Traversing Crystal River will soon be a whole lot easier for paddlers and fish populations alike. Already, the pristine waters, scenic views, and winding curves make Crystal River an enjoyable paddle. However, trips down the river have also long been interrupted at various points by low-clearance culverts. Those spots aren’t safely navigable in a kayak or canoe, which means paddlers need to get out of the water and “portage” across County Road 675 – dodging traffic and hauling their boats, lifejackets, coolers, and other supplies with them – to keep heading downstream. A project kicking off this year will ultimately replace four of those culverts with new bridges that will offer easier clearance and enable paddlers to traverse most of the river without needing to get out of the water.

The Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) is planning to replace four bridges at four locations along Crystal River in Leelanau County starting this spring. All four crossings occur in spots where the river bisects County Road 675 – two near the intersection of 675 and M-22, one just west of the intersection with South Westman Road, and a fourth near Tucker Lake (crossings numbered on map, pictured, left).

Based out of Traverse City, the CRA is the local nonprofit organization behind River Care, an ambitious program that “fills project funding gaps and leverages federal dollars to complete critical work in each watershed” across a 15-county service region. In recent years, a major focus of the organization – and of the River Care program – has been on replacing infrastructure at river and stream crossings in order to restore waterways to their natural flow and size.

In fall 2022, the CRA wrapped a major multi-year project on the Boardman River, replacing an aging and undersized culvert crossing at Broomhead Road in Whitewater Township with a brand-new timber bridge (before and after photos, pictured left). According to DJ Shook, biologist and project manager with the CRA, undersized culverts like that one pose problems for fish migration because they speed up water flow to the point where many fish swimming upstream can’t pass through. By installing new crossings that allow for more natural river flow to resume, the CRA is hoping to unlock habitat and spawning areas for aquatic species. In the case of the Broomhead Road replacement, the CRA estimates that removing and replacing the old culvert has opened “30 miles of habitat in the river’s upper reaches.”

Similarly, more than just making Crystal River more easily traversable for paddlers, Shook says that the four crossing replacements CRA is planning will offer major dividends for local fish populations.

“Especially at crossing No. 3 [the crossing near South Westman Road], fish passage is a major concern, primarily for native species,” Shook explains. “There's a pretty strong run of salmon and steelhead here. Both of those species evolved out west in higher-gradient, mountainous streams, and they have no problem navigating these undersized culverts and the higher velocities of the water. But our native fish? They can't do it.”

“It’s pretty easy to see the fish trying to move from downstream to upstream, or from the Great Lakes up into the stream,” adds CRA Executive Director Amy Beyer. “When fish get stopped at crossing No. 1 or crossing No. 2 – or all of the above – that means they don't have access to all that upstream habitat. They don't have the ability to use the shade cover; they don't have that amount of room for reproductive activity. So, there are a lot of reasons that we're trying to restore the accessibility of these streams, because that's what naturally reproducing fish need. And if we can be successful at that, not only can we protect our native populations, but we can also save ourselves a bunch of money trying to stock fish. If your rivers can naturally support reproduction and help the fish, you don't have to pay for the artificial version of that fishery, and you also end up with healthier overall populations.”

According to Shook, all four crossing replacements “are out to bid right now as one project,” with bids due at the end of this month. Due to the logistical (and biological) challenges of replacing those bridges and culverts all at once, though, Shook says “the implementation of the project is going to be spread out over three years.”

“We know that a lot of people come to Glen Arbor and to Crystal River Outfitters just for this trip down the Crystal River,” Shook tells the Leelanau Ticker. “So, there’s economic concerns [to these projects], and that’s one reason that we're trying to keep to the shoulder seasons. But then, we have fisheries concerns that we need to address as well. We've got fish spawning in the spring up until June 15, and then we have fish spawning in the fall starting October 1. So, there's not a lot a whole lot of shoulder season left when you’re trying to work within those two dates.”

The first crossing replacement will be crossing no. 4 – described by Shook as “the Tucker Lake outlet” – which is slated to start construction “after June 15” of this year. Crossing no. 1 – the crossing closest to M-22 –will follow next spring, while the nearby crossing no. 2 is slated for fall of 2024. The project will wrap in late summer 2025, with the replacement of crossing no. 3 – known internally at CRA as “the shoot-the-tubes culvert.”

This project – and much of the other work the CRA does – is made possible by grants from the DTE Foundation, a long-time partner of the organization. Beyer says that type of partnership is rare for an organization like CRA, and is grateful for the years of loyal support.

“We have people all over the country are calling us and asking, ‘How do you do that? How can you possibly restore rivers through their entire length?’” says Beyer. “Having DTE as partners for 22 years now, they have invested heavily in helping us to do that. They're not by any means the only partner or funder, but it's always been interesting to me that a corporate partner latched on to our vision and stuck with us for decades.”

“At the DTE Foundation, we are committed to sustaining our state’s environment and natural beauty for years to come,” Lynette Dowler, president of the DTE Foundation, wrote in a statement to the Leelanau Ticker when asked for comment on its longstanding commitment. “The CRA has made amazing progress with the help of the DTE Foundation’s grant, proving this type of support not only maintains Michigan’s essential environmental assets but expands their beauty through long-lasting partnerships.”