Who We Are

Friends of the Pine River are area residents, businesses, property owners, club members, vacationers, fishermen and sports enthusiasts who enjoy the river and want to see that its natural beauty and productivity is maintained and enhanced.  Our focus for 2006 and 2007 is to stabilize logs in the river, improve the banks and remove unnatural sand from the river. 

Rationale and Details for Projects in 2006 and 2007

Our river has had WONDERFUL stewardship over the years.  While many Michigan streams have been degraded terribly, our wonderful Pine River has stayed mainly pristine, remained very cold, and has retained much all of its natural beauty.  However, when people look closely they see unusual amounts of sand.  Old timers repeatedly state how holes are filled, experts point out that gravel spawning beds are smothered in sand.  We can increase the number of fish, deepen the holes, and help the Pine be much more like the stream of 150 years ago, if we remove the sand and KEEP IT OUT.

A "Sand Trap" has been created just south of 20 Mile Road.  It will remove sand and allow about 1 mile a year of stream to return to it's natural state.  If we fix banks to slow down erosion and fix road crossings we can keep most unnatural sand out of the river.   For a detailed slide show on sand traps see: http://www.friendsofthepine.org/PRAPresTonello_files/frame.htm

Woody debris along the banks, keeps banks in place, adds beauty, and provides wonderful shelter for trout.  Our goal is to use simple log anchors to keep logs in place to provide cover for fish and to give banks protection while allowing plenty of room for canoeists, kayakers and fishermen.  In the spring and summer of 2007 we hope to arrange demonstration sites to show interested parties how to use log anchors and how to stabilize stream banks.

All funds received by the Friends of the Pine during 2006 and 2007 will be spent on the projects listed above.  Contracted equipment/workers will empty the Sand Trap for $3500.  We intend to raise local funds to provide one cleaning a year every year, thereby assuring that our sensational Pine will gradually return to it's natural beauty and productivity.  We will spend all remaining money on bank improvements and log anchors which will be installed by volunteers.  Our efforts in 2006 focused primarily on the headwaters in Osceola County, we need leaders and supporters to initiate efforts in Lake and Wexford Counties during 2007.