Stewart Cogswell, Green Bay Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (GBFWCO), New Franken, Wisconsin, and Rick Westerhof, from the GBFWCO, Elmira, Michigan field office, traveled the back roads of Northern Lower Michigan to pass the fish passage torch from Cogswell to Westerhof.  

Cogswell was responsible for the National Fish Passage Program (NFFP) in the Lake Michigan Watershed for both the Western Basin (Wisconsin side) and Eastern Basin and Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Under the new arrangement, he has the Western Basin and Upper Peninsula of Lake Michigan and Westerhof has the Eastern Basin of Lake Michigan from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan into Indiana. 

During their travels, they met with representatives from:  the South Boardman River Project that included Harold Chase and Gabe Schneider from Senator Carl Levin's Office, Jennifer Jay, Project Coordinator, Brett Fessel, Biologist Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Andy Schwab, Intern; the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly that included Gary Noble, Executive Director; and the Conservation Resource Alliance that included Amy Beyer, Director, Kim Balke and Chris Pierce Biologists. 

Everybody really enjoyed working with Cogswell and appreciated everything that he did to get fish passage projects going in the Lake Michigan watershed.  He will be sorely missed by many and leaves some big shoes to fill. 

All the agencies were very pleased to have the new position located in one of the houses at the Jordan River National Fish Hatchery, as it will allow more on the ground involvement with future projects. 

With how much Cogswell accomplished in the Eastern Basin of Lake Michigan, while working out of Wisconsin, he did an amazing job.