10 February 2024 , 16:20
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A 63-year-old man who created an illegal 200-feet wide channel into a lake has been convicted of tampering and vandalism misdemeanours.
Fisherman Andrew Howard now awaits sentences for federal charges after he diverted the Platte River by hand through Sleeping Bear Dunes at Lake Michigan. US Attorney Mark Totten explained: “These allegations of tampering and vandalism by a man-made diversion of water at Platte River are disturbing The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the Great Lakes are national gems, and my office takes preserving our natural treasures very seriously.”
Howard, who comes from Frankfort in Michigan, committed the offence with a shovel back in August 2022. He dug sediment and rocks out of the river basin and then stacked large rocks on a self-constructed dam. That diverted the river’s natural flow through the newly dug channel out to Lake Michigan. It took around a year-and-a-half for the spit he dug through to finally reform.
In an official statement about the incident, officials said: "Within days, the natural power of the water and the dam caused the new channel to reach approximately 200 feet wide. The diversion created an unauthorised access for large boats to enter Platte Bay.”
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How the bank looked before Mr Howard shovelled into it (U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Michigan)A trial brief mentioned an “influx in the number of fishermen that came to Platte River boat launch to take advantage of the favourable conditions of access created by the new channel,” according to Michigan Live.
Aerial photos taken after the diversion was built show a deeper-looking river that has a direct channel out of the lake. The continuation of the river appears to be dammed. The Park Service spent months investigating the channel and even asked for help from the public before Howard was charged.
A testimony from a park ranger said: "Howard dammed the river after being unable to navigate his boat into the bay that morning and later caught a coho salmon once the mouth was deepened."
Receipts for the shovel, which were bought from a hardware store, were found at Howard's home, as well as evidence from another ranger which claims they saw Howard stacking rocks using the shovel. This was supported by another witness at the scene.
The fisherman faces a maximum of up to six months in prison, a $5,000 dollar fine, five years probation and mandatory restitution for diverting the Platte River. Totten added: “Mr. Howard had a policy dispute with the National Park Service and took matters into his own hands, breaking the law rather than using lawful means to advocate for his position. His actions resulted in significant financial and ecological harm and altered the landscape so many enjoyed.”
Howard is believed to be annoyed about the river flow, and apparently isn't the only one. The state and the NPS dredged the river, creating an entry to the lake, every fall from 1968 to 2013, according to The Record Eagle in Michigan. The discovered dredging began a year after seven salmon fishermen drowned when a storm blew over the lake and overturned fishing boats as they attempted to return to port via the Platte’s shallow mouth.
Michigan Live spoke to an official at the Department of Natural Resources who said that the NPS didn’t like the dredging sediment deposited on the coast. A 2016 NPS report said that continually adding layers stopped dune vegetation. The official continued to say to Michigan Live that the illegal diversion actually helped the river by lowering upstream water levels by a foot.
The DNR noted the oversaturated marshland and erosion from high water levels. And the new access solved a public safety concern by allowing rescue boats to easily access the bay. The area is popular with kayakers and beachgoers. A $500,00 project to remove dredging debris had been planned in an attempt to allow nature to elongate the sandy spit but it is currently on hold.