Fishery Biologist Aaron Woldt participated in a working committee meeting for the Thunder Bay Power Company's Thunder Bay River Project Implementation.

The Working Committee was created to assist Thunder Bay Power and its parent company North American Hydro in meeting the requirements of its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license. Woldt is the Service representative on the Working Committee.

The primary focus of the November meeting was to review results of NAH’s 2006 purple loosestrife, Eurasian watermilfoil, and erosion sites monitoring activities.  In addition, the Working Committee also discussed NAH’s water quality plan for 2007, an update on the project wildlife plan, a recent FERC potential failure mode analysis, and the proposed fishing pier at the Hubbard Lake site. 

The fishing pier issue has been ongoing for some time and involves moving the proposed structure to the opposite side of the river as initially planned.  The proposed area across the road is primarily wetland, and feasibility of using this site will require input from Michigan DEQ.

The meeting was attended by member representatives from Michigan DNR, NAH, and the Service. In addition representatives from the Montmorency Conservation District, Thunder Bay Audubon Society, and Northeast Michigan Council of Governments also participated.