By Louie Stout

So what’s the latest on the new boat ramp at Eagle Lake in Cass County, Mich.?

Not much, other than the Eagle Lake Improvement Association continues to pour money into legal fees and appeal court rulings while the DNR lets everything drag on.

It’s been 10 years since the Michigan DNR announced it wanted to build a boat ramp and parking area on the east side of Eagle Lake Road, north of the channel that connects Eagle with the Juno Chain. That land has remained idle ever since then.

“It is a shame that the general public (anglers, boaters, kayakers, etc.) has not been able to realize any benefit to a great project,” said Darrin Schaap, owner of Clear H2o Tackle located near the lake. “The state of Michigan and the DNR has allowed a very small part of the population (Eagle Lake Improvement Association) to fight and ultimately halt the project.  At what point will state government realize that enough is enough, and that the greater good for the many should take precedence over people trying to privatize a natural resource?”

The lake association has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees over the past 10 years and appears determined to spend more. It has lost cases in Cass County Circuit Court and in a DNR Administrative Judge hearing, yet the association filed another suit in the Michigan Court of Appeals last June.

Although the ramp project has passed all of the governmental environmental tests, the lake group claims that the parking area and ramp is impacting wetlands, will introduce more invasive species to the lake, and inhibits the public’s opportunity to utilize the beach area along the road.

Of course, they are being hypocritical. The group has fought for years to prohibit the public swimmers from utilizing the eastern shore of the lake and turned a blind eye to the sale and development plans on the former Dock property to be used for new home construction. That property is a wetland. Homebuyers also would get additional dock space on Eagle near the existing county ramp.

“This is probably the thing that upsets me the most,” said Schaap. “The lake people don’t want any extra activity on ‘their lake.’ They say they don’t want wetlands put at risk, yet it’s OK if they put up signs about swimmers/boaters/fisherman, destroy wetlands, or add a marina to fill their agenda.”

While lake residents continue deny the new access for anglers and boaters, they have been stocking fish into Eagle Lake. For example, in 2020 they planted 100 fingerling walleyes up to 6 inches, in 2021 300 yellow perch and added another 1,000 small perch in 2021.

Undeniably, the legal process takes time, but the Michigan DNR hasn’t done much to show its support for angler and public use. We lost more than a year while the construction plans sat on the Environmental Great Lakes Energy (EGLE) director’s desk. In addition, anglers, especially ice anglers, have been prohibited from parking on the DNR’s public land since 2018.

If the litigation is resolved and the DNR wins, the state will have to go before the Ontwa Township Board for approval. A number of board and committee members are also lake association members/supporters and have begun passing ordinances that put more constraints on the project.

In the interim, boaters can still use the shallow, decrepit county ramp on Eagle Lake Road and park among the limited roadside spaces available.

Historical timeline of events

2012: The state offered to buy the old Dock property across from the dilapidated boat ramp that the county owns. While the DNR dawdled through its bureaucratic process, lake association members stepped in and spent $600,000 to buy the property out from under the DNR.

2014: The DNR paid $450,000 for the vacant lot north of the channel that connects Eagle to the Juno Lake Chain on Eagle Lake Road. Plans have been developed to include a small parking area on the east side of the road and a paved boat launch into the lake on the west side. The state’s investment has sat idle since then.

2014: The Eagle Lake Improvement Association filed suit in Cass County Circuit Court against Ontwa Township and the DNR to prevent the access. The court ruled in favor of the DNR.

2016: Despite objections from the lake association, the Cass County Road Commission voted unanimously to accept a lease agreement with the DNR for access off Eagle Lake Road and to build the boat ramp.

2017: Development plans were presented to the DNR Environmental Administrative Judge for approval. The lake association filed more objections and the project remained in limbo.
2018: The DNR’s lot was opened to parking and became a bonus for ice fishermen, but the Eagle Lake group forced the DNR to shut that down because of rowdies – not anglers – were using the lot for parties.

2021: The DNR Environmental Judge ruled in favor of the project and sent it back to the Environmental, Great Lakes Energy (EGLE) Director who sat on it for more than a year before approving it.

2023: The lake association filed an appeal within Michigan’s 30th Circuit Court of Appeals in Ingram County, where it currently sits.