Groups tackle bridge issue
Manistique City, ORV Club, DNR collaborateBy Laura Mead
MANISTIQUE - Regional DNR representatives, a Manistique ORV club and Manistique city officials are working together to come up with a solution that would repair and prevent further damage to land near the Indian River in Schoolcraft County
DNR representatives said the land around a snowmobile bridge on the Indian River has become torn up due to illegal ORV traffic.
Robert Katona, Marquette DNR operation service center, said the problem has been ongoing and he is researching possible grants that would pay for the cost of repairing the area and putting up barriers.
Steve Tuovila, DNR, contacted the Manistique City Council about the problem, since the land is on city property and only the city can apply for grant dollars for the site.
City council agreed to submit a grant to the Off-road Vehicle Trail Improvement Program, which may provide grants for areas where ORVs are used. Resource damage restoration is one of the issues supported by users who pay fees to the program from which grant money is accumulated.
Katona and Tuovila have also been meeting with members of Manistique's SORVA (Sportsmen's Off-Road Vehicle Association) to discuss solutions to the problem.
"SORVA is very concerned because (the problem) gives ORV users a bad name," said Katona. "They actually brought the problem to our attention."
Katona said the ORV traffic has created ruts going down to the water on both sides, and is causing erosion.
"It's kind of an eyesore," he said. "The problem needs to be fixed so more ORV users don't cross there."
One solution considered at the meeting was to put up two- to three-ton boulders as a barrier. Katona said rocks have been put down before, but proved unsuccessful in keeping ORV users out.
"They've done things to try to stop illegal crossing, but people are moving rocks, removing pipes, and we haven't been able to catch anyone crossing," he said.
Katona said the boulder barriers would need to be wide enough to allow access to fisherman, but narrow enough to keep ORVs out.
Katona spoke with DNR in Lansing to see if they could receive an extension on the application deadline grant. The department accepted the grant application for the project.
Katona said he will know by September whether it is approved, and if so, work may begin after weight restrictions are lifted next spring.
