The trout river DAM blocks aquatic organism passage and contributes thermal pollution to the trout river which is a designated trout stream that flows directly into lake huron

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 awarded $164,925 to Huron Pines Resource Conservation and Development Council Inc. (doing business as Huron Pines) on December 31, 2025, under the National Fish Passage Program (CFDA 15.685) for removal of the Trout River Dam in Rogers City, Michigan.

The Trout River Dam, an eighty-year-old structure in substantial deterioration with cracking, spalling, and a collapsed wingwall section, blocks aquatic organism passage and contributes thermal pollution to a designated trout stream flowing directly into Lake Huron. Dam removal will restore natural channel geometry, transform the shallow impoundment into a free-flowing river, improve water quality, restore connectivity across twenty miles of upstream habitat, and eliminate the primary cause of aquatic habitat decline in the river system.

Performance is scheduled through December 31, 2027, at Rogers City, Michigan. The National Fish Passage Program provides financial and technical assistance to reconnect aquatic habitats fragmented by barriers such as dams, culverts, and outdated infrastructure. Funding supports project types including dam removal, culvert replacement, floodplain restoration, fishway installation, and engineering and assessment work. The program operates as a voluntary cooperative conservation partnership administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with projects reviewed and selected on a regional basis according to regional focus areas and priorities.

The DAM is over eighty years old and is in a state of deterioration with substantial cracking and spalling throughout the concrete and a large section of wingwall collapsed onto the spillway. DAM removal will restore natural channel geometry and transform the shallow impoundment back into a free flowing river. This will improve water quality and restore connectivity to twenty miles upstream and to lake huron. DAM removal will eliminate the primary cause of aquatic habitat decline in this river system.