Kawkawlin River Watershed Association outfits new river-tending craft

BANGOR TOWNSHIP, MI—The Kawkawlin River Watershed Association has found its flagship — a roughly 30-foot-long pontoon boat with a heavy duty winch to allow operators to maintain buoys at the mouth the river that empties into Saginaw Bay.

Placing the navigation buoys, anchored with 100-pound truck rims, is a tough task without a crane. Soon, they'll have one.

Not only that, said Dave Bledsoe, member of the association's board of directors, but the crane "makes it much easier and cleaner and more functional for the

that we have."

The boat also will serve as a centerpiece for some of the association's other river activities, including its annual


"I think it's going to serve the water association and the public very well," Bledsoe said.

The work behind the boat goes back two years, when the association began to realize how hard it was to maintain the anchored buoys—which had just replaced former fixed-pole buoys. The anchors are heavy and hard to maneuver, and it can be a real chore to get them out of the river at season's end.

"You're lifting this big, dirty, muddy, rusting truck rim onto someone's boat," Bledsoe said, adding the process of placing and removing the buoys is an annual task.

Thus the association's purchase of what Bledsoe described as a "very well-used" pontoon boat one year ago. Between the boat's purchase and current additions, the association spent about $2,500 on the project—from the boat itself to non-skid finish and welding—and hope to spend $8,000 more to fit the boat with an engine by spring, in time to place buoys in April.

Association board member Bob Rau said the buoys are important for those who use the river to access the bay.

"This just makes it a lot safer going in and out" of the river, Rau said.