The Au Sable River is coveted for its cold, slow-moving water that makes it possible for anglers to reel in trout, steelhead and salmon. But the river is feeling the heat from climate change, invasive species and historically poor land use management.
State officials, researchers and conservation partners are now developing a plan they hope will make the Au Sable more resilient to increasing threats.
The plan will guide future management strategies to ensure ecological stability, stakeholder satisfaction and a sustainable fishery.
Randy Claramunt, with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), said coldwater streams like the Au Sable are warming up, and some have already disappeared.
Claramunt said the plan will assess solutions to make sure the state’s limited resources are effective — and don’t go toward a lost cause.
“Will we be able to keep some of those streams off that list of losing them to climate change, or not?" said Claramunt, chief of the MDNR's fisheries division. "We might put a lot of time, effort and money, and the end-result is that we lose the trout population anyway.”
Claramunt said the resiliency plan will inform projects on the Au Sable and other rivers.
For example, it looks at whether building up tree canopies and in-stream habitats can measurably reduce stressors' impacts. Claramunt said the plan also centers research on variables like groundwater dynamics, which can influence a river's temperature.
"[With] wild systems, we don't have 100% control over them, so we want to address those knowledge gaps and get better in our approach and use of resources," Claramunt said.
The plan has been in the works for the last two years. It includes partners from Michigan State University and Michigan Trout Unlimited, among others.
In the interest of transparency, we note the Michigan DNR is a financial supporter of WCMU.
