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WELCOME ! WE ARE THE KEEPERS OF THE SHIAWASSEE!!!
We are a volunteer group that is beginning to develop Michigan's Shiawassee river as a paddling trail by organizing cleanups, installation of signage, and canoe/kayak launches.
Keepers of the Shiawassee has grown out of efforts started by Headwaters Trails, Inc. in Holly that created a paddling trail along the river from Holly to Fenton, and who organize an annual Adventure Paddle including a kayak and canoe race. Though local river cleanups occur in Fenton, Linden and Argentine, there has not been an organized effort to link volunteers in Genesee County to develop and promote the river. The Keepers of the Shiawassee hope to establish the water trail with safe and legal launch and landing sites and facilities every 4 to 6 river miles for novice and recreational paddlers.
The water trail would not stop in Genesee County. The development and promotion of the river is spearheaded by Friends of the Shiawassee River in Shiawassee County. At the end of the day, these collective groups hope to see a paddling trail that’s nearly 100 miles long from Holly all the way to the Shiawassee Flats. Last year, the Fenton Community Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint lent its support to the river by providing a grant to the Center for Applied Environmental Research, UM-Flint to create interpretive signage, brochure, and develop a canoe launch.
Southern Lakes Parks and Recreation has been providing administrative support to the group.
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Volunteers regularly pitch in for Shiawassee river cleanups. Below is an article from last year. We thank all the volunteers and look forward to 2012 cleanups!
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RIVER CLEAN UP NEWS
BY TRI-COUNTY TIMES
Linden — Nearly 50 volunteers, from age 7 to 70-plus, were part of the recent Linden/Argentine Shiawassee River cleanup on Saturday, June 19, 2010. It was an early start for the cooks, Teresa Ciesielski, Laura Capua, Tom Brooks and Tom Hallman, all from Argentine Township. They arrived at the fire hall by 6:30 a.m. to brew coffee and cook a pancake and sausage breakfast for the volunteers.
Volunteers brought chainsaws and hand tools to clear a path through fallen trees from downtown Linden to Bird Road in Argentine Township.
Doug and Kristy Fairbanks of Fairbanks Canoes and Kayaks brought six canoes and one kayak to help transport people, carry equipment and haul trash plucked up from the riverbanks and bottom. Tom and Kim Kimble, with Ann Kuehn, cut a passage through two downed trees between Rolston and Hogan roads.
Tom and Cheryl Rex headed another group, from McCaslin Lake Road to Bird Road in Argentine Township. Their crew was able to cut chunks large enough for canoes to pass through out of five trees, but had to leave six or more giants that were too big for their equipment.
A third crew, the Men’s Group from Hope Lutheran Church in Argentine Township, cleared the river from Hogan Road to the Steibel farm, across from Linden High School.
Dale Kuehn, group leader, was ready to attack one remaining tree on Sunday, but when he and his wife, Ann, returned to the river, someone else had already cut a gap in the log.
While saws were buzzing in different areas of the river, another couple dozen people, including Linden Mayor David Lossing and his wife, Suzanne, were walking the roadways and river picking up trash. In addition to bags of litter and building supplies, a battered green recliner was removed from the McCaslin Lake Road launch site. More bags of trash, tires, plastic and glass containers, a plastic rocking horse and more were removed from the water downstream from Linden.
Steve Mammel, from Linden’s Green Team, son Nick and teammates, Lisa and Cory Brazzil and John Hohman tore apart a logjam that challenged recent paddlers. Volunteers also found two old metal signs covered in zebra mussels, an invasive species that negatively affects the health of the river.
The day ended with a pizza lunch hosted by Jill Flewelling and assisted by the Loose Senior Citizen Center Angels, at Linden Academy of Dance and Music. Volunteers, wet, muddy and hungry, trickled in. Though tired, they talked about wanting to come back to “finish the job.” The six or more trees between McCaslin Lake Road and Bird Road will need large, long-bladed chain saws. From there, it is on to Byron.
When complete, 30-plus miles of the Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail will be open for paddlers from the trailhead at Holly’s Waterworks Park in Oakland County to the Byron Mill Pond in Shiawassee County.
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