TRAVERSE CITY -- Northern Michigan is known for it's outdoor adventures - and many people enjoy activities in the Boardman River Watershed, which spans Grand Traverse and Kalkaska counties.
Tonight, the GT Bay Watershed Center held a public meeting presenting their recent research on the ecological and economic resources in the watershed, and wanted the community's input too.
With coming changes - mainly the destruction of three dams - a Prosperity Plan was created to combine all of the ecological and economic resources with the quality of life issues.
The Boardman River Watershed encompasses 291 square miles and produces a third of the water volume of Grand Traverse Bay in TC. Many locals and tourists enjoy the land to hike, fish, boat, and learn. Andy Knott, the Executive Director of the Watershed Center, stated, "There's a lot of recreational opportunities along the Boardman, lots of people fish along the Boardman, hike along the Boardman - it's an incredibly important natural resource that also helps support our local economy, because all of those people come here and spend dollars to do those things."
The entire plan is available for viewing online at: www.theboardman.org, and another meeting is being held Thursday at Rudolph Ranch at 5pm. Input received now will be used to refine the plan now, and then more meetings will be held in the fall.
