“These efforts promote a healthy watershed and help ensure it remains a great place to live, work and play.” - Josh Leisen, Senior Project Manager

Huron Pines and the City of Rose City are pursuing the removal of Sanback Dam in Rose City, MI. Located at Metcalf Park at the north end of Rose City, the dam previously powered a sawmill and a gristmill. For the last half century, though, the crumbling concrete structure has served no use. Its deteriorating condition poses an environmental hazard for Houghton Creek, a tributary of the Rifle River which is one of Michigan’s 16 designated Natural Rivers and home to the former state record brown trout. 

Houghton Creek flows into the Rifle River making it a part of that river's watershed – a system of small rivers and tributaries that run into one larger river. The Rifle River is unique to Michigan as it is the only undammed major river in Northeast Michigan. Water flows freely from Rose City all the way to Saginaw Bay.

Huron Pines has a long-standing relationship with the community of Rose City working on stream bank erosion on Houghton Creek in the city park, installing an underground oil and grit separator which captures sediment and oil from stormwater runoff before it reaches Houghton Creek, and more recently working with the community to remove Sanback Dam and re-envision Metcalf Park. These efforts promote a healthy watershed and help ensure it remains a great place to live, work and play.

In 2023 Huron Pines started planning the dam removal with help from GEI Engineering and the local community. Community input sessions were held to share the removal plan, discuss how to safely remove the dam while protecting nearby wetlands, and brainstorm how to improve park aesthetics and recreational access following the dam removal. 

The project will begin in 2026, but changes are already happening. The pond, or impoundment, behind the dam has been drawn down, meaning water has been slowly released from the pond so the water level gets lower. Huron Pines will manage the project by raising money, coordinating with technical partners, assessing for invasive species, and making sure the community stays involved in planning the new park design.

This project is made possible through support of partners and funders including the City of Rose City, EGLE- Dam Risk Reduction Grant Program, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Saginaw Bay WIN, Walters Family Foundation, Mershon-Neumann Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and GEI Consultants.