Boardman River Harvest Weir Report, 1989

Abstract

Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch and chinook salmon O. tshawytscha were stocked in Grand Traverse Bay early in the salmon program. However, because of the increased problems with large numbers of salmon returning to the Boardman River and nearby streams, it was decided to discontinue the salmon plants in the early 1980s. In June 1984, the Traverse City Light and Power Department (TCLP), City of Traverse City, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) signed an agreement forming a partnership in fisheries management of the Boardman River. By the following year, the MDNR began annual plantings of chinook salmon in the Boardman River to enhance the Grand Traverse Bay fishery and issued all permits necessary to produce hydroelectric power at the Boardman and Sabin dams. The TCLP Department constructed a fish ladder at Union Street dam and a fish trap-and transfer/ harvest facility between the Union Street dam and the mouth of the Boardman River (Figure 1).