How feds say Michigan man dredged river inside Sleeping Bear Dunes

Ken Haddad speaks with Christy McDonald about a Michigan man convicted on federal charges after dredging a river inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

[@donalddietrich9442]

I’m willing to bet that river has replicated what the guy with the shovel did many, many times on its own.

[@paulatiredofthisshit]

They stopped dredging in 2016. That means it needed to be left alone.

[@technodrone313]

so was that idiot thats going to prison

[@geoffhubbard7815]

They stopped dredging in 2016; that means they're screwing over the people who actually live and fish there.@@paulatiredofthisshit

[@morex981]

You missed the point of the comment, I think. @@paulatiredofthisshit

[@fixtritephil7712]

@@paulatiredofthisshit That's only your assumption,and please define "THEY"....

[@chrundlethegreat1960]

I can tell you I'd rather party with the river robber than these two dorks reporting.

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

Yeah, you look like hardcore partier there pops. Go take a nap.

[@Dude-hr4oh]

My name is Rod and I like to party

[@tula1433]

You’re super handsome mr 🤷‍♀️ I’d party with you lol

[@manywayz2be]

That dude has never touched grass. What a sheltered grown adult.

[@johnsterling6659]

@ 0:44 "It's incredible that somebody could take it upon themselves to change the direction of a river." I wonder what this guy thinks of the civil engineering that has been applied to the Mississippi River or a thousand other rivers.

[@jessesteeves9876]

...That's not a singular person. He's a reporter in Michigan, he is aware of that lol.

[@justinmadair]

He would have to be astounded by beavers!

[@daleprange4436]

A year later the DNR dredged it

[@davidcarrier3273]

It could have been that kid with a sand pail and plastic shovel.

[@redstonerelic]

park ranger apparently saw him doing it.

[@cambo1200]

Keeping the ecosystem in balance? Please prove that statement.

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

I’m a news anchor this just in: Palestine Israel crisis solved. Just pretend the ecosystem is in balance!

[@sokatcanwatch]

There are wetlands downriver that need that moisture. Diverting it causes that area to dry up, which has a harsh impact on everything that a wetlands/marsh area provides environmentally, which is a lot. From being a breeding ground for a huge number of flora and fauna, to keeping the ground in place against the tide from eating away at the shore line. Diversion also puts the dunes at risk for rapid degeneration due to being exposed directly to the tide, instead of having a river running right in front of it which carries and deposits sediments back onto the bar that the tide takes back onto the lake.

[@danlowe8684]

Luckily no one with any knowledge on the subject whatsoever was contacted by production deadline.

[@PANTTERA1959]

It changes during every storm.

[@davidmoore2699]

It looks like the difference is just a few yards of sand bar. That kind of thing will be reshaped by even a small seasonal flood. How much did this really change things?

[@randallgoeswhere]

"Im innocent!" - A Beaver.

[@catherinerheaume8522]

You should see the mayhem my neighbors have created by damning up perfectly fine washes to “stop the water”. It’s a watershed in a desert and they don’t get it.

[@rogerdickinson1260]

The township used to do it for years so the fishermen could get out into the lake. Now it is dangerous, I am calling B.S. on this. Every year after the dredging, the Platte returned to its normal course after a few month's. What was dangerous was trying to get a boat in if the surf was rough in the shallow river bed.

[@taylorbug9]

And now they're saying they were gonna do it anyways. They're just mad that they didn't get to pad their pockets with millions.

[@user-mt6qr1ot5l]

If you were good reporters you would have discovered in your research that the Platte River had been dredged for many years prior to this incident to save lives. Maybe next time you could get the story right.

[@taylorbug9]

Yeah, why do mainstream news sources suck so bad?

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

Or this is a bot coded to be so obviously a bot that noone could complain about it because it just said what the video said but wrong?

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

How could you have possibly missed this:????? 1:05 “this really dates back to 2017 when the national park service decided to stop bridging the end of the platte river into the platte bay… dangerous etc etc..”

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

Here are a few key points about the debate around dredging the Platte River: Dredging involves removing sediment buildup from the river bottom. The National Park Service had been dredging sections of the Platte to maintain channels important for endangered bird species. In 2021, the NPS stopped dredging operations due to safety concerns. A report found dredging posed risks like equipment failures or riverbank collapses that could injure workers. Supporters argue dredging is needed to maintain habitat for whooping cranes and other birds that rely on wide, shallow channels. Without dredging, the river is slowly filling in. Critics worry dredging disrupts the natural river ecosystem and hydrology. It's also expensive to do regularly. Allowing natural sediment buildup could still support some bird habitat. There doesn't seem to be consensus among scientists on the overall impacts. More research is needed on how stopping dredging may affect wildlife long-term. Comments online often reflect polarized viewpoints, while the reality is more nuanced. Both dredging and not dredging come with environmental tradeoffs that reasonable people can disagree on. In summary, both dredging and stopping dredging have some safety risks and environmental pros/cons that experts continue debating. The best approach likely involves balancing worker safety, habitat protection and natural river processes - but there's no clear consensus yet on how to do that. More data is needed to fully understand the impacts of different management choices.

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

Thanks DuckDuckGo’s Claude 1.2 AI search engine tool I am less confused by your confusion

[@thud9797]

Quick, somebody send this to Steve Lehto. 😀

[@morex981]

I came here from his page looking for some images.

[@GyspyDave]

They call it "dredging" i call it playing in the sand ... what they are made about is he didn't pay to do it...

[@ericsneary5430]

LOL

[@SM-gc2tx]

TRUMP '24

[@paulatiredofthisshit]

The government stopped dredging in 2016. He changed the currents of the opening to the lake. Why don't you try to understand science?

[@dukem3]

😂

[@John572d4]

As an amount of applied work it’s not exorbitant, the river was quite close to the lake itself and someone of average fitness could dig out an initial narrow shovel-width stream quite quickly. Average fitness, average fitness.

[@dougclem7711]

It is an estuary, a nursery for aquatic life to mature then enter the lake as an adult.

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

@@dougclem7711but wouldn’t we have to simulate this on small scale to figure out which strategy would last longer? Doesn’t seem that debatable… microverses people. They exist.

[@fishclinic6235]

Park service is wrong, it was dragged for decades. People have died in and around Great Lakes all over, funny how media really has no clue and give information out someone else has created. Leave the guy alone, no charges should happen

[@CityNDN]

Park service isn't wrong. They are restoring the river. Idiot.

[@reubprue8602]

The river only pooled up there and seeped through the sand. He only helped it get through easyer. Lord forbid anyones child gets caught digging in the sand there the child would likely get turned over to family health services while the parents go to jail for not educating their child not to dig in the sand.

[@Nolikes_Media]

I like turtles 🐢

[@beeb6809]

0:45 Dude, humans have been changing the course of waterways forever, I don't know how you think it's so unfathomable

[@jeepjeff9131]

So the gubmnt can do it, which it had been doing, but let a private citizen do it and it becomes illegal.

[@paulatiredofthisshit]

The government stopped. Just like the government stopped slavery and let women vote.

[@Yettiattack]

The rule is for thee not for mee

[@CharlieEarthRoast]

From what I read, it had to do with a project that they were actually working on, and he ruined it or something. I'm not an expert, and neither are you, so let's not pretend.

[@nlp6082]

Wow!

[@7SevenDeuce2]

I don't see any problem with him doing what's been done for years and now is no longer funded.

[@philcamp8621]

LETS VOTE ON IT! I bet more people like the easier ACCESS to the Lake than people that would oppose it! This is a one sided story by this News Channel. If your going to put a story out there do a little research (YOUR JOB)!

[@muckfoot-4093]

they keep destroying parks by paving bike trails and parking lots and park buildings in them

[@Esotericana]

Typical, entitled man thinking he can do whatever he wants 🤬

[@KocaineNWaffles]

A guy here in Michigan did this connecting a river to lake Michigan and the DNR got home with misdemeanors for tampering and vandalism because it's not a natural connection and changed the flow of the river.

[@taylorbug9]

So what do we charge the DNR with for buying up good houses and letting them sit to rot?

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

@@taylorbug9treason

[@Moonerang]

Michigan needs to let the Upper Peninsula be their own state or hand it over to Wisconsin. The lower half is 5 miles across the lake while Wisconsin shares more than 200 miles.

[@diybriguy]

"It's honestly incredible that somebody could take it upon themself to change the direction of a river. hehe. Like when you really think about it how can you possibly do that as a human being?" What a funny statement, considering human beings in the US have created approximately 91,804 dams. I wonder what this office dweller actually meant by his words...

[@mibasscraze8084]

I would vote yes on the ballot for every person in the Benzonia county to have a $0.01 tax increase to governmentally fund purchasing this man a new shovel 2 times per year.

[@karinschild9020]

who could resist doing a little diversion when the river runs sooooo close to shore? 😃

[@DocBrewskie]

The eco system argument is hilarious. They couldn’t explain that to save their lives.

[@VintageRed411]

What the hell is this? It's definitely not independent, reputable reporting.

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

Davos media group?

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

One would assume

[@slothbros7607]

Who did this? No name?

[@veramae4098]

In the '60s we all wanted people to get involved. Didn't give any thought to whether they'd do stuff we didn't agree with . . .

[@VintageRed411]

So no one thought "Let's not overreact." & didn't just move the pile of rocks?

[@dougclem7711]

Good algae growth. Food for the fish. Take nothing but memories, leave nothing but foot prints.

[@richardbice980]

Looks like he was on the gold

[@brendaniebel1355]

Was he bored,or what??????😂😂😂

[@kentharvey5198]

Have they interviewed the fella , no . How about just reporting on it don't add your two cents.

[@MarkJohnson-dx6tk]

No way. Inflation and higher prices, that is your impact. You have done enough. Joe has gotta Go!

[@brucejones1788]

WELLLLLL I NEVER

[@reubprue8602]

He could just Identify as a whale and needed access to the ocean.

[@frankjamesenglishartist]

Too many people not appreciating the native wildlife, nature and open spaces and selfishly battling any protection we have given.. More needs to be done.. Our family has done many river trips there over the decades

[@dukem3]

We humans are native wildlife. Fish have tails, we have shovels

[@frankjamesenglishartist]

No shortage of morons in Michigan

[@taylorbug9]

If you've done many trips to this river, then you'd probably know that it used to be dredged exactly this way. But under new ownership, it is not anymore. And it is a danger to boaters that it is not dredged. It's better for the ecosystem for the animals and for the people that that river gets dredged. And they admitted that they were going to do it anyways. They're just mad that they didn't get to charge taxpayers millions to dig in the sand a little bit.

[@mibasscraze8084]

If you have done many trips there then you know the guy just made the channel go the direction it has been since 2016 and before. Because the river has only been changed for 7 years. This guy probably just saved some fisherman's lives that get stuck out in a unforeseen Lake Michigan wind storm seeking shelter. With the next nearest BOAT LAUNCH 13 MILES AWAY. I wonder how many fines will be given out to whomever dredged the river out before the year 2016.

[@brettbarce8563]

And anouther Darwin announcement, they ain't got a clue

[@ponyboy8554]

Just stay in Detroit

[@fixtritephil7712]

The river has little to nothing to do with deaths in Lk MIch .Rip tides and under tow is a natural occurrence on many great lake shorelines,and is the cause of many drownings. these "story relay persons"need to learn the facts and report like wise...

[@curtisschultz6976]

is he a tax payer,us citizen? if yes he has the right. just for starters.

[@jaxsonXDYT]

😂

[@eedgerton769]

Missing the entire point: it wasn’t that guy’s place to decide whether to dredge or not.

[@SM-gc2tx]

TRUMP '24

[@rebeccab2446]

you're right, i bet the guy that did this is a probably a trump supporter. one man's desires over the public good.

[@arbiterofperil]

Send him your retirement.... He turned a 5 mil judgement into an 83 mil one. WINNING BIGLY

[@ferdburful6352]

Right, because who needs democracy and freedom when you have fascism

[@charleselphinstone6714]

20-24 years for treason and fraud!

[@dukem3]

Retirement? What retirement? I’m taking out loans to feed the family.

[@countryraisins9158]

Very poor reporting a lot of misinformation! Geesh

[@christopherbennett4059]

Guilty!

[@TheDuke539]

“Infringing on national parkland.” FFS

[@qball6520]

Jail time is necessary...

[@charleselphinstone6714]

tRUMPERS worried about their drunken boating!

[@christinehutchins123]

Sure

[@benzippos]

Chronically online mfs like you need go outside it’s very nice this time of year

[@dukem3]

Bideners worried about their kids being swept out to the open lake because they were too busy being angry and taking pictures of the destructive trump flags 😆

[@007nadineL]

As far as I know Trump didn't start any wars like Biden

[@charleselphinstone6714]

@@007nadineL So ya know nothing? Why do you think beenadick donald DID and SAID about NATO and putin??? tRUMP was supposed to win re-election so putin could walk thru! Biden started neither one of these wars! Fox and friends tell ya that? Get your head out of your tRUMP before it;s YOU looking back, like SO many others, and realize he fooled you and that tRUMP is a lying traitor and wanna be dictator!