A Frankfort man was sentenced this week for tampering and vandalism on the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
WCMU's Tina Sawyer spoke with environmental reporter, Teresa Homsi about the case.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Tina Sawyer: Can you tell us more about the sentence and what happened?
Teresa Homsi: According to the U.S. Attorney's office, 63-year-old, Andrew Blair Howard reportedly used a shovel to dredge the Platte River. Then he stacked up a bunch of rocks to dam the original channel and divert the river's natural flow in 2022.
Since this happened on federally protected land, he was convicted and sentenced by a federal court and will now serve 60 months of probation.
He's ordered to pay $22,472 in restitution, and that restitution is basically paying back the National Park Service and the U.S. Coast Guard for all the costs they've incurred in trying to assess what the impacts of this were.
In addition to his restitution, he also has roughly $4,000 in court fees that he has to pay. As part of his probation, Howard is also banned from all National Park properties.
TS: So what was the reasoning behind the diversion?
TH: That is definitely the question that people want to know. This goes back a little bit further than the diversion in 2022. Dredging has been an issue at Platte Point for a while and a source of debate between federal, state and local authorities.
The National Park Service and Michigan Department of Natural Resources used to dredge the river, but dredging stopped in 2017 to allow the area to recover.
If you've ever been to Sleeping Bear Dunes, you're probably familiar with these coastal dune ecosystems. This area supports the endangered piping plover, this little bird, and a bunch of native fauna like the threatened pitcher's thistle, which only really grows on the Lake Michigan shoreline.
The goal of stopping dredging was to let the Platte return to its natural flow.
The Platte is a very unique river in Michigan because if you think about most rivers, when they enter a lake, there's usually like a harbor, or they're very built up. There's usually concrete and seawalls, but the Platte is one of few that just flows in without any type of infrastructure around it.
When dredging stopped in 2017, this essentially put an end to boat access from the Platte into Lake Michigan. That was not necessarily supported by everyone since it hinders access for boating or fishing recreation and emergency crafts.
In a statement following the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said Howard was allowed to disagree with the park's decision to stop dredging the river, but he did not "have the right to take the law into his own hands."
TS: So what are some of the effects that this diversion has had on the Platte River then?
TH: I actually got to go out to the Platte only a couple of weeks after this happened in August of 2022. The Platte used to meander very slowly into Lake Michigan. It would get to the Lake Michigan shoreline and then would flow parallel to it for like a half mile.
And then after it was diverted, it was initially just like a mystery. It almost happened overnight. I remember when I went out there, they didn't even know what had happened yet. They just said it was an active investigation. Maybe they had a lead at that point.
But the original channel had completely slowed to a standstill and then it was cutting through the bank and flowing much faster, much deeper.
It had widened out very quickly, but also with the faster flow, the Park Service said it affected upstream wetlands and negatively impacted wildlife along the river. It also impeded their original plans to restore Platte Point.
TS: So you did mention that the National Park Service, they don't have any plans to restore the river?
TH: For now, the Park Service says it doesn't have a plan for remediating that area. They say they're now worried about further disturbing the area, but that could change. They might make some plans later on, they might let the system stabilize a little bit.
But this saga, as far as why did this happen, who did it, the conviction and now the sentencing, it's kind of putting an end to this whole issue unless Howard appeals.
