Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration Program Project ...

GRAnD RAPIDS DAM
Fish Passage
Menominee County, MI & Marinette County, WI
ProjECt DESCriPtion
The project is located on the Menominee River, which
forms the border between Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and
northeastern Wisconsin. The proposed project involves
construction of fish passage facilities around Grand Rapids
Dam, which is the third dam upstream from Lake Michigan
on the Menominee River in Menominee County, Michigan,
and Marinette County, Wisconsin. Upon construction of fish
passage facilities at this dam, in conjunction with another
project, sturgeon in Lake Michigan would have access to
nearly 80 additional miles of high-quality spawning and
rearing habitat within the Menominee River.
The lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) is identified as a
threatened species in Michigan, a species of special concern
in Wisconsin, and a species of concern by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. The most critical threat to lake sturgeon is
habitat loss and fragmentation caused by dams, which block
migration and spawning. All current management plans and
recommendations call for safe upstream and downstream
passage of lake sturgeon around existing dams. This project
will construct three sets of bypass structures. Each proposed
dam bypass will provide access to a river segment that
encompasses nearly one-third of the historical migration
route.
This project would contribute considerably to the overall
objective of rehabilitating self-sustaining populations of lake
Funding
grand rapids Dam
Project Manager:
Carl A. Platz
(616) 842-5510 x25521
carl.a.platz@usace.army.mil
sturgeon throughout their historical range in the Great Lakes
and their tributaries and would substantially improve the lake
sturgeon population in Lake Michigan and the Menominee
River, an Area of Concern (AOC) designated by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. The project would assist
in delisting the Menominee River AOC by improving two
of the listed Beneficial Use Impairments: (1) degradation of
fish and wildlife populations, and (2) loss of fish and wildlife
habitat. Restoration of lake sturgeon populations is also the
top management objective of the Menominee River Fisheries
Plan.
nonfEDErAl PArtnEr
Owner of the Grand Rapids Dam (Wisconsin Public
Service)
CongrESSionAl intErESt
Michigan
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI)
Representative Dan Benishek (R-MI-1)
Wisconsin
Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Representative Reid Ribble (R-WI-8)
Total Federal Nonfederal
current working estimate $9,850,000 $6,400,000 $3,450,000
funding to date $380,000 $380,000 *
funds required to complete project $9,470,000 $6,020,000 $3,450,000
* No data was provided.
CUrrEnt StAtUS
FY2010 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funds were used to prepare a preliminary
restoration plan (PRP). The PRP was approved in February 2011. Detailed feasibility studies
are being initiated using FY2010 GLRI funds.
Great Lakes Fishery & Ecosystem Restoration (GLFER) Program
updated February 2011 www.glfer.org