http://ipraudio.interlochen.org/Lotus_Dam_Dispute.mp3
Agreement over how to remove a dam on the Pigeon River is breaking down. Failure of the dam at the Golden Lotus yoga retreat center three years ago is estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of trout for twenty-five miles downstream. A lawsuit resulted in a settlement and a court order to remove the dam. But now the group Trout Unlimited charges that Golden Lotus isn't following the order.
Fly Fishers Involved
The Pigeon River is a pristine northern Michigan trout stream that runs through one of the wildest landscapes in the Lower Peninsula. A group of mostly fly fishermen joined a law suit with the state against Golden Lotus when the dam failed nearly three years ago.
Bryan Burroughs, the director of Trout Unlimited, says all the parties agreed last year on a plan to remove the dam at the retreat. But then, Burroughs says, earlier this year the plan changed. Now, he says, Golden Lotus plans to leave a huge slab of concrete in the river. It's the spillway at the base of the dam that extends for forty feet downstream.
"That would lead to less river restoration than should be accomplished. And it would continue to block fish passage in the river. "
Bridge in Contention
The twelve foot high dam on the Pigeon has failed twice now within the last thirty years. And each time the river and fish suffered massive damage. Both the state and the trout fishermen want to see it gone.
Golden Lotus uses the dam to generate electricity for their yoga retreat. There's also a private bridge across the top of the dam. The attorney for Golden Lotus says the Court Order allows for continued use of that bridge after the dam is removed. And Bill Schlecte says leaving the concrete spillway in place at the base of the dam is critical.
"You can't pull the bottom of that dam without damaging the entire abutment structure. You lose the support."
And Schlecte insists if removing the spillway had been part of the settlement his client never would have signed it. But Trout Unlimited says it's commonly understood a spillway is part of a dam, not a bridge. And Bryan Burroughs says if it's left in place it will prevent a natural stream bed from returning along that stretch and it will prevent some fish from migrating upstream.
State Doesn't See a Problem
The angler's group also is concerned with how the dam is taken down. They think water behind the dam will be released too quickly and cause more harm to fish. But a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources doesn't share their concerns. Dave Borgeson oversees the fishery in the Pigeon River and doesn't see the concrete slab as much of a problem. And he says there is a way to draw down the pond safely. Borgeson thinks benefits to the river from dam removal greatly outweigh the risks.
"I'm excited at the prospects of getting natural flow conditions and removing that impoundment."
Trout Unlimited has gone back to the Otsego County Circuit Court to ask the judge to resolve the dispute. Meanwhile The Department of Environmental Quality is processing a permit application from Golden Lotus for "impoundment drawdown and select removal of dam infrastructure".