MARQUETTE, MI-- Dredging is having a positive impact on restoring the Grand Traverse Harbor Channel in Keweenaw County.
But the Department of Natural Resources says more needs to be done to preserve a fish spawning habitat on Buffalo Reef. The 2,200-acre reef is down drift of mining stamp sands that have eroded into Lake Superior since the early 1900s. It’s critical to lake trout and whitefish populations, but officials say about 35 percent of the reef is unusable because sand has filled spaces between rocks.
Nearly a quarter of the annual lake trout yield from Lake Superior’s Michigan waters comes from within 50 miles of Buffalo Reef.
The Environmental Protection Agency has created a task force to develop a plan to remove the stamp sands. A public meeting to kick off the effort is set for December 5 at 6 p.m. at Lake Linden-Hubbell High School.
