Michigan DNR Approves Restoring The Rapids

Last month, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell talked about his support for restoring the rapids in his 2013 State of the City address.

Now the director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has given his support too.

At the State of the City address, Mayor Heartwell said:

When this project is complete it will redefine us, put meaning back into our name,
and serve as a source of civic pride and recreational value for the centuries to come.

DNR director Keith Creagh says restoring the rapids would be good for fish.  WZZM reports:

DNR director, Keith Creagh says it (restoring the rapids) would likely improve the fishery.

"There's one challenge about putting the rapids back into Grand Rapids, and that's making sure that sea lampreys don't continue up the Grand River. So they'll go through a series of boulders and structures, and they'll still have a lamprey control structure throughout the project. But it should increase the fisheries," said Creagh.

Still a long ways to go, but DNR support is a positive move in the right direction for fans of restoring the rapids.

Learn more about Grand Rapids Whitewater, the group behind restoring the rapids.