Grand Rapids Whitewater picks firm, waits on plans to restore rapids in Grand River
Howard Meyerson
July 20, 2011
Grand Rapids Press
Quote:
GRAND RAPIDS -- A restoration and design firm with experience developing whitewater paddling parks has been selected by area enthusiasts to create drawings and plans for restoring the rapids in the Grand River downtown.
RiverRestoration, a company in Glenwood Springs, Colo., was chosen from a final field of four firms, according Grand Rapids Whitewater co-founder Chris Muller. The firm has a number of projects in Colorado, North Carolina and on the Yukon River.
[....]
GRWW’s vision is to restore the river rapids between Coldbrook Creek and Fulton St., Muller said. The Coldbrook Creek outflow is upstream of the 4th Street dam. He called the turbulent waters immediately downstream of the dam dangerous and said he would like to see those risks addressed.
However, the group’s primary focus is further downstream, where a series of low-head dams create other dangerous hydraulics in the river. Muller and others would like to see those removed and potentially replaced with other rocky structures that might create better fish habitat and a good ride for paddlers.
"This is not just about a whitewater park," said Chip Richards, GRWW’s other co-founder. There’s no question we like a good wave, but it’s evolved beyond that. We are discussing sturgeon habitat and our goal is habitat for salmon and steelhead. We are looking at the whole river."
Michigan Department of Natural Resources fisheries staff have said they support improving habitat for fish in the river. And though the agency has expressed a desire to see the 4th Street dam removed to improve fish passage up the Grand River, staff acknowledge that the dam currently plays an important roll in limiting the upstream migration of sea lamprey.
|
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index....ter_picks.html
I came across this article after reading a blurb in the Free Press about this project in last weeks paper, it appears that the project is moving ahead. Love the idea, turning the Grand River into a major recreational draw will be a real positive for the downtown area, not to mention make for some cool skyline photo opportunities with the white waters of the Grand River in the foreground. Also i've been thinking for as large of a region as Grand Rapids has grown into (CSA pop of 1.3 million) it is sorely lacking a national identity as compared to regions of similar size. According to Wikipedia both New Orleans and Buffalo are slightly smaller in size in terms of CSA population each city having just over 1.2 million. Granted both these cities have greater historical significance and at one point were each top-tier cities, not to mention they have a larger population in the core city. However Hartford, CT has a nearly identical CSA and the core city contains around 50,000 less inhabitants than Grand Rapids. But while Hartford is a well known city, while your average non-Midwesterner would likely have a hard time identifying what state Grand Rapids is even in. Though once again Hartford is a city with historic importance, while GR has only recently become a major metro area (major being a relative term). I suppose rebuilding the rapids of Grand Rapids is as good a place as any to start in terms of helping the city take the first baby steps toward building an identity for itself. Although Meijer relocating its corporate headquarters downtown into a brand new signature skyscraper certainly wouldn't hurt, throw in a pro-sports team (OKC has a CSA of 1.3 million after all and the Thunder are thriving albeit without Kevin Durant this may have been a different story) and GR would be well on its way to becoming a national entity.