Buffalo Reef is a 2,200-acre natural cobble feature beneath the waters of Lake Superior, located off the eastern edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula, about 20 miles northeast of Houghton. The reef is vitally important for lake trout and lake whitefish spawning. Nearly a quarter of the annual lake trout yield from Lake Superior’s Michigan waters comes from within 50 miles of Buffalo Reef. Saving Buffalo Reef – MDNR
EPA gives $3.7M to protect endangered Lake Superior reef
August 16th 2019 | Associated Press
A dredging operation is expected to continue through this year. About 157,000 cubic yards (120,035 cubic meters) of rock will be removed from Grand Traverse Harbor and a trough will be dug to create a sediment trap near the reef. (MGN)
GAY, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is spending $3.7 million to remove copper mining waste rock from a Lake Superior harbor where it threatens an important fish spawning area.
Waste known as stamp sands was dumped along the lakefront during the early 20th century. It covers 1,400 acres (567 hectares) of shoreline and lake bottom and is drifting toward Buffalo Reef, where trout and whitefish reproduce.
A dredging operation is expected to continue through this year. About 157,000 cubic yards (120,035 cubic meters) of rock will be removed from Grand Traverse Harbor and a trough will be dug to create a sediment trap near the reef.
The EPA funding was awarded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a program that focuses on longstanding environmental problems in the region.
The state of Michigan is contributing $3 million.
via AP News
MORE INFO:
Visit the Gay Stamp Sands mapping website to explore geospatial data products developed under this project. https://spatial.mtri.org/stampsands/
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