The DrakeCast #68: A Dam Removed, A River Changed

In 2021, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources completed the removal of a derelict dam from the Dowagiac River. For the first time in over 120 years, the bottom four miles of the Dowagiac were reconnected with the 150+ miles of water in the main stem and its many tributaries upstream, making this possibly the most dramatically changed river in the Midwest. But whether or not that change has been for the better is still up for discussion. This episode is about how the people, the water way, and the fish have adapted.

“I remember standing at the top of the dam when they were busting concrete down. The water looked like Trumoo chocolate milk. I was like, ‘Oh no, this is not gonna be good.'” – Ben McDonald of On Point Guide Service

Michigan’s Dowagiac River flows through miles of dredged farmland until it enters the St. Joseph River in Niles, Michigan. From Niles, the St. Joe run another sixty miles before reaching its terminus at Lake Michigan. And when you have a river running into Lake Michigan, that means salmonids. While not native, the rivers in this area get healthy runs of king and coho salmon and those big, lake-run rainbow trout that people in the Midwest insist on calling steelhead.

I first experienced the Dowagiac’s rainbows in the winter of 2018, back when the dam was still in place. Despite the river being swollen from a recent flood, we still managed to hook dozens of massive rainbow trout that were stacked up below the dam.

Guide Ben McDonald with a double-digit Dowagiac rainbow

I returned to the Dowagiac in early 2022 to find a dramatically altered landscape. The dam and it’s upstream impoundment had been replaced with a mile of riffles bordered by newly planted grasses held in place with retention netting. Since my last trip to the Dowagiac, the river has continued to evolve. Guide Ben McDonald says the river is better than ever, but that’s not the full story.

This episode of The DrakeCast is made possible by Windstar Enterprises (IG: @windstar_enterprises) and The Lodge at 58* North (IG: @thelodgeat58north).

Many thanks to Ben and Dustan, and Grant and Jennifer with the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi DNR for taking the time to speak with me. You can click here for more information on the meanders that the Pokagon Band has since restored on the Dowagiac.