# Underwater logger drops plan



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Underwater logger drops plan 

By JOHN PEPIN, Journal Munising Bureau 

MUNISING - One of two companies interested in harvesting old logs from the bottom of Munising Bay has backed out of its plans. 

Chris Brown, president of Blue Forest Timber of downstate Howell, recently told city officials that sonar surveys of the bay's bottomlands found no logs in the company's permitted harvest area.
"He said they did sonar and took pictures and the bay is clean, much to his surprise," said Munising City Manager Doug Bovin. "He said he is discontinuing his interest and request of our launch site."

Brown could not be reached for comment today.

Earlier this spring, Brown had announced plans to hire up to 30 local people to work on the timber recovery efforts. Dive crews were expected to work five days each week, raising the logs with a specially equipped pontoon boat and lift bags.

Work was expected to start this summer and continue into fall. Blue Forest had hoped to recover about 25 logs daily, which would have totaled about 40,000 board feet of timber weekly. An average log harvested is estimated to be worth roughly $1,500.

The wood from such underwater recovery operations is sold for a variety of special uses, including the making of fine instruments and furniture.

Blue Forest Timber was granted permits by the state to recover logs in about 70 different areas, Brown said previously. In Munising Bay, the company had two 320-acre parcels approved for harvest, with the stipulation that fish habitat be created during the process, Brown said.

Bovin said that locals said that a hardhat diver had worked Munising Bay several years ago to remove a good deal of the historic timber that had been on the bottom of the bay.

But another company, Kelhart Marine Technologies of downstate Grand Ledge, still plans to harvest logs from the bay.

Ron Livsey, a local representative for Kelhart, said his company has previously explored the bay's timber resources and based the location of its permit area on a strip of logs located west of the Munising city dock.

The company first announced in 2000 that it had plans to recover the logs. In 2001, Kelhart representatives said they planned to retrieve about 200 maple, oak, birch and pine logs from a 320-acre section of Munising Bay. Up to 20 percent of the logs are expected to be of no commercial value because of damage, rot or other factors.

Kelhart used sidescan sonar, video imaging and diver observations every 20 acres within the recovery area to see what type and how many logs were there.

The company said it would use varying methods to recover the logs based on weather conditions and characteristics of the site. Airlift bags, winches, barges and floats would be used to lift the logs with the least potential damage to environmental features.

Kelhart also has plans to recover logs from portions of Keweenaw Bay in Baraga County. Livsey said that Kelhart would not likely begin its log recovery in Munising Bay until next summer.

Bovin said that the city's Bayshore Committee, which oversees bay and harbor issues, has not received an official plan from Kelhart, but the committee would like to work with the company.

"Obviously, the committee is interested in cooperating," Bovin said. "That's what we've told them."


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