# Salmon Trout River controversy



## Inthebay

That is one of the arguments they are making as I understand it. They actually own the property that the road is on and not the county. The county has an easement for the access road. They claim it's no different than a utility power line easement. The easement gives the power company the right to go down the lines into the property but not the general public. The club is saying the same thing since they own the property on all four sides of the bridge. The camp owners and CFR property owners (i.e. Longyear) have easement to their properties but that is their only interest. That is why the club is arguing no public access. It's definitely going to the appeals court and the club has made noises that they will take the issue to the State Supreme Court. Their attorneys must feel their is a legal basis to it because wealthy people usually don't thrown their money down a rat hole for no reason. This season may be the only opportunity people have to legally access the river from the bridge.


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## METTLEFISH

The County is about to find out it is a cruel world out there. Where is the handicap provisions? Are there ample parking for all that show up? Is the parking safe? Are there environmental issues at hand that need be addressed? And first and foremost, public right of ways are not public accesses, I hope the people at the club see this post and utilize it to their benefit!


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## TB Minnow

So.........How many are going to show up tomorrow?!?!?

I may just take a swing by and see if there is any additional traffic due to all of the publicity.

Might be good for a laugh......or a cry.

It's just too bad the fishing sucks in the rest of the county and all we have is the ST....................


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## Inthebay

Only a high of 39 tomorrow so it's going to be a bit nippy. Little too cold to dip in the river just to catch one fish, especially if it has to be 18" long. Besides after a lot of people start walking upstream/downstream good luck getting them to bite. Will probably just listen to it on the club radio and/or the police scanner. Probably will find out more that way anyway. If anyone does go into the river it will be interesting to hear how the fishing goes.


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## itchn2fish

I'll be there in that area in spirit only. If but only I had the time and gas. Like I said before, I really doubt that the place will be overun with hoardes of folks like some kind of free-for-all. Please let us know & thanks for the first-hand information and all of the insight that you both have already contributed to this thread that Linda started. 
I'll be on an Oceana County stream myself tommorrow, but best of luck to all of you there.


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## Inthebay

itchn2fish said:


> Like I said before, I really doubt that the place will be overun with hoardes of folks like some kind of free-for-all.


It appears you were right. Hardly saw any traffic go past my place yesterday and didn't hear anything interesting on the club radio. I drove out there and turned around once in the morning and again in the late afternoon and neither time was there anyone parked at the bridge to fish. One of the times I saw 3 of their security people standing around by one of their vehicles looking bored to tears. Looks like a bust. All the pissing and moaning in the paper the last several months, all the meetings and pontificating and then the big day comes and nobody even fishes the river. :lol: What a hoot!! Now I could be wrong and somebody might of been fishing but the cars have to go right by my place on the way out there and it looked like a normal Saturday to me and I don't think I've seen more than two or three cars this morning and those seem to be the usual ones coming and going. All this bru-ha-ha and it fizzles.


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## TB Minnow

I swung by the gate around 1pm and saw no cars parked either. Actually i saw very few fisherman. 510 @ the Yellow dog was quite a few people with only a few cars. At the falls downstream was about 22 cars! I walked down to the stream and there was a small village of tents. I counted at least 8 and people all over the place. Looked like a group of NMU students out for a last outing before the end of school. Quite an interesting group!

Nobody fishing any of the stream crossings on 550!!

Found one fishing at Harlow Lake.

Moved to Carp River Between Negaunee and 553 at various spots. Spoke to two ladies that did a float from 492 to M35 who found low water, high wind and only caught four fish, largest 12.5. Ran into four young guys fishing near 492 but not catching.

Today I went to several locations on the Escanaba, no fish or fisherman. Several spots on the Carp, no fish and no fisherman.

A lot of scouting going on by many!! Not much fishing with littlecatching


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## fishinDon

TB Minnow said:


> I swung by the gate around 1pm and saw no cars parked either. Actually i saw very few fisherman. 510 @ the Yellow dog was quite a few people with only a few cars. At the falls downstream was about 22 cars! I walked down to the stream and there was a small village of tents. I counted at least 8 and people all over the place. Looked like a group of NMU students out for a last outing before the end of school. Quite an interesting group!
> 
> Nobody fishing any of the stream crossings on 550!!
> 
> Found one fishing at Harlow Lake.
> 
> Moved to Carp River Between Negaunee and 553 at various spots. Spoke to two ladies that did a float from 492 to M35 who found low water, high wind and only caught four fish, largest 12.5. Ran into four young guys fishing near 492 but not catching.
> 
> Today I went to several locations on the Escanaba, no fish or fisherman. Several spots on the Carp, no fish and no fisherman.
> 
> A lot of scouting going on by many!! Not much fishing with littlecatching


Sounds similar to my experience. I scoured all my favorite spots over two full counties and ran into only one guy - and he was my cousin! 

I even fished a few culverts and super easy places, just trying to see if fish were biting anywhere, still no people and only a few fish. The cold didn't help...Might be some more fishermen later in the year after it warms up...

Keep us posted on the S-T!
Thanks,
Don


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## TB Minnow

I spoke to a few guys around work and they tell me that our opener here is normally around Mothers Day. Just too cold.


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## itchn2fish

JOHN FLESHER AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.  A private club in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has filed a federal lawsuit to halt construction of a nickel and copper mine, saying Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. did not obtain necessary federal permits.
The 250-member Huron Mountain Club, which owns 19,000 acres of forested property that comes within 3.3 miles of the mine site, contends the project under development in northwestern Marquette County would damage the Salmon Trout River and nearby wetlands. Also at risk are endangered species, club members' property values and a culturally significant site where American Indians worship, the club argues.
Activities that could do such damage require permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Sunday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. The suit targets Kennecott Eagle for not getting the permits, and the Corps and other federal agencies for failing to demand the company seek them.
"Kennecott's unauthorized construction work and proposed operation of the Eagle Mine consequently are illegal," the suit said.
Judge Robert Holmes Bell rejected the club's request for an order to immediately halt work on the mine, but scheduled a hearing for June 6.
The suit is the latest potential legal hurdle for Kennecott Eagle, a subsidiary of London-based Rio Tinto, which is targeting an ore deposit expected to yield up to 300 million pounds of nickel and 200 million pounds of copper. The mine would be the only one in the U.S. devoted primarily to production of nickel, an ingredient in stainless steel and products such as batteries, magnets and ceramics.
Kennecott Eagle applied for a state permit to construct the mine in 2006. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality approved it the next year, a decision upheld by an administrative law judge. Opponents, including the Huron Mountain Club, have asked the state Court of Appeals to take the case.
The company has nearly finished construction on surface facilities, while the drilling of an underground tunnel to the ore body is about halfway complete, spokesman Deb Muchmore said. Kennecott Eagle plans to begin extracting minerals next year.
"While we have not had the opportunity to review the claims of the suit, we will vigorously defend our legal position," Kennecott Eagle President Adam Burley said in a statement. "We will also defend the jobs of our workers and those the project has created in Michigan's Upper Peninsula."
Portions of the mine will be drilled directly beneath the Salmon Trout river, home to the rare coaster brook trout. As groundwater seeps into the subterranean chambers, the river's level will drop and adjacent wetlands will shrink, the lawsuit says. It contends the waterways also will be affected as the company places fill material in the chambers after ore is removed.
The suit argues that the federal Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act require permits from the Army corps for such activity.
Before issuing the permits, the corps would have to analyze potential effects on the environment, threatened and endangered species and Eagle Rock, a 60-foot-high outcrop near the tunnel entrance, said Rick Addison, an attorney for the Huron Mountain Club. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community says the rock is a sacred site where generations of tribal members have worshipped. The company has fenced off the rock and promises to grant access for religious ceremonies.
Federal regulators have mostly steered clear of the Kennecott project. The Environmental Protection Agency originally said it would need a wastewater discharge permit but dropped the requirement after the company changed its system.
Lynn Rose, a spokeswoman for the Army corps' Detroit district, declined comment on the lawsuit.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/1ef34318b4f04a4a965c5d6911fff03d/MI--Kennecott-Mine


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## itchn2fish

Tribal officials say that infringes on their treaty rights. Read more here:
http://michiganradio.org/post/tribe-...violate-rights
So, has anything changed in what is permissible for public access on the Salmon Trout near the Huron Mountain Club. Has there been any incidents of confrontation or any tresspassing issues? Thanks.


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## TB Minnow

This thread is getting off topic.


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## sjk984

METTLEFISH said:


> The County is about to find out it is a cruel world out there. Where is the handicap provisions? Are there ample parking for all that show up? Is the parking safe? Are there environmental issues at hand that need be addressed? And first and foremost, public right of ways are not public accesses, I hope the people at the club see this post and utilize it to their benefit!


This has been addressed in the courts at other areas of stream access. In particular the one I fish for bass in the thumb. These are not maintained by stat funds as parks so they do not have to follow the parking issues of the funded programs. Parking is refered to the local gov't law on roadside parking. And in this area it is allowed to park on the shoulder of road KK. 

The court ruling is that there is no law for handicap parking as long as no money is spent to allow regular parking. 

Everyone loves a know it all like your self thanks for gracing us with your unsupported claim as if it were the gospel.

Thanks Steve


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## Inthebay

itchn2fish said:


> So, has anything changed in what is permissible for public access on the Salmon Trout near the Huron Mountain Club. Has there been any incidents of confrontation or any tresspassing issues? Thanks.


I talked to my friend that works up there and to the best of their knowledge not a single person has come up to fish the river. Apparently the staff and members are pretty surprised (although pleased) that nobody has even tried. All the signs are out and there is access but it's been over 3 weeks now and not a single angler has entered the river at the bridge. Apparently the troublemakers were just looking for an issue and didn't really care enough about the fishing to do so when they are able. Pretty amazing to me after all the hub bub and it totally fizzled out. The bugs are really out in force around the river now. I talked to one of the researchers that I know (out of Mich Tech) and he was down there by the river recently and he pulled over 40 ticks off himself. Eeeech...no thanks!!


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## itchn2fish

Here is a good link that I copied from a thread on the GLFSA website that was started by scudly.
"Lawyers, Trout, and Money: The Battle for Public Access on Michigan's Salmon Trout River"
Editor&#8217;s Note: This post is a revision of the original blog entry, which we published last Thursday and then took off-line in order to improve the reporting. Mainly, we wanted to get the perspective of the Huron Mountain Club, and to verify a number of details such as the size of the club, its membership, and the claim that it has hired off-duty law enforcement officers to patrol the Salmon Trout River....read more here:
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/op...1&spJobID=273858952&spReportId=MjczODU4OTUyS0


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## jaytothekizzay

Without reading this whole thread... I have one question. Can I legally access the S.T. river from the bridge as of now?

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


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## itchn2fish

jaytothekizzay said:


> Without reading this whole thread... I have one question. Can I legally access the S.T. river from the bridge as of now? Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


 Yes, sir. Maybe TB Minnow, or Inthebay can verify, but I don't think HMCs appeal to the judges ruling has resulted in anything other than the last ruling. Best of luck to you. I would go just to be able to see the lower falls, even if I didn't fish, but fish away!!!!


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## TB Minnow

As of right now, Yes.

Just follow the rules and know the laws. They are there to protect their rights as much as yours. There should be mutual respect for each other!

For clarification, stepping out of the stream to take a leak does not constitute "avoiding a hazard" in a court of law.:lol:


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## METTLEFISH

itchn2fish said:


> Yes, sir. Maybe TB Minnow, or Inthebay can verify, but I don't think HMCs appeal to the judges ruling has resulted in anything other than the last ruling. Best of luck to you. I would go just to be able to see the lower falls, even if I didn't fish, but fish away!!!!


I would not. The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled in Pleasant Lake Hills Corp. v. Eppinger that a state right of way is NOT an access.


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## METTLEFISH

sjk984 said:


> This has been addressed in the courts at other areas of stream access. In particular the one I fish for bass in the thumb. These are not maintained by stat funds as parks so they do not have to follow the parking issues of the funded programs. Parking is refered to the local gov't law on roadside parking. And in this area it is allowed to park on the shoulder of road KK.
> 
> The court ruling is that there is no law for handicap parking as long as no money is spent to allow regular parking.
> 
> Everyone loves a know it all like your self thanks for gracing us with your unsupported claim as if it were the gospel.
> 
> Thanks Steve


Well Steve, I just happen to be handicaped, and I will not allow myself to discriminated against, that Cty. Road is paid for with public monies! Further, I am very familiar with a certain MI. Supreme Ct. case that has ruled a public right of way is NOT a public access, having said that.... public right of way are just that, you have the right of way to reach your destination via that specific route, not access rivers, lakes or streams. They (rights of way) are not a public accesses!


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