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By Louie Stout
The Diamond Lake Association’s project to protect shorelines and improve fish habitat is moving forward and anglers should see results this summer.
Michiana Outdoors News announced the project in December of 2023 but it was delayed while waiting on DNR funding. The association got approval this summer and began some of the work in the fall.
Thanks to a $40,000 grant from the Michigan DNR, the association has already begun planting brush piles in part of the lake and plans to resume efforts this spring.
Shoreline stability has been a big issue for the lake residents as a result of excessive boat wake action. The three-pronged approach calls for stabilizing the shoreline along “Fireworks Island,” adding protection to the bank adjacent to the west side of the DNR boat ramp, and planting approximately 20 fish habitat sites in deeper water.
“We want to be good stewards of the lake,” said project chairman John Poracky. The fish population is a metric we are trying to protect.”
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MDNR Report
The effort to reintroduce Arctic grayling to Michigan waters will enter its next phase with a ceremony Monday, May 12, at the Oden State Fish Hatchery Visitor Center in Alanson, Michigan.
At this event, the DNR will provide a total of approximately 400,000 grayling eggs to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. These partners will reintroduce the eggs at locations along the North Branch of the Manistee River, the Maple River and the Boardman-Ottaway River.
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MDNR Report
Every year from April to November, the Michigan DNR is on the Great Lakes, surveying the important and diverse Great Lakes fisheries. Crews from research stations in Marquette, Charlevoix, Alpena and Harrison Township gather data on fish populations, fish health and the presence and effects of invasive species. It’s vital information that directly informs fisheries management decisions — such as stocking levels or regulated catch limits — and provides data to help gauge the success of past actions.
With surveying for 2024 wrapped up, DNR fisheries biologists are now synthesizing the findings and preparing for next year’s surveys. Interested in what the surveys found? Check out highlights from each research station’s survey efforts.
- Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan (Marquette Fisheries Research Station)
- Lake Michigan (Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station)
- Lake Huron (Alpena Fisheries Research Station)
- St. Clair-Detroit River System (Lake St. Clair Fisheries Research Station)
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MDNR Report
The Michigan DNR worked hard this past fall to stock fish in waters across Michigan — fish that will provide anglers with more opportunities in seasons to come. The fall 2024 effort saw DNR crews stock seven different species at 78 locations throughout the state; in all, 590,504 fish, weighing in at 10.7 tons, were added to Michigan waters.
“It was another exceptional fall fish stocking season, enhancing fishing opportunities throughout Michigan,” said DNR Fish Production Program manager Aaron Switzer. “Combined with our successful spring and summer stocking efforts, that brings the total for 2024 to more than 9.7 million fish stocked in Michigan’s waters.”
The number and type of fish stocked vary by hatchery, as each facility’s ability to rear fish differs due to water supply and temperature. In Michigan, there are six state and three cooperative hatcheries that work together to produce the species, strain and size of fish needed by fisheries managers. These fish must then be delivered at a specific time and location for stocking to ensure their success.
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MDNR Report
Mecosta is now the 14th Michigan county where chronic wasting disease has been identified in the wild deer population, according to the Michigan DNR. An adult buck harvested in Millbrook Township recently tested positive for the disease.
Mecosta County includes the city of Big Rapids, located northeast of Grand Rapids.
The CWD finding was confirmed by the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which works with the DNR to identify CWD in Michigan’s wild deer herd. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory, in Ames, Iowa, also confirmed the test result.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, elk and moose. To date, the disease has also been detected in the following Michigan counties: Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Midland, Montcalm and Ogemaw.
Intensive CWD surveillance was conducted from 2017 to 2019 in Mecosta County, with over 5,600 deer tested and no positives identified during that time. However, Millbrook Township borders Montcalm County, where 167 deer have tested positive for CWD through combined DNR collections and direct hunter submissions to the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.