What is happening on the Rest Lake Dam front?

Update from Manitowish Chain Defense Fund

On June 6 the Chain reached its maximum level of 8’6”. Weather conditions certainly helped. Also, anticipating possible drought, the DNR directed the power company (dam owner/operator) to lower the amount of water allowed over the Dam from 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) during the spring and summer to 40 cfs. Now that the lakes are at maximum level, whenever there are heavy rains, boards come out of the Dam releasing more water downstream.

The DNR had promised publication of the results of a state-mandated environmental assessment (EA) by this summer. The assessment is required before there can be a new Operating Order. A new order would be the first since the Public Service Commission’s 1939 order, under which the Rest Lake Dam has been operated for 70 years. But the DNR has delayed publication until sometime in 2009.  There is nothing we can do to expedite the EA.

You should be aware that the agency has not backed away from the sturgeon reproduction experiment first proposed in 2003. That experiment would require enormous amounts of water through the Dam at the exact time the Chain is supposed to be refilling. This is the proposal that precipitated the conflict between various stakeholders and the DNR, starting back in 2003.

While waiting for the EA,  the MCDF is monitoring upgrades at the Dam which mean that actual flow can be better measured than in the past. Reducing leakage is one improvement. Also badly needed are more sophisticated measurements which guarantee that a particular flow-rate set by the DNR is actually what it is supposed to be – not 50% higher due to the age of the Dam and the lack of proper measurements.

Longer term, one the flow over the Dam can be measured more accurately, the MCDF will work with both the DNR and the power company to determine the proper flow-rate for sustaining wildlife and fish habitat below the Dam, while maintaining proper levels above the Dam to nourish upstream wetlands and fisheries and provide improved navigation and recreation. We are concerned for the ecology of both the upstream and downstream Manitowish River watershed.

Our attorney Michael Fitzpatrick has been working with the MCDF on several fronts. We have discussed with him the need to be prepared for legal action if something untoward happens. We remain vigilant should the DNR undertake an adverse action like the one last summer.

Current favorable water conditions on the Chain should not persuade us that our problems with the DNR have gone away. It is vital that we stay united in our common cause. Questions about the Chain and the Dam should be directed to Jack King, Defense Fund President, at jgrovking@yahoo.com or (715) 543-2065.