Missing River Tubers Found Alive

rescued tubers (photo from Facebook)

compiled from several sources



Three people, two young women and a 9-year-old boy, have been found alive after being missing for three days.

They had been tubing on the Muskegon River (Michigan), but were floating in what were pool toys rather than tubes sturdy enough for river floating.

The father of one of the women reported them missing on Wednesday after she missed a medical appointment. He found their car with a broken window. It is unclear if that is related to the incident, but it caused speculation that there might have been foul play.

Their floats were found and a child's footprints, several miles downriver. A K-9 crew was brought in and the trio was located Friday afternoon about 0.75 mile from where the tubes were found in dense forest.

They apparently followed a trail from the river, but it led them deeper into the woods rather than to civilization.

Michigan State Police are happy to report this positive outcome.

Several other less spectacular rescues have taken place this week. Please plan well, check weather, increase your knowledge and recreate safely!

See WOOD TV report


These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Buckhorn Dam to be Removed in 2026

Events Calendar

Buckhorn Dam (photo from the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly)

compiled from several sources.

In Mecosta County, in the village of Paris, Michigan, the deteriorating Buckhorn Dam near the mouth of Buckhorn Creek will be removed in 2026. The Muskegon River Watershed Assembly (MRWA) has announced that funding for restoration of Buckhorn Creek has reached the goal of raising $2.26 million. This amount covers all aspects of the project from pre-planning to completion.

The White Pine multi-use trail passes over the dam, and this will be replaced with an 80-foot bridge. The bridge must be built to standards that will support heavy trail maintenance equipment and emergency vehicles.

Removal of the dam will reconnect the creek with the Muskegon River and restore fish passage up the creek. For years, the DNR has stocked brown and rainbow trout a short way downstream from this point on the Muskegon River. This will allow fish to find cool water refuge in summer months.

The White Pine Trail in that section will be detoured to streets during this process.

The project has taken five years to bring to fruition. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mecosta County Park Commission, and the Friends of the White Pine Trail have collaborated. The dam was originally built to create a mill pond. MRWA director Paul Haan says the pond supplied ice to the nearby fish hatchery. Now the dam is badly deteriorated.

The 2.4 miles of Buckhorn Creek’s cold-water resources will be reconnected to the Muskegon River. The project is expected to be completed by November 2026.

See an article in the Lake County Star


These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Group Paddling the Muskegon on Voyage of Discovery

from a news article in the Muskegon Chronicle

Twelve paddlers are following the entire 217 miles of the Muskegon River, from June 8-18. Their quest is called Voyage of Discovery, and their plan is to have fun and generate publicity for and interest in the Muskegon River.

“I hope the publicity the event draws, that it gives people a greater appreciation of the resource we have in the Muskegon River,” said Wayne Groesbeck, chairman of the Muskegon Watershed Assembly. The WMA is sponsoring the paddling event. Wayne and his wife are participating, in a tandem kayak.

Jeff Alexander, author of The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan’s Rarest River is also behind the project. His hope is that it will help residents understand the significance of the river.

The river's many problems need to be addressed. The lumbering era, manmade and artificial dams, pollution from industries, agricultural runoff and stormwater runoff have all affected the quality of the watershed.

The core group will paddle the entire river. However, people are urged to join the group for one or several days.

When the paddlers traverse the six counties of the river and reach Muskegon on June 18, a celebration is planned at Fisherman’s Landing in Muskegon. Organizers plan to have a speaker and the public is invited to the 1 p.m. event.

See Voyage of Discovery
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Muskegon Watershed Protection

Muskegon River photo by Terry Stilson

from the Land Conservancy of West Michigan, Winter Newsletter 2008-2009

Earlier this year, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan was awarded a grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for the purpose of purchasing conservation easements of critical lands within the Lower Muskegon Watershed. These grant funds will allow the Land Conservancy to seek important lands that protect habitat for wildlife and fish, preserve and enhance water quality, and protect scenic views from public roadways and from the river system itself.

The Muskegon River’s headwaters are in Houghton Lake in Roscommon County and it flows into our service area through central Newaygo and Muskegon Counties, emptying into Lake Michigan through Muskegon Lake. The Muskegon River is the second longest river system completely contained within the state of Michigan (the Grand River is the longest), and the system drains approximately 500 mi² of land within our service area.

The Muskegon River has been the source of great interest because of its unmatched natural resources and habitat for fish, such as the lake sturgeon. Also because of its powerful current, it is a source of hydroelectric power with the Croton, Hardy and Rogers Dams being located on the mainstem of the river (Croton and Hardy Dams are located within our service area). Historically, the river was a highway of timber when Michigan was cleared of the virgin white pine forests shortly after European settlement. It supported several lumber mills on Muskegon Lake as well as upstream on the river itself.

By having the grant funds available, the Land Conservancy has the ability to offer money to owners of important lands within the river system. Usually, only income and property tax benefits are available to our landowners who donate conservation easements. Because of a variety of factors, donations of conservation easement rights for many landowners are not feasible, but these grant funds help bridge the gap in many of these cases.

Identification of high quality sites throughout the Lower Muskegon Watershed was a task taken on by the Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI) at Grand Valley State University. Rod Denning of AWRI, who has experience working with the Conservancy, took on the task of mapping characteristics of the watershed including natural land cover, river frontage, critical habitat, and water quality impact, among numerous other factors. Rod’s final map has been supplied to the Conservancy and shows potential conservation areas throughout the watershed. This map will not only be used to contact landowners for the purposes of this project, but will be used for many years to continue to target private natural lands.

Along with the Michigan DEQ and AWRI, the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly out of Big Rapids and the West Michigan office of The Nature Conservancy are partners in this project. With the wealth of knowledge that these organizations supply, the Conservancy is confident that lands of the highest quality are being targeted for protection.

See Land Conservancy of West Michigan
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Newaygo County Land Swap Gives Public River Access

Felch Avenue at the Muskegon River

Mary and Gary Vos have agreed on a compicated land swap which results in the preservation of about 59 wooded acres along the Muskegon River.

The Voses have accepted 31 acres with no river frontage which are adjacent to land they already own near 88th Avenue. The state then purchased 29 acres at the end of Felch Avenue from the Voses.

The Land Conservancy of West Michigan has drawn up a conservation easement to prevent development on all but one acre of the land.

The property the DNR acquired has 2,900 feet of river frontage and will become a "passive recreation area" with a parking lot and launch site for canoes and kayaks, a DNR spokesman said.

from the Grand Rapids Press, "Newaygo Co.: Swap helps preserve riverfront land", by Jeff Alexander, Jan 4, 2008
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch