchased the dam from Detroit Edison in the 1960s and restarted hydroelectric generation in the 1980s. The facility has a 900-kilowatt turbine that generates 4.2 million kWh per year.

Barton Dam is one of Ann Arbor’s four dams on the Huron River. It was designed by engineer Gardner Stewart Williams and architect Emil Lorch and built in 1912-13 as part of the development of hydroelectric power on the Huron River by the predecessor of Detroit Edison. The earthen-construction dam is 34 feet high and 1767 feet long, and has a typical surface area of 315 acres and typical storage of 5050 acre-feet. The dam can be accessed from Huron River Drive from the city park located at the foot of Bird Road.

See more including another shot from Barton Dam Nature Area in Bruce’s 2025-01 gallery on Flickr and STAY WARM!!!

Frosty by Bruce Bertz

Frosty by Bruce Bertz

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How about Michigan as Canada’s 11th Province? 🤔

Posted on by farlane
2Nations by James Devlin

2Nations by James Devlin

There’s been some honestly crazy talk about Canada becoming our 51st state in the news. Leaving aside the fact that Canada is actually bigger than the US, only 13% of Canadians actually want this. David Olive of the Toronto Star thinks it’s funny because many Canadians think of Michigan as Canada’s 11th province. He makes some humorous points but concludes with some compelling facts:

Canada is Michigan’s biggest trading partner, accounting for about 41 per cent of Michigan’s exports, or approximately $40 billion per year. And so, at its own expense Canada is nearing completion on a $6.4-billion second bridge across the Detroit River, named for Red Wings legend Gordie Howe.

Thousands of people commute each day from their homes in Michigan to their work in Canada and vice versa. Let’s join Michigan to Canada so that those nurses, engineers, municipal workers and computer programmers can more easily travel within the same country. The pandemic played havoc with those commuters, when the international crossing was closed.

Let’s scrap that border before the next pandemic.

As someone who has regularly visited Canada all my life; vacationing on Sugar Island & St Joseph Island, skiing in Searchmont, enjoying music in Toronto, and zipping across to Windsor with just my enhanced Michigan license whenever the mood strikes me, I’m giving that a big amen!

James shared the photo of the Ambassador Bridge back in February of 2018 writing: Fog covers the cities of Windsor, ONT and Detroit, MI. The Ambassador Bridge connects the two cities. 5 shot panorama stitched in Lightroom. Shot from Detroit Riverside Park.

There’s more pics in his Detroit gallery on Flickr including the photo of the two nations looking downriver.

Overall, the report found 82% of Canadians do not want to become the 51st state with only 13% saying they would.

Detroit by James Devlin

Detroit by James Devlin

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Waterfall Wednesday: Over Tahquamenon Falls Edition

Posted on by farlane
Over Tahquamenon Falls by Gary Ennis

Over Tahquamenon Falls by Gary Ennis

9 years ago I shared some photos of kayaking legend Marcelo Galizio plunging over Tahquamenon Falls. I was surprised to learn he had done it previously & even more surprised that he’d done it 19 times since 2012! The Newberry News shares in part:

Believe it or not, it’s legal. Water is in the public domain, and Galizio has a right to be there. What he does is highly unrecommended, however, even by Galizio.

Galizio is a professional kayaker, and he takes on these adventures for a living. He only performs a drop if the conditions prove themselves to be right, and only after his team is in place to assist. That includes a safety person waiting in a kayak downstream from the falls, a drone operator, and a camera person.

“I usually come back to the surface upside down,” he said. When that happens, he rights himself quickly, and no water gets inside his kayak.

…Eric Johnson, lead ranger for the park, has been with the park for 18 years and has concerns about activities like these. “I have the fear that it might get a copy cat attempt by somebody that’s not a professional waterfalls kayaker,” Johnson said.

Gary witnessed the team in action & wrote “Trust and team work! The work between these 2 is unreal… It was awesome to see how well – just amazing!” Click for more pics from the drop (use the right arrow to advance), and see more photos from Gary on his Facebook.

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Fall Color: Rivers & Bridges Edition

Posted on by farlane
Falls River Drone Shot by Monika Kross

Falls River Drone Shot by Monika Kross

Monika regularly shares photos in our Facebook group but in case you haven’t visited, I wanted to share a couple here. About the photo above she writes:

I saw this out of the corner of my eye last August and gasped! Since then, I’ve been determined to get the shot but being 3 hours from home, I chose to wait until my autumn color tour. I’m as pleased as punch about it as it was a sketchy, tree filled drone flight in but I HAD to get the waterfalls in back and in front of the train trestle.

See Monika’s latest on her Facebook & for sure follow her @Michiganunsaltedgirl on Instagram!

Sturgeon River near Canyon Falls by Monika Kross

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Misty Morning on the Manistee River

Posted on by farlane
Fall Notes by Aaron Springer

Fall Notes by Aaron Springer

I’ve had this photo that Aaron took overlooking the Manistee River on October 15, 2016 saved for years & somehow never shared it. Problem solved!!

See Aaron’s latest on his Flickr!

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Lake Michigan Salmon vs Homestead Dam

Posted on by farlane
Overcoming Obstacles by SueFi Photography

Overcoming Obstacles by SueFi Photography

NOTE: This could very well be a steelhead, but salmon season is ON

American Boating shares that the Lake Michigan salmon run – when adult salmon return to the river of their birth to lay eggs – occurs every fall:

There is no set start date, but you can usually start to see fish in the river in early September, and expect the run to be pretty much done by the end of October. A lot of this depends on the weather. A lack of rain and/or warm weather can make the run start later, and extra rain with cooler temperatures can cause the run to start a little earlier. I guess it all depends on when the fall rains and cooler temperatures hit the area. If you go to the rivers during September and October you are going to eventually find fish, it’s just a matter of timing it to catch the big run.

It’s pretty cool to watch too! The Betsie River salmon fishing group on Facebook confirms that the 2024 salmon run is well underway!

Sue caught this great pic of a salmon following its instincts as it attempts to surmount Homestead Dam in Benzie County, relying on its “inner knowing” and putting all focus and energy to making its way upstream! For sure follow her at SueFi Photography on Facebook for more!!

More fish & fishing on Michigan in Pictures.

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Indian River Sturgeon

Posted on by farlane
Indian River Sturgeon by Rick Kolb

Indian River Sturgeon by Rick Kolb

Yesterday’s story on Native efforts to restore Nmé (Lake Sturgeon) to Michigan waters was so cool that I’m gonna stick with Michigan’s longest lived fish for another day. Roadside America shares a little about the 32-foot steel sculpture of a Lake Sturgeon in Indian River:

Made of quarter-inch-thick plate steel with an iridescent sheen, this whopper weighs nearly four tons and gave credibility to Onaway’s claim to be the Sturgeon Capital of Michigan. It was sculpted by Tom Moran of Moran Iron Works, with help from the students of Onaway’s Industrial Arts Institute. It debuted in Onaway’s July 4th parade in 2017. Tom then bought an abandoned downtown gas station, bulldozed the buildings, and set the fish in the vacant lot.

Onaway is known for its annual mid-winter sturgeon hunt, where the big fish are speared through the ice on Black Lake. Tom did not make a monster-size spear to accompany his giant sturgeon, but told us that he’s always open to new ideas for future projects.

Rick shared this pic in our Michigan in Pictures group on Facebook. Head over to the group to see more of his photos!

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Restoring Sturgeon to Michigan Waters

Posted on by farlane
2024 Boardman-Ottaway River Sturgeon Release Ceremony

via Leelanau.com…

On Saturday the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians held their first annual Sturgeon Release Ceremony to return Nmé (Lake Sturgeon) into the Boardman-Ottaway River. The event included a ceremony, prayers, food, drinks, and a community release of hundreds of juvenile Nmé. The photo shows Percy Bird releasing a young sturgeon into the Boardman-Ottaway.

Michigan Sea Grant shares that lake sturgeon live longer than any other fish species in Michigan with males living an average of 55 years and females 80-150 years. Despite their long lives, sturgeon are very slow to mature. It takes about 15 years for male lake sturgeon to reach reproductive maturity and 20-25 years for females. In early spring, adult sturgeon enter fast-flowing rivers to spawn. Female lake sturgeon spawn once every four years, each depositing million of eggs on gravel bars. It is estimated that only about 10-20 percent of adult lake sturgeon within a population spawn during a given year.

Thank you to the GTB Natural Resources Department & Grand Traverse Band members and all who were part of restoring balance to Michigan’s waters. Also thank you to my friend Holly T. Bird who shared this photo with me. She doesn’t have a photography website, but she is the co-executive director of the amazing organization Title Track that uses creative practice to build resilient social-ecological systems supporting clean water, racial equity, and youth empowerment.

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