Local residents and officials have made recreation and home-buying near the Pine River an important aspect of its restoration.
The tentative blueprint for the Velsicol site. Click for larger image
As mayor of St Louis, George Kubin's top priority is to restore the town's public image.
"We struggle with negative publicity," he said. "Pine River could be a huge asset, but it's always been looked at as a liability."
This type of publicity, though, serves the community some benefit. In the least, Kubin said, the government is more aware. The most important aggregate downside to living in a toxic town is the loss in tax revenue for the city. No one wants to move in to a polluted town and existing properties steeply declined in value.
"It was devastating to the city," Kubin said.
He outlined the top three priorities for the future of the Pine River:
clean up the site
rebuild the downtown
address the declining population base
"The city's long-term plan is to acquire riverfront property," he said.
St Louis' future, according to Kubin, rests in the hands of national media coverage and also proactive legislators. Many support the swift cleanup of the Pine River Superfund in theory, but not in action. This can get frustrating when the legislators and policymakers do not act swiftly or seriously enough, Kubin said.
Most of the work done is by locals, Kubin said.
"This town has seem some short term panic, and we're dealing with it on our own," he said. "I'm not trusting enough of my own government."
St Louis resident Joe Scholtz has organized an annual fishing derby on the Pine River to promote recreation and environmental awareness since 1998. The derby brings over 400 people to St Louis, and anyone can register without a fishing permit. June 9, 2007 was the derby's 9-year anniversary, and it was covered by CBS and aired on numerous occasions. Participants know not to eat the fish, yet still reel in bass, carp, pike, perch, dogfish, catfish, salmon and trout, Scholtz said. They are thrown back after they're caught.
"We get participants from all over," he said. "People just love it."
The Derby has age brackets of 0-7, 8-12, 13-17, and 18-Adult. In each category, the person who catches the heaviest fish wins a prize, as well as a special prize for anyone who catches one of six tagged fish. But Scholtz said he makes sure that every kid who shows up leaves with a prize.
"The industries have really caught on to what we're trying to do," Scholtz said. "We get donations from Walmart, they give us 600 hotdog buns and 600 bottles of water. There's a lure company, they give us 50 pounds of plastic baits. The week before the Derby, my house turns into a warehouse. It took 5 pickups and a trailer to haul all the prizes out this last year."
David Eldridge, local resident and owner of Pine River Outfitters, will host the Bushwhacker Challenge - a four-day canoe event covering 150 miles in May 2008. The race will start by going from the Pine river to the Chippewa river, and back down the Pine river.
It will feature an 8-hour shortleg for those who want to participate for only one day. The competition will be ongoing, and Eldridge said it would be similar to the AuSable Canoe Marathon. Rest stations and other amenities will be provided throughout the race.
"People are noticing more and more river activity, more boaters and paddlers," said Eldridge. "The negative image that was there is being overpowered. And it's like people used to tell me when I started this business. It's the only water resource in Michigan that's not being taken advantage of and utilized as a resource, from recreation to tourism.
"I think people are really surprised when they've lived here for so long, and one day they see a canoe float by," he continued. "Maybe they'll think to themselves, 'Hey, I could try that, I don't have to go far away to do this.' And that's all we want to accomplish."
