I've found out maybe in the last year or two that it appears that it's the bridge owner's responsibility to clear logjams from bridges. I read a Lansing city council resolution where they were thanking a railroad for clearning one, which seemed odd to me. So perhaps it's not a formal responsibility. I bring this up, because I've been wondering about who has jurisdiction in the state when trees fall in the river. Storms have brought down tons of trees into the Grand in recent years (Riverfront Park is a big one), and people don't think about it, but you get enough of these and they form significant obstructions in the river not just for boaters, but the water itself, which makes the rivers much more susceptible to flooding when it rains.
I was also reading history on the Chicago canals, and what really struck me was how much they increased drainage capacity & flow simply by removing bridge piers from the water.
Michigan Waterways Stewards has been doing a lot of the log jam clean up, they just had one of their two main trail & waterway clean-ups on Saturday. They're also the ones behind the new little path to Brody and the brush clearing along the Red Cedar (they may be working with an invasive species group on the brush clean-up).
I wonder if the state could provide funds the clear the waterways through the area. Seems like a super DNR project! Or maybe the local parks and rec. department should have a waterway petrol boat with equipment that could regularly lift the logs out of the rivers. We have these beautiful rivers here and should think of ourselves as a riverside community that better cares for these wonderful riverfronts we have here. These logs jams impede boaters, aquatic wildlife, and freshwater flow and look gross. The pools behind the jams are breading stops for mosquitos so public health is also a reason to clean these waterways up.
I'm pretty sure there are grant funds involved. The logjams are just something that has to be dealt with, trees overhang the rivers everywhere and every year some fall into the water then collect at bridges and dams. Keeping things clear is no small feat.
It would be great if they would clear the waterways, I don't think a canoe could make from East Lansing to the Grand on the Red Cedar right now. It is a shame as the trip is really pretty along the way, is it a Lansing thing or DNR responsibility?
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I was also reading history on the Chicago canals, and what really struck me was how much they increased drainage capacity & flow simply by removing bridge piers from the water.