Grant Received to Support Boardman River Process

The Great Lakes Fishery Trust has granted $476,000 in a multi-year grant to support the process to determine the future of four dams on the Boardman River. The funding request was made by the Implementation Team created by the Boardman River Dams Settlement Agreement. The funding will be used to support a team that will facilitate the community-wide process. That team includes staff from the Department of Natural Resources, NMC Water Studies Institute and two firms that will receive contracts under the grant: Traverse Management Resources, led by firm partners Russ and Leslie Knopp and URS Corporation, represented by Mike Donahue, Vice President of Water Resources and Environmental Services.

The Great Lakes Fishery Trust was created in 1996 in a court settlement involving compensation for fish losses at the Ludington Pumped Storage Project hydroelectric facility. The Trust is administered by a six-member board of trustees representing the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Attorney General, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. Department of Interior. The Tribal Councils of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Little Traverse bay Band of Odawa Indians have designated provisional trustees. The Trust grants funds to nonprofit organizations and government entities for Great Lakes fishery research, rehabilitation and habitat protection as well as public education about the Great Lakes fishery.

The funding will support the work of the Boardman River Dams Committee, a group formed by the Implementation Team to engage all interests in assessing the impacts of options for the dams, ranging from dam retention to dam removal. The Committee will issue a Request for Qualifications in 2006 to identify organizations, agencies and institutions that may participate in an exhaustive study of dam options, including the societal, economic, environmental and engineering implications of viable options for the four dams. The future of the dams was put into question as a result of a decision by Traverse City Light and Power to cease hydropower generating activities at three of the dams because they were not economically viable.  Traverse Management Resources will facilitate meetings of the Boardman River Dams Committee and Sub-Committees. URS Corporation will provide technical input and advice to the Committee and Sub-Committees, oversee the Request for Qualifications, bids and completion of the Engineering and Feasibility Study. Both organizations will work together with representatives from DNR, the NMC Water Studies Institute and other organizations to develop grant proposals to support the project, implement community-wide communications programs and document the process so it can help other communities address similar issues concerning dams. There are an estimated 2,500 large dams in Michigan and over 79,000 in the United States.

"The engineering and feasibility study will be unlike any other ever completed to assess the future of dams in a community," said Todd Kalish, DNR Fisheries Biologist and chair of the Implementation Team. "Most prior studies look at engineering and environmental impacts but give little focus to the societal and economic implications. Further, we know of few other cases where the community has been extensively involved in the assessment and decision making process. The Implementation Team formed the Boardman River Dams Committee to ensure that all interests are involved and participating in developing final recommendations about the future of the dams that will go to the city and county. Finally, this study encompasses all of the dams in the mainstem and all of the large dams in the watershed. We do not know of any other case in the nation where the future of this number of large dams has been considered by a community. Traverse Management Resources and URS Corporation will have very important roles as part of the team that will facilitate this community-wide process."

Kalish said that the study is expected to be completed late in 2007.

Funds from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust will also support assessments and capacity building with local organizations involved with long-term management of the Boardman River watershed.

"We are grateful for this support from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust," said Dennis Aloia, Grand Traverse County Administrator and vice-chair of the Implementation Team. "These funds will enable us to support the process of public engagement and participation which is crucial for sound and effective decision making about the future of these dams. In doing so, we also hope to create a process that can be used by other communities in Michigan and the nation that are looking at the future of dams on river systems."

The funding proposal was coordinated by the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute at Northwestern Michigan College on behalf of the Implementation Team.

Profiles - Traverse Management Resources and URS Corporation

Traverse Management Resources provides a range of professional services to facilitate effective planning processes. Partners Russ and Leslie Knopp are professional facilitators who specialize in working with organizations in transition and in using techniques that development action and shared ownership among people with diverse interests.

They have consulted with hundreds of businesses, schools and nonprofit organizations for over ten years. They specialize in facilitation and consensus building; organizational assessment and analysis; strategic and operational planning and change management consulting. They can be reached at 231-947-9457.  (Or go to www.traversemanagementresources.com.)

URS Corporation is a water resource, transportation, architectural, engineering, environmental and program and construction management company with a strong Traverse City and Michigan presence, in addition to its global resources which encompass 27,000 employees in 20 countries. Dr. Mike Donahue will represent URS. Donahue has over 25 years of public and private sector experience in program and project design, development, management and implementation. He has specialized in water resource planning and management; policy development; organizational design, operations and leadership; and government, industry and community relations. His experience includes 17 years as President/CEO of the Great Lakes Commission, a binational agency specializing in planning, policy, technical services and project management. He also holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. He can be reached by contacting the URS office in Traverse City at 231-932-7592. (Or go to www.urscorp.com.)