# good news for the Clinton



## sweet tree (Apr 30, 2006)

This is from the Detroit free press:


*STERLING HEIGHTS *
County Executive Mark Hackel announced Thursday a water initiative involving the Clinton River and an effort to have a county worker at the site of a pothole within an hour after a complaint is reported.
Speaking at the Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce & Industry's annual meeting, Hackel said the water initiative would mean someone in the county planning and economic development department focusing on the Clinton River.
He said there are opportunities to acquire land around the river, possibly through easements, and that he wants to open it from Yates Cider Mill in Rochester Hills to Lake St. Clair. He said he'd like to see beaches, campsites and liveries along the waterway.
Hackel said he plans to form business groups to serve as advisers. He will lead a young entrepreneur group, and Assistant County Executive Al Lorenzo will oversee a business roundtable.
He and his management team met Monday with the county's state legislators about opportunities and challenges Macomb County confronts
Hackel also addressed critics who said they haven't seen immediate fixes since he took office Jan. 1. He said he is working on a plan to submit to county commissioners and the public within his first 180 days.


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## localyahoo (May 28, 2009)

access all the way down would be amazing!! I hope it goes through.


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## The Downstream Drift (Feb 27, 2010)

Mark Hackel has been a big advocate for the Clinton's recreational opportunities for a very long time. It is very cool to see someone in a politicial position that has such a positive outlook on the river we all fish so much.

You guys are right. Open access all the way through Macomb County would be awesome. With a ramp or two we may even see drift boats on the Clinton below Shelby Township someday.


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## Maverick1 (Jan 28, 2009)

It would give me a good excise to buy one for sure


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## gmmerlin (Oct 31, 2010)

Fished there today at Yates...would be nice if there was more access to the Clinton.


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## The Downstream Drift (Feb 27, 2010)

gmmerlin said:


> Fished there today at Yates...would be nice if there was more access to the Clinton.


How did you do today? I went 0-1 and a buddy of mine did the same. Honestly I think it was the same fish.


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## Maverick1 (Jan 28, 2009)

Downstream, you hook up after I left?


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## The Downstream Drift (Feb 27, 2010)

Yep. I think it was the same fish Painter had on though. And my fight was much shorter.


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## gmmerlin (Oct 31, 2010)

The Downstream Drift said:


> How did you do today? I went 0-1 and a buddy of mine did the same. Honestly I think it was the same fish.


Got there around 10-10:30 and fished til noon.....big goose egg! 
Lost a leader and a float to the trees :lol:


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## Maverick1 (Jan 28, 2009)

Saw 2 caught today


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## Willi_H2O (Mar 6, 2009)

The Clinton River is navigable by chainsawing volunteers who paddle all year round.
--NOT any government officials or watershed groups who take false credit

Hackel is a joke, a farce and only scratches the surface of issues.

History tells the story clearly :

http://www.examiner.com/kayaking-in-detroit/police-patrol-clinton-river-yellow-kayaks


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## The Downstream Drift (Feb 27, 2010)

Willi_H2O said:


> The Clinton River is navigable by chainsawing volunteers who paddle all year round.
> --NOT any government officials or watershed groups who take false credit


While most of the trimming to make the Auburn Hills to Ryan Rd section a free float has been done by volunteers there has been a ton of work down river (in Macomb County) completed by county officials. 

The volunteer groups do a pretty good job at keeping the river open and they deserve credit for there work. However, their methods of woody debris management need to be looked at. Simply cutting logs to open the river for a passing canoe is not the best practice for the river. There needs to be some science involved with this.

And was it not these same volunteers that created the mess at Yates last year by moving a ton of rocks in the river so their boats could get through? The volunteers that broke their backs to repair this mess did the right thing for the river and did not have their own interests in mind. Things were fixed for the health of the river not for the canoes and kayaks to have an easy trip regardless of the destruction that may have been caused to the banks of the river. 

Many of the members of this site remember the rock mess that was created. And I, for one, hope that more scientific planning goes into the volunteer woody debris management than went into the boulder mess of 2010.


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## Maverick1 (Jan 28, 2009)

My back still is sore from that day of fixing someone else's mess.


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## Pyranha (Apr 6, 2010)

The Downstream Drift said:


> While most of the trimming to make the Auburn Hills to Ryan Rd section a free float has been done by volunteers there has been a ton of work down river (in Macomb County) completed by county officials.
> 
> The volunteer groups do a pretty good job at keeping the river open and they deserve credit for there work. However, their methods of woody debris management need to be looked at. Simply cutting logs to open the river for a passing canoe is not the best practice for the river. There needs to be some science involved with this.
> 
> And was it not these same volunteers that created the mess at Yates last year by moving a ton of rocks in the river so their boats could get through?


It's true, a lot has been done by public officials from Ryan on down. However I'm not aware of anyone but a large network of volunteers who have for years looked after the Clinton from Auburn to Ryan. 

It's a completely informal work by diverse people who love the river. So of course there's a different level of effectiveness to the endevors, depending on who does the work. Even if Oakland and Macomb fully jump on board, they'll never have the resources to respond like the volunteer efforts the Clinton has cultivated. I've literally went back merely a few hours later with ropefalls, slings, and pole saws to safely clear 'a path' in a log jam to find it was already resolved by someone else. I guarantee though that the qualifications of some unnamed volunteers certainly make them qualified in maintaining and promoting the health of the river. Of course, there are others who may do harm, while trying to help or worst just not care. That's humanity though.

I've no idea, what was up with the rock formation deal last year. Is there a thread that covers it?


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## Maverick1 (Jan 28, 2009)

Basically this past summer there were some really low water levels on the Clinton. Someone decided it would be a good idea to create man mad dams and channels by stacking up rocks and timber which diverted the natural flow of the river. Unfortunately this new structure was also warming the water temps and allowing sediment to build up filling on sections of the steam. Not only was this sediment destroying the current habitat, it also was filling in spawning gravel used by steelhead and salmon. Basically it was deteriorating the health of the stream. So, a bunch of volunteers from local TU groups, the CRWC and area fisherman worked our butts off removing the rocks and debris and restoring the stream back to it's natural flow. It was hard work but within 30 minutes of the initial removal we saw very promising results.


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