Wanted- Harbor Information- New and Old

[tkludt]

The Beaver Island Wildlife Club is working with the Michigan DNR fisheries in an attempt to improve the fish habitat in the harbor. We have been asked for any harbor history such as when and what was cleaned up and what might still exisit today such as old submerged docks, pilings and such. We are aware of the old cars. I would appreciate any factual information you might have. Thanks, Tom Kludt

[Gillespie]

Tom, As a boy I remember people catching lots of perch, primarily Perry Gatliff who was relentless in pursuit! I talked to Brian Gallagher after we spoke yesterday and went through the demise of the Perch. When I was a kid there were numerous hulks of old ships down the bay and when they built the yacht dock they hired that company (township I presume) to tear those things out to "relieve" the navigable waters. Previous to that the Corps of Engineers (I believe) dredged the harbor and put the spoil more or less in the center covering the weed beds etc. that the perch enjoyed. So, there were perch there in my time but it turns out they were dwindling, in fact, their primary "home" in my youth were the old wood piling docks and the old pilings that made up the Beaver Island Lumber Company dock that ran straight out at Beaver Island Marine today some 4 to 500 feet. Phil Gregg spent many years setting off underwater charges to blow these navigation hazards off at the bottom or loosen them. All of this created the perfect perch storm and they left the harbor! We need to sink a few ships (not that we are not trying ) to correct this "deficiency"!!