8/25/2023 0 Comments What is dredging a riverVessels require a certain amount of water in order to float and not touch bottom. “Sedimentation is a naturally occurring process where silt, sand and other debris accumulate on the bottom of rivers, lakes, canals or streams over time. An excessive build-up of sediment can cause a series of issues.”Īccording to NOAA, dredging often is focused on maintaining or increasing the depth of navigation channels, anchorages, or berthing areas to ensure the safe passage of boats and ships. People have been dredging channels in one way or another since primitive people began to irrigate crops, according to USACE.ĭredges (noun) are specialized pieces of equipment that create a vacuum to suck up and pump out the unwanted sediment and debris. What is dredging?ĭredging (verb) means “the process of removing accumulated sediment from the bottom or banks of bodies of water, including rivers, lakes or streams,” according to GeoForm International. He also said whoever did it may have been looking to improve boat access to a nearby launch. He said the increased discharge has dropped the level of the Platte River by a foot, draining untold amounts of water from the wetlands upstream, and depositing debris and sand into the lake. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Scott Tucker said it was upsetting and had unintended ecological consequences. But when the change of flow was noticed in April, it launched a major investigation. We don’t even know how he pulled it off, or to what level. We don’t know specifically why Howard allegedly did it - federal investigators have not released their findings outside of the charges. “Time is of the essence, and my concern was that it would have been a recovery, not a rescue,” said Grobe. ![]() They would have had to come from Frankfort,” explained Grobe, adding that there had been two deaths in the water in the area over the last few years. They would not have been able to get out of the mouth of the Platte River. “If there was an incident, whether it be a canoe, a kayak, a child on a float or fisherman and if the emergency vessel would have needed to get out. Lake Township Supervisor Anna Grobe sent letters of concern to state and national lawmakers about the NPS decision. It lets nature be nature, so it allows the mouth of the Platte to meander as it has historically for thousands of years, and it allows the natural resources to be on their own terms, in a sense,” Scott Tucker, Superintendent for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, told 9&10 News. “By not dredging the mouth of the Platte. The dredging (or lack thereof) of the Platte River has been a hot topic in Northern Michigan since officials announced the river would no longer be dredged back in 2017, a decision made by the National Parks Service. The Platte River originates in Long Lake in Traverse City, and flows through Platte Bay, a small bay of Lake Michigan. Here’s what we can answer: What’s the deal with the Platte River? ![]() There are several questions surrounding this story - we saw some good ones in the comments of our original report. > Feds charge Michigan man for dredging river inside Sleeping Bear Dunes These charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 6 months’ imprisonment, up to a $ 5,000 fine, up to 5 years’ probation, and mandatory restitution. Howard is charged with one count of tampering and one count of vandalism at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on August 15, 2022. Federal officials say Howard dredged the Platte River inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten, announced charges against Andrew Blair Howard, 62, of Frankfort, Michigan. A Michigan man is facing federal charges for allegedly dredging a river inside a federal park along Lake Michigan.
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