It was the Fall of 2021 when we first brought you the news of an amazingly exciting project that was being teed up in Muskegon County after years of work and planning, and 100 years of silence when a once powerful river was closed off to support a very vital time in our history when the logging industry supplied the entire Midwest. We happened to be on site for a Cedar Creek Township meeting and presenting the idea of the re-opening of the Maple River were Dr. Marty Holtgren and Scott Faulkner who is the Executive Director of the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly.
That first meeting led to an interview with us to get a little more of the story than what was presented at the Cedar Creek meeting. We'll provide you the link to that story. It was called "Rebirth of a River". The initial fascination is the idea that in our lifetime, we could see an entire ecosystem reborn. The deeper part of the story is that not only do we get to witness history, we get to watch and see nature correct itself over what was necessary for the time, but had an impact that to this day still is causing problems with habitat, ecological disparity and has even become part of nuisance flooding to the local agricultural community. One major piece of overlooked history is a certain kind of rice that indigenous people of this area were dependent on and ties into the incredible cultural history of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
Dr. Holtgren is back and this time, he's here with a follow up and an invitation to come and learn more at a public meeting in Cedar Creek Township on March 4th. 10am the meeting gets underway and it's an opportunity for all interested parties to come and learn more about the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly. You can also hear about the plan and express any concerns or support for the project. This is open to Cedar Creek and Bridgton Township residents first as they are directly effected as well as anyone who might be curious.
Dr. Holtgren spends a few minutes talking about the size and scope of the Muskegon River Watershed as well as how the project is coming along. Take a listen and then plan on attending in Cedar Creek on March 4th.
In a time when so much is focused on the development of this or that, which is a positive too, to see something on it's way back that is so elemental to the preservation of our richest natural resource here in Michigan, water....it's akin to watching a miracle unfold. We'll be on hand at the meeting on the 4th and we're also working to create a project over time that will hopefully show all that's gone into making this a reality in the rebirth of a river, right here in Muskegon County. Stay tuned!
