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Circa 2011-12 a request was made by five ERCOL lake associations to MDNR for a joint permit for each to install fish shelter "structures" in our lakes. With persistence we got it approved in 2012(13?). The ILA got approval for up to 10 sites each which could be populated with up to 3 different type structures, which includes a "Christmas tree" of slab wood cut to 48" and vertically stacked & spaced boards criss-crossed on a Tamarack pole fixed in a poured cement base as well as the cherry tree root ball (which proved problematic and was ultimately discontinued).
The ILA constructed 24 of the crate style from 10 foot rough cut green hardwood jacket boards we picked up from Matelski Lumber mill in Boyne city, They were sized and cut to length at Alden Lumber in Central Lake and nailed together to assemble into crates at DWP in Central Lake. Natural stone from Buffman's was bagged in burlap (TC coffee bean roasting Co.) and tied closed with natural hemp to be used for ballast. Finally the crates were filled with brush collected from Central Lake land fill and fork lifted down to the Thurston Park ramp onto a pontoon working barge provided by Danny Andersen. Then Captains Choice Marine volunteered their barge to deploy to the three sites at the South end. You can find the site GPS coordinates on our map. The 10 sites on Intermediate Lake were each populated with three "structures" and targeted for deployment at pre-approved riparian sites at approximate 16'-20' depths. We've since had follow-on positive reports from volunteer eyes on dives that their start-the-food-chain effect was evident as well as witnessing more frequent "loon luncheons" in their respective vicinity.
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