2015 Manistee Planting Report

The Upper Manistee River Northern White-cedar Restoration Project has completed its fifth year in the Deward area.  The purpose of this cedar tree planting and protection project is preserve and protects the cold-water fishery of the Manistee River by planting northern white-cedar seedlings along the river’s edge. Cedars help maintain shade, cool the water, and provide erosion control by locking in the soil.

There were three separate new plantings completed in 2015 on state owned land in the Deward area. Mason Griffiths Founders Chapter of Trout Unlimited, lead by Bob Andrus and Dave Smith, completed a planting of 50 seedlings in Zone 4 on May 23, 2015 in their segment of the river.  The Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited completed a planting of 8 new seedlings and 42 replacement seedlings on September 12, 2015 in Zone 2, lead by member Eric Anderson.  The replanting was due to an overheating issue of the seedlings during shipment that occurred in the fall of 2014.

Anglers of the Au Sable completed a new planting of 50 seedlings in their Zone 6 on the west side of the river on September 19, 2015.  It was reported that the 2014 seedlings were doing very good.  They were not included in the shipment that overheated in the fall of 2014. The three “test” seedlings that were planted in Zone 1 could not be found.

A total of 150 cedars have been planted within the Deward Area this year, bring the total to 708 new plantings and 120 replants. Additional partners in this project include Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Forest Management Unit, and Huron Pines RC&D.

This initiative is part of the “Cedars for the Au Sable” project which is administrated by the Au Sable River Property Owners Association.   Additional partners in this project include Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Forest management Unit and Huron Pines RC&D.